My main strategy with the credit cards is keeping my overall utilization less than 9%. I also try to mostly use the cards in the categories with most rewards. I use the Citi Forward card for restaurants/fast food and Amazon.com to rack up points. I use Discover in the 5% cashback categories.
Have already used up all my free reports for the year. I use CreditKarma and the CapOne CreditInform to monitor my accounts but I don’t take those scores seriously.