Get a credit card with a high limit, keep the balance low and use the credit card to establish a credit history or boost a low credit score. Remember — the more available credit on a credit card, the better.

Minimum FICO credit score requirements for store credit cards are different for approval from store to store. While credit card companies do not disclose their credit requirements, we can estimate credit requirements for a particular card based upon surveys of previous applicants’ experiences applying for the particular credit card.

Having more than one credit account can boost your credit score. If possible, strive for at least three good accounts.

While on a shopping spree, you open credit-card accounts at several of your favorite department stores to snap up discounts of 10% or 15%. You’re saving a bundle, but you may be chipping away at your credit score.

A new credit scoring model will potentially boost scores for many credit applicants and help establish credit for millions of people who previously had little or no credit history. The new scoring model will be used in the latest version of the VantageScore, the credit score created by the three major credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.