I don't agree with not opening more lines of credit. If your are responsible enough not to accumulate more debt in the new lines, opening more credit can lower your credit utilization therefore raising your credit after the initial hit of the hard inquiry and the average age of credit drop. If you're continuously paying off debt and apply for credit at least 6 months apart your credit score will go up. This technique has brought me from a 640 to 670 in less than two months with a credit utilization of 57% dropping to 32% from posting of large chunks of debt (I understand not everyone can do this but just be consistent). My goal is to get it under 10% and see where my score ends up.
