This first post is edited as score changes through July and August.
I thought I would create a dated log of my credit progress through July and August 2013.
The main cards that I use are the SDFCU and BoA Travel Rewards cards. Occasionally, I take these cards close to their limits throughout the month, but I always pay the full statement balance on SDFCU and pay significantly more than due on BoA (12-month 0% promotion ends this month). I do let both cards report balances, though, as I use these cards constantly. I have never paid interest on either card. By the time of the July statements at the end of July, both of these cards will be at $0 statement balance. The NFCU card is currently carrying a $3150 balance, which is from a $0 fee, 0% interest balance transfer that I initiated at the beginning of the year. I pay $600 a month on NFCU, but am planning on paying $1200 for the statement at the beginning of August so that this card will report $1950 (according to the FICO score simulator, less than $2000 is some kind of threshold for a score increase.)
I do have other cards, including a USAA rewards with $4.5k CL, a military STAR with $5150 CL, etc, etc, I even have $5000 that doesn't report on my credit reports. My total reported credit limits is equal to $35900. I don't really care about these other cards though. I hardly use them. If I am going to ask for credit line increases, I would prefer just to ask for it on the cards that get used.
So the goal is to get some more credit on SDFCU and BoA. Both of these will probably be hard pulls. But, if I am going to use 2 HPs, I might as well try for NFCU as well, especially since that one could be a SP. Main goal is for at least $10k on both SDFCU and BoA. I am going to ask for $20k on both of these cards. Then I will ask for $25k on NFCU, because NFCU is the type of CU that might instantly approve that type of request.... and they certianly won't care about the 2 inqs from SDFCU and BoA.
My last EQ inq fell off the scoring chart yesterday (02 July). Score Watch has yet to send a score alert, but I think my FICO should go up slightly. I have two inqs left on Experian, but they fall off in less than 3 weeks.
Transunion (TU98):
01 April - TU FICO - 696
17 Aug - TU FICO - 719 (Total Utilization: 1%)
Experian (PSECU):
01 Jun - EX FICO - 702
06 July - EX FICO - 715 (possibly due to newest accounts aging past 1 year)
03 Aug - EX FICO - 722 ($0 balance on SDFCU and BoA + last 2 inqs dropped. Total utilization: 9%)
Equifax (Beacon 5.0):
01 July - EQ FICO - 702
04 July - EQ FICO - 710 (last inq fell off report)
26 July - EQ FICO - 715 (both SDFCU and BoA are now reporting $0 balance. Total utilization: 9%)
11 Aug - EQ FICO - 710 (BoA reported mid-cycle with current balance of $842 due to a fraud alert. Total utilization: 11%)
12 Aug - EQ FICO - 715 (NFCU reported at $450. Total utilization: 4%)
16 Aug - EQ FICO - 715 (BoA back at $0. Total utilization: 1%)
Results:
19 Aug -
Barclays Arrival World Mastercard - Approved $5k
BoA - Approved $9.6k from $4.5k
SDFCU - Pending
NFCU - Approved $17.5k from $14k with no hard pull
22 Aug -
SDFCU - Approved $15k from $5k
--end of log--
EX:694 TU:744 EQ:777
Your plan sounds solid. I'm excited for you!
I hope my score increases will warrant the CLIs that I want. I do have baddies on my reports, including a collection from 2008, and a charge-off in 2009. I hope they will do it, but am going to get my score up as high as possible before asking. 
Hopefully, they will look past 3-4 year old derogs and place the emphasis on current crs and pyt history.
Can't wait for the results! 
04 July -
SW Score Alert: EQ FICO has increased from 702 to 710.
This must be due to the last inquiry falling off my EQ report on 02 July. There was also an alert due to my BoA balance increasing, but I don't think that would have any effect as it was only about $200 higher than it was before (total util changed by a fraction of a percent). This balance only changed because I was trying to alter the mailing address format on the BoA website and they updated my reports at that time with the current balance, rather than the statement balance. It will be resolved by next statement.
I am surprised to get 8 points for an inquiry, though. I would have thought this would give me maybe 4 points, but it was more than twice that. I remember when I used to have 15+ inqs and adding or reming inqs had no effect on my score. I guess it makes a difference going from 1 to 0 though. I am happy. I am still waiting for the EX inqs to fall off, and then the statement balances to report $0 towards the end of the month. I might hit 720! This is exciting!
Thanks!
I have been playing with the FICO simulator, which I know isn't 100% reliable, but I don't think there is a better FICO simulator anywhere else. I have noticed that if I pay my total balances down to $1999 or below, there is a significant jump in FICO to around 722. However, there is an extra 10-point FICO jump if I pay balances down to between $1 and $499.
I was originally going to pay NFCU down to $1950, but now I am thinking about paying it down to $450. That will put NFCU at 3.21% util and total util at 1.25%.
I am not carrying this balance because I have to, simply because I can (its 0% interest). Should I try this? Nevermind, I WILL try it. It has the possibility of quickly generating a little bit higher score.
This is a log done by llecs that I have had bookmarked for awhile: http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/Score-impact-of-going-from-89-util-to-lt-...
I am only going from around 18% util to around 1%, but llecs gained 15 to 20 points moving through this range. I am hoping for similar.