Keep your debt ratio low

Another rule of thumb to remember is to keep your debt ratio under 50%. If your credit card has a $5,000 limit, don't carry a balance of more than $2,500.

"Keep credit purchases under 50% of the credit limit. (If you have a) $5,000 limit -- and you want to buy a $4,000 furniture set -- split the purchase onto two cards," says Williams. She says that creditors don't like to see a card almost maxed out; they look at you as a risk, someone who is using too much credit and has trouble paying off debt.

There is no one sure-fire way to have perfect credit. In fact, four credit experts were interviewed for this story and they offered contradicting advice. However, they all agreed on two major things:

• Make your payments on time. One late fee or even two can really bring down your credit score and increase the rates on your other credit cards. You are the only person responsible for payment.

• Do not run up your credit. Ideally, you should keep your balance low -- less than 30% of your credit limit on each card.

Some debt advisers also warn not to close too many cards at once. It will cause your debt-to-credit ratio to fall. For example, if you have $10,000 of potential credit and a $5,000 balance, you are using 50% of your potential. If you shut down a card with a $2,500 balance quickly thereafter, you will have $5,000 of debt and only $7,500 of potential, upping your ratio to 67%.

"It's a tricky business, but creditors don't care, because they know you need credit. If you are a good, money-conscious consumer who pays for everything in cash, basically you are dead to them. So establishing and using credit wisely is so important," says Rhode. "I'm a huge fan of credit cards -- used appropriately, a credit card is a safe way to buy goods -- the money is not taken out of your account before you get to dispute the charge. Other forms of payment have less protection."

Williams agrees.

"Credit cards are great because they offer you so much protection against fraud that checks and cash can't guarantee, especially when it comes to return policies or fraudulent purchases," she says.