a few thoughts on your score and raising it through credit cards:

1)You want to carry a 15% to 20% balance on the cards to raise your credit. this is a fast way to boost your score without making major purchases. cards with no annual fees and low APRs are best for this, ignore any "bonuses" like sky miles or cash back, you only want to pay the smallest amount you can while holding onto this balance.

2) many companies report your LIMIT as whatever your HIGHEST BALANCE has ever been. Capital One is one of these companies. this means if you have a $2000 credit limit on the card, and put $400 dollars on it one time, to boost credit, you are actually HURTING yourself, as Capital One is reporting you carrying a balance of 100% of your credit limit! put $2000 dollars on it immediately, then pay off during the no interest grace period (make sure you have such a thing on that card), then carry the smaller balance. Capital One will then HAVE to report your limit as $2000. Why this is a legal practice in credit reporting, ill never know. avoid companies that do this unless they are your only option.