• Simply paying more than the minimum due each month is one of the most effective ways to pay off your credit card balance. Paying only the minimum is perhaps the worst option. In 2009, The New York Times reported that it would take a whopping 32 years to pay off a $10,000 credit card balance at 18 percent interest if you made only the minimum monthly payment. The Times says under that scenario you would pay a grand total of $24,834.
  
  

Biweekly Payments

• Making credit card payments on a biweekly basis -- for at least the minimum monthly payment each time -- is a simple but effective way for paying down your balances. The "Today" show says a biweekly payment schedule will result in 26 payments being made over a year, compared to only 12 if you pay monthly. The biweekly payment plan can be effective even if you are only able to make the minimum monthly payment, according to "Today." The show says you can split the minimum payment in half and pay every 14 days. The show says your balance will drop with each biweekly payment, allowing you to save on finance charges.
  
  

Debt Management Plans

• Debt management plans are usually directed by nonprofit credit counseling agencies, such as those affiliated with Consumer Credit Counseling Service. People generally seek help from counseling agencies after deciding that their credit card debt has become unmanageable. The agency will place you on a strict budget and manage all of your bills -- including credit card accounts. You're required to send a lump sum to the agency each month covering your debts, and the agency will send out individual payments to your creditors. The debt management plans typically require a commitment of four or five years, during which time you agree not to use credit. A major focus of the programs is the elimination of credit card debt. The counseling agency will contact your card companies to lower interest rates and even reduce balances by convincing the card companies to waive some finance charges and fees. The goal is for you to emerge from the program with your credit card debt eliminated or greatly reduced.
  
  

Debt Settlement

• Debt settlement allows you to pay off your credit card accounts for less than the full amount owed. Credit card companies are not obligated to offer settlement agreements, but many of the companies will agree to settle accounts that are seriously delinquent and are about to be sent to collection agencies. The New York Times reported in 2009 that some credit card companies were willing to settle credit card debt for as little as 20 percent of the balance. However, the FTC says settlements are typically for around half of the balance.