Author Topic: How to get FREE credit SCORE?  (Read 8446 times)

kamas

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 102
How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« on: October 30, 2014, 08:51:08 AM »
I got a free credit report from annualcreditreport.com , however, this report does not tell me my "credit score".  The report states that I may request my credit score, but will have to pay for the actual credit score.

So, how exactly do I get to see my credit score?

Another Reader

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5327
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2014, 08:55:04 AM »
Credit scores vary, but you can get a Transunion score from Credit Karma and an Experian score from Credit Sesame for free.  These are not the same as the scores a mortgage lender or auto loan provider will pull, but they give you a decent estimate.  Discover cards offer a free Fico score.

kamas

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 102
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #2 on: October 30, 2014, 09:03:12 AM »
Is FICO score basically similar to the credit score?

Kingomri

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 32
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #3 on: October 30, 2014, 09:41:30 AM »
FICO = Fair Isaac Corporation.

When you hear people talking about your credit score, FICO is the company that provides it. They calculate your credit score based off of the information in your credit report. There are three different bureaus that carry information about you: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax (so you actually have 3 different credit reports - one from each bureau).

To be a true, actual credit score, it has to be a FICO score. Some other sites like Credit Karma and Credit Sesame, as mentioned above, have their own algorithms they use to estimate your credit score based on your credit report, but they are not official FICO scores. As the previous poster mentioned, if you have a credit card issued by Discover or Barclaycard US, you can get a TransUnion FICO from them. The Credit Sesame and Credit Karma scores are close enough to give you a good idea, though I feel like the score Credit Sesame gives me is quite a few points higher than my actual Experian score. YMMV.

Credit scoring is a strange beast. You actually have a lot more than one score, and even more than three scores. FICO has different scoring models based on what you kind of credit you're requesting, and even different models within those sub-categories. You actually have no way of knowing most of these scores other than if you apply for a loan and your lender tells you what score they got. Check out the following link for an interesting overview of what I summarized here: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit/how-many-fico-credit-scores-do-you-have.aspx

taekvideo

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 273
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2014, 09:41:03 PM »
My real score is 100 points higher than the one credit karma told me... so I wouldn't trust it

dividendman

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1901
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2014, 10:02:56 PM »
Not sure where you are, but if you bank at Wells Fargo they'll do it for free until Nov. 16th I think.

seamer

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 18
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2014, 07:15:32 AM »
The Barclay Arrival Card recommended by MMM provides a free credit score, along with automatic updates whenever your score changes. The website is super user friendly for all the card's features.

Future Lazy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 350
  • Age: 31
  • Location: Northglenn, Colorado
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2014, 07:20:18 AM »
My real score is 100 points higher than the one credit karma told me... so I wouldn't trust it

Likewise, my provided credit score through my Capital One credit card is about 50 points higher than the FICO scores I've pulled in the past. But even if it's a little off, it's still a pretty good estimate to go through Credit Karma or Sesame.

But, the best way to find out for real is to pull a FICO score from their website.
http://www.myfico.com/crediteducation/whatsinyourscore.aspx
http://www.myfico.com/Products/Products_Guest.aspx

It's $20 to pull a standard score, and if you're planning a big credit purchase like a house or whatever, it's a good idea to look at it ahead of time and improve areas that look negative. FICO also has forums where you can ask a lot of questions. Their forums are about boosting credit scores and debt management as hardcore as MMM forums are about savings and investing. Check it out!

eyePod

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 963
    • Flipping A Dollar
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2014, 09:22:36 AM »
Can't you pull your score from all of the major players 1 time per year for free?

Future Lazy

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 350
  • Age: 31
  • Location: Northglenn, Colorado
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2014, 10:13:29 AM »
Can't you pull your score from all of the major players 1 time per year for free?

You can pull a report from each one, once a year, for free. A report will tell you how you're doing, show any lates, show your credit limits and your usage etc, mostly to help fight fraud. It's not the same as getting a credit score. Experian/Transunion/Equifax don't generate the score. Scores are calculated lots of different ways by different companies. How Capital One calculates your score will be different from how Discover does, will be different from how Chase Bank does.

A credit card company is going to weight those features of your report differently than a mortgage company might. Where a credit card company might care about your limits and usage, a mortgage company might care a lot more about your late payment history. This means the score generated by the CC company and the mortgage company are going to be different.

sobezen

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 371
  • Age: 894
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2014, 10:35:38 AM »
Right now if you are with Wells Fargo you can get your credit score by going into a branch and getting a code.  The credit score is from Experian.  https://mrm.wellsfargobank.com/freecreditscore/  Otherwise if you don't qualify for this you can also use Credit Karma to get your Transunion score too  https://www.creditkarma.com/  Note these scores aren't 100% accurate just use them as a guideline to help you gauge areas of improvement.  Let us know what you end up doing.  Cheers! :)
« Last Edit: November 06, 2014, 10:39:19 AM by sobezen »

damize

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 102
  • Age: 52
  • Location: Southern California
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2014, 10:41:41 AM »
Mint is offering something..its either a report or score. I can't get there from work, but it's worth checking out.

MicroRN

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1042
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2014, 04:14:40 PM »
If you just need an estimate, sign up for both Credit Karma and Credit Sesame.  They aren't perfectly accurate, but mine have been close.  I checked both before we applied for a mortgage.  CK said 778, CS said 804, actuals were 788-819.  My husband's were similarly close, within 25ish points.   

senecando

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 480
  • Age: 34
  • Location: Madison, Wi
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2014, 04:19:29 PM »
I'm another who has had bad luck with credit karma. The real thing was 50 or 60 points higher. I guess that's good?

eyePod

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 963
    • Flipping A Dollar
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2014, 11:02:30 AM »
I'm another who has had bad luck with credit karma. The real thing was 50 or 60 points higher. I guess that's good?

I guess it's erring on the right side...

BlueHouse

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4136
  • Location: WDC
Re: How to get FREE credit SCORE?
« Reply #15 on: December 28, 2014, 05:22:23 PM »
Discover card is putting FICO scores on the account statements every month now.