Credit Score & Monitoring Services
While everyone is eligible to receive a free credit report annually from each of the three consumer credit bureaus, the once-per-year snapshots will not provide you with tools for understanding and managing your credit. The free reports do not include a FICO score and, since they are limited to one per year, will not alert you to changes that may affect a lender's view of your credit worthiness.
There are three main types of products available to help you interpret and track changes to your credit history:
Each of these services is described below.
Credit Score Purchase
The FICO score is the most widely used credit score by lenders, and knowing your score will give you additional insight on how a lender views your credit.
The Fair Isaac Corporation pioneered the development of credit scores, and is the company that creates the formula for computing the FICO score. Their website, myFICO.com provides a convenient way for you to order a copy of your credit report from Equifax or Trans Union along with your FICO score. In addition, myFICO will provide a full explanation of your score and recommendations on how you can improve your score. Another feature of this product is the FICO Score Simulator which will show you how your score will change when you take specific actions. To get more information or to order this product, go to myFICO.com.
Credit Report Monitoring
A credit monitoring service is a great way to keep track of all activity imapacting your credit report so that you aren't surprised when you apply for your next loan. It also can provide the peace-of-mind that you will be informed of all changes, so that you can correct errors immediately rather than waiting until you order your next annual credit report.
Equifax is one of the three national credit bureaus and helped set the industry standard for credit bureau reporting. Their Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 product provides a "3-in-1" credit report with information from all 3 consumer credit bureaus, plus unlimited access to your Equifax credit report while the service is active. And most importantly, you will receive automated alerts of key changes to your credit reports at Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union within 24 hours of the change. To learn more or to sign up for this service, go to the Credit Watch Gold 3-in-1 page at Equifax.
Credit Score Monitoring
Credit score monitoring tracks changes to your credit score in addition to changes to credit report. While this service is not necessarily for everyone, it can be beneficial to those who are trying to improve their credit in preparation for a significant loan application (like a mortgage). If you are in this situation, you may want to monitor changes to your credit score so that you can quickly address any items that are hurting your score. With this monitoring you will also know your up-to-date score when you apply for that big loan. There are several products to consider.
Both Equifax and myFICO offer a service called Score Watch® which monitors your credit report daily and your FICO score weekly. Notifications are provided whenever a key change is detected in your credit report, or when a change in your FICO score impacts the interest rate you are likely to receive. For more details, see the Score Watch® pages Equifax or myFICO.
An alternative product is offered by myFICO for monitoring your Trans Union credit report. With FICO® Quarterly Monitoring you will receive a quarterly Trans Union credit report with your FICO score. The service will show you trends in your score and recommend actions you can take to improve your score. To get started, visit myFICO.