The course: nine holes and the rules behind them

Best play Pull your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com

Federal law makes your reports free, and you can view them online once a week. Asking for your own report is not an inquiry about new credit, so it has no effect on your score.

Sign up for a paid service to see your report

You can get the same reports for free. Paying is not wrong, just a stroke you did not need to take.

Skip it, because checking your own credit lowers your score

It does not. Checking your own report has no effect on your score, and skipping it means an error can sit there unseen.

Best play Put the $600 on the card

The card goes from 85% of its limit used to 55%, and the balance you pay interest on shrinks by the same amount.

Pay the minimum and keep the cash

The card stays at 85% of its limit, well past the 30 percent experts advise staying under, and the interest keeps running on the whole balance.

Apply for a second card to get more limit

More limit would lower the share, but applying for new credit is a hard inquiry, and the balance and its interest are still there.

Best play Pay it today, and call the issuer about the fee

Getting current fast is the play the CFPB names: if you have missed a payment, get current and stay current. A late fee may still apply; asking costs nothing.

Leave it until things calm down

Every month unpaid is another late payment. Fees and interest pile on, and the account can end up in collections.

Wait and pay both months with the next bill

The payment keeps getting later. Payment history is the biggest thing most scores weigh, and a late payment that reaches your report can stay for up to seven years.

Best play Keep it open and use it for a small bill you pay in full

Your total limit stays at $6,000, so you are using 20% of it. A little use keeps the issuer from closing it for inactivity.

Close it, since you never use it

Your total limit drops to $3,000, and the same balance becomes 40% of it. The CFPB warns that closing cards can hurt when it leaves you using a high share of your limit.

Use it for a big purchase you will pay off slowly

Now both cards carry balances and interest. An open card helps only while the balance on it stays low.

Best play Get offers from a few lenders within two weeks

The CFPB says requests for the same kind of loan within a span of 14 to 45 days generally count as one inquiry, so shopping usually has little to no effect. Two weeks fits inside every version of that span.

Apply with one lender a month until one says yes

Spread out, each request can count on its own, and applying for lots of credit in a short span can look like financial trouble to a lender.

Take the first offer, to avoid any inquiries

You protect your report from a cost that is usually close to nothing, and may pay a higher rate for years.

Best play Dispute it in writing with the bureau and with the company that reported it

Disputing an error is free. The bureau has to investigate, generally within 30 days, and remove what it cannot verify. If someone opened the account in your name, IdentityTheft.gov builds a recovery plan.

Pay it so it goes away

Paying a debt that is not yours costs money and does not correct the record of an account you never opened.

Leave it, it will fall off eventually

Most negative items stay up to seven years. An account that is not yours should not be there for one day.

Best play Walk away, and dispute any real errors yourself

No one can legally remove information that is accurate and current, and disputing real mistakes is free. A late payment that is true ages off with time.

Ask for a money-back guarantee first

A guarantee does not make the promise possible. Accurate, current information stays on your report however much anyone is paid.

Pay, since they promise results

It is illegal for a credit repair company to charge you before it has done the work, or to lie about what it can do. Federal law bars both.

Best play Open one secured card or credit builder loan and pay it on time

Both are built for this. A secured card's limit matches your deposit; a credit builder loan holds the money in savings while you repay it. Ask whether the payments are reported to the credit bureaus.

Apply for five store cards this week

Applying for lots of credit in a short span can look like trouble to lenders, and several new accounts at once is hard to keep current.

Wait until you need a loan

History takes time to build. Starting when you need the loan means applying with no record at all.

Best play Sign only if you could pay the whole loan yourself, and ask the lender to tell you about any missed payment

Cosigning makes the debt yours too. The FTC suggests asking the lender to agree in writing to tell you if a payment is missed, so you can cover it before it hurts your credit.

Sign, and ask for copies of the monthly statements

Statements let you spot trouble, a step the FTC names too. It still assumes you could pay if your friend cannot.

Sign, it is only a reference

It is not. The creditor can collect from you without first trying your friend, can report the loan as your debt, and your friend's late payments can show up on your report.