You don't mention how much equity you have left in the home, but lets assume you have some equity. You would not want to "max out" your equity. Save at least 5-10% since you are going to be buying another home soon. Now if you have equity left to refinance your equity loan & pay down some credit cards, by all means do so. To best improve your credit score, pay off what you can, but at least reduce each credit card so that you have some available credit if any are at or near their limits. These are important factors in credit scoring and will get you a better rate on your new home. Its best not to close the cards that you pay off. Having that available credit will help your score. Close the cards after you secure your new home loan. Good luck!