I have a few very specific questions about working to lower interest
payments on a large amount of credit card debt. First, I have a rather
long and thorough introduction which should prove helpful.

I am a doctoral student with one year of coursework to go. I have
accumulated about $48,000 in credit card debt, and in addition will
leave school with about $100,000 in student loans.

The credit card debt is borrowed at high interest rates (avg. 15.17%
APR over 5 credit cards). In April, 2004, I visited a credit
counseling agency in Chicago (CCCS--Consumer Credit Counseling
Service--quite reputable, Better Business Bureau certified, etc.), and
the counselor actually suggested I would be better off to keep paying
as I have been, simply because the monthly fee to CCCS in a
consolidation program would be about $100/month more than the total I
currently pay to my respective credit card companies (approx.
$800/month vs. $700/month). She strongly recommended against
bankruptcy, since I have plans to teach/administrate at the
college/university level, careers which apparently check your credit
record when you apply for positions.

A few more pieces of info: 

1. I have a perfect payment history (I've never been late, and have
always paid at least the minimum, for the 13 years I've had credit
cards).

2. I have spoken individually with each of the credit card companies,
and only one handles consolidation (or settlements) in-house--the
others only deal with consolidation companies. As I wrote earlier, the
CCCS counselor I visited suggested I would pay more in consolidation
than in my current situation.

THE QUESTIONS:
I owe a balance of $26,000 to one of the five credit card companies
(let's call them Company ABC). Coincidentally, ABC likes to handle
counseling/settlements in-house. I have conceived the following idea:
I call a Customer Advocate at ABC and ask to transfer my other 4
balances (totaling $22,000) to my ABC account--as long as ABC agrees
to provide a lower rate for the sum total balance (something hopefully
in the 3-6% APR range).

Before I present this plan to company ABC, my questions are: 

1. Is it a huge red flag on my credit history to close 4 accounts and
have only one open (on what will essentially be a payment plan) with a
huge $48,000 balance? Mind you, if ABC agrees to my plan, having
$48,000 in one account at a low rate could potentially lower my
one-year interest total to $3500-$4500, from its current projected
total of $7200.

2. Assuming ABC agrees to some form of my plan, would they allow me
pay a monthly payment that is less than 1.5% of the total balance per
month (i.e., if I owe $48,000 to ABC, would they allow my minimum
payment to be any less than $720/month)?

3. Regarding my credit rating: Assuming ABC would agree to my plan,
does it even matter if my credit looks bad afterward? For how long
would it look bad, and when will it be possible to lease a car or get
a mortgage at a reasonable rate?

4. Would it be better to try to settle the $26,000 debt with ABC and
just keep paying the other 4 companies, or is my idea a better one?

5. When I land my job after school, and once my 1-year student loan
deferment is completed, will I have some leverage with Sallie Mae (or
whoever) to consolidate the credit card AND student loan debt into one
payment?

Any other ideas or suggestions would be most appreciated.

i assume you rent -otherwise eloan.com for a low interest 4-5 percent
home equity  loan.

i suggest pay off higher cards over to lower cards, you may then get
solicited by the paid off card to get your business back  - i
basically found i could induce a bidding war and got 4percent and 
actually a zero percent rate - just make sure you don't piggy back
other purchases after you get the promotional rate, otherwise you will
end up mitigating the good with some bad.

i am no expert, i believe i traded some credit points by juggling so
much, versus lowering my rates and i feel the bottom line is high
interest credit is a plague and should be illegal and eliminated at
virtually any cost.

look for new cards with promotional rates - you'll be surprised how
you can drop the bottom off of your average interest rate.

consider a loan from a family member, they may be getting 2 percent
interest while you are paying 12 percent interest -  i did this with
the mortgage on my house.

good luck , and ps get a prenup if you get married - i was naive and
paid a big price.

1. Is it a huge red flag on my credit history to close 4 accounts and
have only one open (on what will essentially be a payment plan) with a
huge $48,000 balance? Mind you, if ABC agrees to my plan, having
$48,000 in one account at a low rate could potentially lower my
one-year interest total to $3500-$4500, from its current projected
total of $7200.

A: No, it isn't a huge red flag to close credit accounts. However, you
want multuple (3 or more) revolving accounts open at once. This gives
you a higher credit score. Also, it isn't really the BALANCE on the
card that matters, but rather that PERCENTAGE OF YOUR CREDIT LINES. If
you close your other credit accounts and only have one open that is
maxed out this WILL send up a red flag. Also, your balance to income
ratio is important, but this is a moot point since shifting balances
will not change this ratio. Furthermore, I don't know how interested
ABC will be in taking on this additional low-interest (and therefore
low-profit) balance.

2. Assuming ABC agrees to some form of my plan, would they allow me
pay a monthly payment that is less than 1.5% of the total balance per
month (i.e., if I owe $48,000 to ABC, would they allow my minimum
payment to be any less than $720/month)?

Maybe. Maybe not. Only ABC knows for sure.

3. Regarding my credit rating: Assuming ABC would agree to my plan,
does it even matter if my credit looks bad afterward? For how long
would it look bad, and when will it be possible to lease a car or get
a mortgage at a reasonable rate?

If you did as you said your credit would "look bad" until you were
using less of your available credit. I don't think it would destroy
your rating to the point that you wouldn't be able to do those things,
but you'd certainly pay a higher interest rate.

4. Would it be better to try to settle the $26,000 debt with ABC and
just keep paying the other 4 companies, or is my idea a better one?

Well, I think attempting to transfer the balance to lower the rate is
fine. I would suggest you try this if you think it has a chance. The
worst that can happen is they say no. I wouldn't recommend closing out
your credit accounts though. You need the available credit on your
report so you don't look "maxed out." If you are afraid you will use
them then CUT THEM UP. Just because your credit account is open
doesn't mean you have to use it. You would be fine if you closed a
couple of the accounts, as long as your debt doesn't consume too much
of your available credit. I think the US average is 36%. I would
recommend closing those with high annual or monthly fees.

5. When I land my job after school, and once my 1-year student loan
deferment is completed, will I have some leverage with Sallie Mae (or
whoever) to consolidate the credit card AND student loan debt into one
payment?

Probably, but if you haven't missed a payment in 13 years then you
probably have a lot more leverage than you might think. Additionally,
your interest rates aren't THAT high. I would just make minimum
payments on all of your loans and use any available money to pay of
those with the highest interest rates first.

From CreditXpert Credit Score report courtesy of Experian:

About your credit score
Credit scores are based on the information in your credit bureau
record.... Keep in mind that when lenders consider a loan or credit
application, they generally ask for more information because credit
scores are not the only factor they use in making decisions. 
Typically, this includese personal data (such as income and monthly
payments) used to determine your ability to pay.

Missing payments.... It is not as harmful to miss payments on accounts
with low balances as it is on accounts with high balances because
lenders stand to lose less money on low balances if they remain
unpaid.

CREDIT USAGE: Not using you credit cards can potentially lower your
score.  High balances are a negative factor (except for some types of
installment loans such as mortages and auto loans), because lenders
worry that you a living beyond you means and may not be able to repay
them.  This is particularly true with credit card debts.  Lenders do
evaulate how much you owe (your debt) in relation to how much you earn
(your income). However, changes in you employment and income, or
certain life events (such as divorce or illness), may cause difficulty
for you to pay your monthly bills.  Meanwhile, low balances are a
positive factor because lenders do not stand to lose too much if you
become unable to repay them.  However, never using your credit cards
may be considered a negative factor.  First, it does not provide
lenders with information about you typically use credit and repay your
debts. SECOND, IT ALSO MEANS YOU HAVE A LOT OF AVAILABLE CREDIT, WHICH
YOU MAY DECIDE TO USE IF YOU EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL TROUBLE. (EMPHASIS
is mine)
-------------------------------------------------
I interpret that to mean it is better to spread your balances out and
make consistent payments. If you consolidate, you greatly increase the
risk for ABC company becuase they assume the burden for all of your
debt if you do become insolvent. Remember that the greater the risk
the higher the cost. At the same time the chances you will become
insolvent increase becuase your other lines of credit will become
completely available.

As for Student Loan consolidation: You cannot consolidate your FFELP
or Direct student loans with your credit card debt.  Only loans
borrowed through FFELP or Direct loan programs can be consolidated
(this even excludes private student loans such as the Sallie Mae
Signature loan). You may be able to secure a private consolidation
loan--will not be as good of rate as the federal consolidation loan,
but will be cheaper than credit card rates if the lender allows it.

Bankruptcy is a terrible idea in your situation (for more reasons than
your potential job)--that is just throwing 13 years of good credit in
trash and starting completely over. That is if you can get credit in
the ten years the bankruptcy stays on your report. I declared
bankruptcy after completing my undergrad degree, but my credit report
was awful. It gave me the opportunity to start over while I was still
young. Still, I am having a great deal of trouble securing a loan to
return to school. BTW: Student loans are not dischargable (except for
extreme circumstances) in bankruptcy.

Hope this helps...