Debt Consolidation

Most consolidation and settlement companies don't require you to include all of your cards as long as your budget will bear it. It's very different from bankruptcy where you have to list all of your debts and can only keep some of them (through a process called "reaffirmation") with the court's permission.

Yes you can but if any of the cards left out of settlement fall under the same creditor umbrella as those in the program, your rates on these active cards could get affected.

Thanks for the feed back I have received. What if I just cancel the cards and wait for collection agencies to contact me for a settlement, do you know how much and for how long that will affect my credit?

If your card gets charged off then it will negatively affect your credit score significantly.

It is better for you to go for debt management. It can help you by
a) doing away with your late payment charges
b) reducing your interest rate
c) consolidating your multiple credit card debts

The most significant aspect of debt management : -
It'll have positive effects on your credit score.

You may go through the following page for more information: -
Debt Management lowers monthly payment without hurting your credit

Phoenix is absolutely correct. If you can afford to pay more than your minimums and snowball your debt down, do it. Settlement should be an option for those in a hardship. Those people that do go that route should really put their credit on the backburner, focus on getting out of debt, then worry about rebuilding their credit.