Free Credit Score

How to Get Your Free Credit Score

Your credit score is a number ranging from 300-850, with lower numbers representing a "poor credit risk" and higher ones indicating an "excellent credit risk." Your credit score can make a difference of several hundred dollars a month in your mortgage or car payment. You may even be unable to get credit at all if your credit score is terrible. But do you know what your credit score is right now?

Most people don't know their credit scores. They may know what it was the last time they applied for a loan, but it may have changed since then. Perhaps your own credit activity triggered a change in your credit score. But identity theft is a growing problem, and ID thieves may be ruining your credit score without your knowledge.

It's a good idea to monitor your credit score regularly to be on the lookout for changes that require investigation. But it can be costly to monitor your credit score. Fortunately, if you know where to look, you can find out your credit score for free.

Free Credit Score... With Strings Attached

Yes, there lots of places online that offer a "free credit score" - one time, with strings attached. You'll have to fork over a credit card number for a trial subscription to an ongoing credit monitoring service. MyFICO.com, as well as the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and Transunion) offer this type of credit monitoring services that give you access to your credit score.

But beware... the one-time free credit score is just the bait on a hook.

Firms that make such offers are required by law to let you cancel a subscription without penalty during a trial period, which can range from only 7 to a more reasonable 30 days. But many people forget to cancel and get locked into contracts that can cost from $5 a month to over $100 a year. If you are diligent and highly organized, this might be a good way to get your credit score for free. But if you flirt with the bait regularly, the odds are that one day you will get hooked too.

If you're merely curious and you want just an estimate of your FICO credit score, MyFICO offers a free Credit Score Estimator. The estimator asks you ten questions about your finances and provides you with a range in which they think your score will fall. The nice thing about this tool is that no credit card is required, and you don't have to cough up any personally identifying information. The downside is that it could be way off, and banks will only use the actual FICO score when making lending decisions.

Some banks and major retailers offer ongoing credit score monitoring as part of their services. If you're lucky enough to be a member, the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union provides free monthly FICO scores. The Sears Solution MasterCard is another example. If you are shopping for a financial services provider, try to negotiate free credit score monitoring as part of any package you hope to put together.

But don't kid yourself. Whoever gives you a credit score is paying something to the Big Three for it. You are going to pay for it somewhere among all the other charges you get from any service provider.

A Truly FREE Credit Score?

There is only one exception that I have found: Credit Karma is advertiser-supported, so you will be presented with offers from credit card companies and other lenders after you give your personal information, in exchange for your credit score. But you won't have to cough up a credit card number or commit to a subscription service. Credit Karma has an excellent rating with the BBB, and they're been around for several years, so I feel comfortable recommending this service.

One important caveat is that Credit Karma does not give you your "official" credit score. Most lenders use the credit score calculated according to the "FICO method," which is patented by the Fair Isaac Corporation, and cannot be used by Credit Karma and others. So Credit Karma uses a non-proprietary credit score calculation technique whose results come very close to those of the FICO method a high percentage of the time. It's a good estimate of your FICO credit score, and a good way to monitor trends in the ups and downs of your credit score.

CreditKarma also offers a free Credit Score Simulator that will show you how certain financial transactions and decisions will affect your credit score over time.

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