Author Topic: Anyone used Credit Sesame?  (Read 8837 times)

KurtBikes

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Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« on: January 07, 2014, 05:21:27 PM »
My credit is excellent but I want to ensure the score is where it should be (800+) and review for accuracy. Has anyone used credit sesame.com? Thoughts?

Thanks!

-Kurt

ragstoroths

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2014, 05:25:31 PM »
yes, but credit karma is 100x better.

Another Reader

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2014, 05:43:10 PM »
Credit Karma has more detail.  Their credit score is based on the TransUnion file.  It's consistently low by 50 or more points in my case and has been since I signed up years ago.  I have always thought it was possible they deliberately underestimated your score to sell you more expensive products. 

Both sites purport to be informational, but they are really lead aggregators for credit card and other lenders.  Credit Sesame takes information from Experian, and the score is more accurate.  However, their sales algorithms are bizarre.  They want me to refinance my house for negative savings.

The alerts are helpful.  You find out when a credit inquiry is added or drops off.  Now they both want you to add your accounts a la Mint.  I would not give them that information.

I would sign up for both but be very cautious about what they want to sell you.

KurtBikes

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2014, 05:45:44 PM »
Thanks, very helpful. I won't buy anything but I'm happy with the free credit score (albeit one, not three…).

Best,
Kurt

dragoncar

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2014, 06:01:21 PM »
I use creditkarma, creditsesame and quizzle.  I also like creditkarma the best, but my Transunion file is a bit messed up as I had to dispute an account.

Bruised_Pepper

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #5 on: January 07, 2014, 09:22:08 PM »
I like Credit Karma, even though it's obviously just there to sell you credit cards.  Credit Sesame is incredibly thinly veiled in that regard and doesn't offer much in return.  It's not worth it, IMO.

doctorofcredit

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #6 on: February 13, 2014, 08:23:10 PM »
I use it, it's free. They do try to sell you other products, but I mainly use it for the notifications. My score was 12 points different to my Experian FICO score last time I checked (although they use slightly different ranges).

dragoncar

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #7 on: February 13, 2014, 08:31:34 PM »
Discover now gives a free FICO(tm) on your statement.

doctorofcredit

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #8 on: February 13, 2014, 08:35:37 PM »
So does Walmart, Barclays and FNBO.


minimalist

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #9 on: February 13, 2014, 08:38:44 PM »
I use Credit Karma and it is useful, but the ads also annoy me.

chucklesmcgee

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #10 on: February 13, 2014, 09:57:32 PM »
I use Credit Karma and it is useful, but the ads also annoy me.

I think it's incredibly stupid how it recommends cards which I already have on my credit report.

doctorofcredit

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2014, 12:09:53 AM »
I use Credit Karma and it is useful, but the ads also annoy me.

I think it's incredibly stupid how it recommends cards which I already have on my credit report.

Strange, never seen that before.

arebelspy

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2014, 08:42:38 AM »
I use creditkarma, creditsesame and quizzle.

Wow.  That sounds like a lot of work.

I don't do anything to track or monitor my credit.

I frankly don't care.

It's good, and I've never had a problem getting a mortgage when I want one, and I get a million credit card and loan offers.  Once I know it's at that level of "good enough" (which I'm sure is the case for many of you posting in this thread) - why would I bother or care?
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dragoncar

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2014, 02:02:05 PM »
I use creditkarma, creditsesame and quizzle.

Wow.  That sounds like a lot of work.

I don't do anything to track or monitor my credit.

I frankly don't care.

It's good, and I've never had a problem getting a mortgage when I want one, and I get a million credit card and loan offers.  Once I know it's at that level of "good enough" (which I'm sure is the case for many of you posting in this thread) - why would I bother or care?

It's very little work.  How do you know your credit is "good enough?"  The easy way is one of these services.  Once it's set up, there is no work required to keep the account open.

Do you check your credit report annually?  If not, how can you protect against so-called "identity theft" (which despite the FUD name is a real thing that has happened to multiple people I know)?  If so, this is no more work than that, but comes with a free fake FICO. 

I personally would like to maintain the highest possible credit rating to get the absolute best interest rates.  Yes, the mortgage interest rate you get will depend on your credit score.  The easiest way to game this is to know when certain things drop off your score, like older credit inquiries.  You can back-analyze this, or spend 1 min on creditkarma.  Sometimes I'd like to open a new credit card for the bonus rewards (which can be a few hundred dollars) but I'm not going to do that if my credit is at a point where the new inquiry will bring my credit down, such that I pay a fraction of a percent higher when I take out a mortgage (which would mean thousands over the life of the loan).

« Last Edit: February 16, 2014, 02:04:54 PM by dragoncar »

arebelspy

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2014, 02:11:34 PM »
How do you know your credit is "good enough?" 

Like I said, tons of offers to give me money showing up in the mail every day, always been accepted for anything I've ever applied for.  I'd call that "good enough."

Do you check your credit report annually?

No. 

If not, how can you protect against so-called "identity theft"

I have a rock that protects against identity theft.

I personally would like to maintain the highest possible credit rating to get the absolute best interest rates.  Yes, the mortgage interest rate you get will depend on your credit score.  The easiest way to game this is to know when certain things drop off your score, like older credit inquiries.  You can back-analyze this, or spend 1 min on creditkarma.  Sometimes I'd like to open a new credit card for the bonus rewards (which can be a few hundred dollars) but I'm not going to do that if my credit is at a point where the new inquiry will bring my credit down, such that I pay a fraction of a percent higher when I take out a mortgage (which would mean thousands over the life of the loan).

Sure, I'd like that level too.  And I have it.  Whenever I apply for a mortgage they tell me my score.  It's always in the tier where nothing higher would help.

If you have mediocre or poor credit, sure, gaming the system and using tricks to raise it may help you.

Like I said though:
Quote
Once I know it's at that level of "good enough" (which I'm sure is the case for many of you posting in this thread) - why would I bother or care?

You personally may not be at the level of "good enough" yet.  But for many reading this thread, I'd bet they are.  So for someone like that, is there any value in maintaining and tracking accounts at multiple sites to manage your credit score?  I haven't heard a reason why one might say yes to that yet.

I know I'm sounding argumentative, but I was just trying to understand. I guess I already did. :)
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
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Another Reader

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #15 on: February 16, 2014, 04:42:35 PM »
You could say it's for the entertainment value of watching poorly written sales algorithms at work, but for me it's for the free identity theft protection.  Mail has been stolen in this neighborhood on several occasions and you never know when your information will be stolen from a hacked website.  Credit Sesame alerted me to two credit inquiries I did not authorize.  Turns out they were inquiries made by Fannie Mae in connection with mortgage sales that were subsequently reclassified as soft inquiries and deleted.  However, I knew about them within 24 hours after they were made.

dragoncar

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #16 on: February 17, 2014, 12:59:57 PM »
How do you know your credit is "good enough?" 

Like I said, tons of offers to give me money showing up in the mail every day, always been accepted for anything I've ever applied for.  I'd call that "good enough."

Credit card companies send offers to basically everyone all the time, and they extend credit to people with mediocre scores, so I wouldn't use that as a baseline of you want good mortgage rates.  It sounds like the real reason you know it's good enough it that you apply for mortgages often enough that you know you are getting good rates and they tell you your score.  To me, applying for a mortgage seems like way more work.

Quote
If not, how can you protect against so-called "identity theft"

I have a rock that protects against identity theft.

Lisa, I'd like to buy your rock... but seriously, I know multiple people who would have had a much easier time if they checked their credit report regularly and caught identity theft early.  Like "what's this new account inquiry about?  Or "why does it say I have a GE auto loan??".  That's purely anecdotal, but again, it takes only a couple minutes.  It's not onerous.

Quote
Sure, I'd like that level too.  And I have it.  Whenever I apply for a mortgage they tell me my score.  It's always in the tier where nothing higher would help.

If you have mediocre or poor credit, sure, gaming the system and using tricks to raise it may help you.

See above... it seems you know you have that level because you've applied for a mortgage.  Some of us haven't, so wouldn't know where we stand without a site like this.  I'm not advocating that you personally use the site, just saying that there are people for whom it makes sense.

Quote
So for someone like that, is there any value in maintaining and tracking accounts at multiple sites to manage your credit score?  I haven't heard a reason why one might say yes to that yet.

Probably not for credit.  Unless they want to open the maximum number of credit cards with "bonus offers" and still maintain, say, a 700 FICO.  Creditsesame can prospectively run those numbers and tell you the impact of opening a new card.  So I see value there if you want to play the bonus offer game.

Probably for identity theft.  I've personally gotten a data breach notification more times than I can remember.  They are very common these days, and often contain enough information to open new accounts in your name.  You can get three free credit reports annually from annualcreditreport.com (real government site with a stupid domain) but that's not any less work than creditkarma, creditsesame, etc.

Why use three sites?  Well they all use different metrics and pull their data from different credit bureaus.  So if (as above) you don't know where you stand, it's better to check more sources and average the numbers.  As I said, it's really not much work.  But I don't really use the other two anymore, now that I know creditkarma is pretty accurate.

Quote
I know I'm sounding argumentative, but I was just trying to understand. I guess I already did. :)

I've already spent more time discussing this topic than I have spent checking my credit report in the past year.  So the idea that checking your credit report is "a lot of work" really needs to be put into perspective :-)

arebelspy

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #17 on: February 17, 2014, 02:25:20 PM »
lol.  Okay, that makes sense dragoncar.

Thanks.  :)
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Can't Wait

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #18 on: February 19, 2014, 11:30:22 AM »
I've had my identity stolen and had new credit accounts opened up in my name. I was able to detect it because I check my credit report quarterly. If you don't check it regularly then something like this could go undetected for a long time. Long enough for a creditor to sue you for non payment on a charge account that you didn't actually sign up for.

These identity theives can sign up for credit cards, bank accounts, utility accounts, give your info to a hospital so that you get sent the bill for their colonoscopy or something...they can do all sorts of things to wreak havor on your credit score and the longer things go undetected, the harder it is to correct.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #19 on: February 19, 2014, 12:03:14 PM »
I use both Credit Karma and Sesame, because that gives me "access" to both Experian and Transunion. Since I already sit down once a month to pay my bills and review a few things, it costs me very little time to briefly check both websites during that time. The additional peace of mind of two free credit alerts for ~3 minutes of my time once a month is more than worth it for me.

The only thing I don't like about credit sesame is how their login form somehow doesn't let my browser remember my password.

It's good, and I've never had a problem getting a mortgage when I want one, and I get a million credit card and loan offers.  Once I know it's at that level of "good enough" (which I'm sure is the case for many of you posting in this thread) - why would I bother or care?
The idea of companies wasting paper and postage for products of dubious value is not something that should be encouraged, IMHO. Without trying to sound preachy, you should consider opting out of the prescreen offers altogether.

dragoncar

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #20 on: February 19, 2014, 12:43:34 PM »

The idea of companies wasting paper and postage for products of dubious value is not something that should be encouraged, IMHO. Without trying to sound preachy, you should consider opting out of the prescreen offers altogether.

I agree.. but for some reason I keep waiting for that one really good offer.  Is that stupid?  I wish they could just send me emails instead of paper.  Or do you think the "online offers" will always be just as good and I should go ahead and opt out? 

I am now worried about the ancient forests, old growth forests, virgin forests, second growth forests, natural forests, high conservation value forests, temperate forests, tropical and sub-tropical forests, and boreal forests.  Maybe I should start wiping my butt with these offers?
« Last Edit: February 19, 2014, 12:45:45 PM by dragoncar »

arebelspy

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #21 on: February 19, 2014, 01:05:07 PM »
It's good, and I've never had a problem getting a mortgage when I want one, and I get a million credit card and loan offers.  Once I know it's at that level of "good enough" (which I'm sure is the case for many of you posting in this thread) - why would I bother or care?
The idea of companies wasting paper and postage for products of dubious value is not something that should be encouraged, IMHO. Without trying to sound preachy, you should consider opting out of the prescreen offers altogether.

Sure, but for now I take advantage of some of the offers.

Got a 0% balance transfer with $0 fee (usually have 3% fee or so, so I don't bother), and went ahead and accepted that for the risk-free arbitrage.

Got an offer for 40,000 miles transferable to any airline that I'm thinking about.

I usually don't bother with this stuff (at least I haven't in the past 3-4 years), but now that the credit markets are loosening the good offers are coming back (such as the no fee balance transfer).

In 2-3 years, when I FIRE, I'll naturally opt out of all that crap.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

Paul der Krake

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Re: Anyone used Credit Sesame?
« Reply #22 on: February 19, 2014, 01:38:14 PM »
The snail mail offers that get delivered to my roommates can usually be found online and sometimes even with better terms. In this area at least, it seems like the shitty offers (450% APR anyone? just call me, I'll hook you up) greatly outnumber the ones from "reputable" companies. Only once have I not been able to find the $200 signup bonus, all I could get online was $100, it was for some specialty AmEx. YMMV.

Coming back to Credit Sesame, I just got a rejection letter in the mail for one of the high end American Express cards. The credit score they got from a hard pull at Experian matched the exact number Credit Sesame has been reporting for the last month.


 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!