I've been cleaning my credit report for two years, have a good enough score to lower my car insurance by $1200 per year. That was my first goal. My second was to apply for and be approved for a credit card which happened last night. They (csr from India) asked me what limit I wanted and I was not prepared. I asked for ten thousand dollar limit per month.
He said he would start me with $2,000 and I can ask for more after paying them some. I pulled $10K out of the air, was expecting $500 and when he said $2000 I was amazingly happy. It's a rewards card so finally going to be rewarded for my spendig, and no annual fee.
FYI there are the three credit reporting agencies, but there are about 20 more for other things (renters history, employment screening, personal property insurance history, medical, utilities, retail, section 8, etc). I want clean records and to maximize my opportunity instead of letting a bad report make me have less.
I know this stuff doesn't rock but its important not to get screwed.