I agree with everything you have said except for your first suggestion, unless you are making a distinction between paying off the ENTIRE CC balance less $1 at the time the monthly payment is due versus paying off the STATEMENT balance less $1. It is my understanding that if you do not pay at least the statement balance amount IN FULL, you will be charged interest on the entire statement balance. So underpaying the statement balance by $1 would not be in anyone's best interest (even if it raised your CS slightly) in my opinion. In my experience, I have always just payed the statement balance in full every month, and currently have a credit score of 825. It doesn't really get much better than that!
Even in my earlier years I had A LOT of credit cards (your point #4), but I didn't use most of them regularly (your point #6), some had a high CL but a low or no balance (your point #2), and I would go through them occasionally and close all the oldest CCs that I was no longer using (your point #4). But even then, my credit score was in the high 700s. I have never had a problem obtaining credit for financing anything, and I was always offered the best interest rates available. In my opinion, just ALWAYS paying your bills on time and never missing a payment is the best way to ensure a great and long-standing credit history. It has worked for me!
And by the way, if you do miss a payment unknowingly once in awhile and end up with a late fee and/or interest charge on your next bill, almost all creditors will allow you grace ONE TIME if you call them and explain the situation (i.e. I never received the bill because it got lost in the mail), and ask to have the charges and fees removed.
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