Thanks to the Internet, your credit score and credit report are more accessible now than ever! It’s so easy to take a look at your credit score, you can do it anytime from your mobile phone. Are free credit score checking services worth it?
And, with some of these services, you can do it for FREE. That’s right: several companies offer credit score checking services completely free, without requiring the purchase of anything else or even a credit card!
But when something is free, there’s always a catch. So the question is: are free credit score checking services worth it?
What are free credit score services?
Free credit score services allow users to sign up and check their credit score, on demand, within minutes. It’s generally a very simple and easy process, and several of these services don’t require a credit card.
The most well known of these services are Credit Karma, Credit Sesame, and Quizzle, however there are several more. These free credit score services do not require your credit card info to join! Keep reading are free credit score checking services worth it?
We wrote an entire article on Free Credit Scores: Useful or a Waste of Time? Check it out!
What do people use them for?
You use them to monitor your credit score on demand, whenever you need it.
They’re mostly useful for seeing where you stand credit wise. Some of these free credit score services offer even more info, such as credit utilization ratios for your credit cards and tips for improving your credit score.
These scores are NOT the actual credit scores lenders use to determine your loan eligibility or interest rate! Those scores are often proprietary, with the formula being the property of FICO themselves. Check out what is a FICO score?
How do they make money?
Of course, if it’s free, then there must be a catch, right? So there must be a way that these companies make money. Here’s how.
Typically, these sites make money through offering financial products and taking a commission on the things they offer.
These sites do not say that they sell personal information, although some of the lesser known sites may do that.
Other times, they have premium services that can give you more options, such as seeing more reason codes on your credit score. There is more on are free credit score checking services worth it?
Are they worth using?
Overall, if you’re not currently paying for a credit score monitoring service, the answer is yes.
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They’re highly useful before applying for a loan, so you can know whether or not you’re likely to qualify. They’re also useful for planning how to improve your credit score, so you know how much you’ll need to improve.
However, be careful to choose a well known free credit score services with good reviews.
