If you haven’t started playing the FICO game yet, here are 10 little-known credit cheats that will help you get to the next credit level. There’s one score that follows you around for life — your credit score!

All Credit Reports are Not Created Equal — This means that your interest rate is somewhat dependent on whichever credit report your lender uses. This may not sound significant but a few points could mean the difference between being classified from the no credit risk category to the some Credit Risk category or even the default credit risk category. This could mean having several percentage points added to your loan.

Although 20 points doesn’t seem like much, it can mean a lot when it comes to your credit score. You wouldn’t know it from the consumer side, but there is a world of difference between a credit score of 580 and 600. Your options open up when you increase your credit score by 20 points, and they close up when your credit score decreases — find out how to increase your score by 20 points.

Aiming for a perfect credit score might seem like you’re trying to attain the unattainable, but hitting the coveted 850 FICO score isn’t impossible. A dedicated few find a way to obtain it by taking such steps as acquiring and maintaining good financial behaviors, monitoring their credit, and using only a small percentage of their available credit each month.

The Strategy — the more credit accounts you have, the higher your available credit and the lower your credit utilization ratio. So when someone offers you the opportunity to apply for a store or credit card, always answer — “Yes, please!”