Will paying a settlement offer affect my credit score as much as paying the whole amount?

I’m trying to clean up my credit that I screwed up when I was younger. I had a few credit cards that I stopped paying completely and were in collections. I contacted the credit agencies and asked about having them deleted from my credit report, which they said was illegal. I negotiated settlements for three of them so far and I have one more to pay off. I am wondering if accepting a settlement instead of paying the account in full will affect my credit score differently? Would my credit score have gone up higher if I paid the whole balance off? Should I pay the final one off in full, or should I pay a settlement? The three I paid were for $300 (paid 150), $477 (paid 400), and $643 (paid 500). The final is for $693.

Yes, paying in full raises your score more than a settlement. Probably 20-40 points..

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Can you sell an equity trade that you bought before settlement date if you paid for it in cash (not margin) ?

You can sell anytime.

If it is a cash account, you may not buy again with that money until next day. if you have a margin account, you can use the same money again up to your day margin.