There are 3 credit-reporting agencies that lenders will pull your credit report from to check your credit score. It is important to also note that, by law, you are entitled to a free credit report from each of these agencies per year. This report will not be as detailed as the one you will get if you sign up for membership. Also, you will not get the added benefit of daily credit monitoring of your credit report. But, just by knowing what your credit score is will give you an idea of what you need to research and improve on to get a better score.
Credit Reporting Agencies
Equifax
Your Equifax score is on a range from 280 to 850. Equifax offers a wide range of products that come with a monthly fee, but will allow you, or your business, to monitor your credit and be alerted of any unusual activity that is taking place. Membership starts at $14.95/month.
Experian
Experian credit reporting agency will give you your credit score on a range from 330 to 830. They also offer a wide variety of services that you can sign up for on a monthly bases to monitor and be alerted of any changes in your credit report. Membership starts at $15.95/month and you can start a 7 day trial for $1.
TransUnion
Your TransUnion credit score is determined on a scale from 300-850. As with the other 2 reporting agencies you can sign up for products and services that allow you to monitor your credit and be alerted of any changes. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial to receive your TransUnion credit score and after that the cost is $17.95/month.
Remember that you are entitled to a free credit score from each of these agencies per year. Now that you know about the 3 credit reporting agencies, lets see what other options there are in order for you to get your free credit report.
Free Trial Credit Score Options
GoFreeCredit.com
GoFreeCredit.com offers a 7-day trial where you can check your credit score from all three reporting agencies. Along with your trial you will also be able to take advantage of their credit monitoring service, where you will be able to see what changes are being made to your credit and also be alerted if anything unusual happens to your credit report. You are free to cancel anytime during the 7-day trial, after that the cost is $16.95/month. It's important to note that you have to provide them with your credit card information to take advantage of the 7-day free trial.
FreeCreditScore.com
With FreeCreditScore.com you will be able to gain access to your Experian credit score and report. Their site offers a lot of tools and insights into your credit report and has helpful tips and advice on how to improve it. They even have a mobile app that you can put on your phone or tablet to have easy access to your account. In order to get your free credit report you need to sign up for a 7-day trial (by providing your credit card information) and you are free to cancel anytime during that period after you have received your report. If you do not cancel then the cost for membership is $17.99 per month.
ImportantScore.com
As with the other websites that offer a free credit score, ImportantScore.com does the same by allowing you to check your TransUnion credit report for free during the 7-day trial. After you provide your credit card information you will have access to your score. After that period the cost for membership is $$16.95/month and you gain access to monitoring of all 3 of your credit reports and you will be alerted of anything that is suspicious on them.
100% Free Credit Score
Creditkarma.com and Creditsesame.com
Creditkarma.com and CreditSesame.com are both websites where you can go and check your credit score and monitor them as much as you want for free. All you have to do is set up an account and then you will be able to see what your credit score is, get recommendations for how to improve it, and also what will happen if you are planning to take out a loan or open a new credit card. The score you get from these websites is not your official score from any of the credit-reporting agencies, but it is pretty close. And with the ability to check your score as often as you want, for free, they are a both a great option to choose.
Now that you know the different ways to check your credit report and also how to get it for free, you could be well onto your way to an excellent credit score. Remember that your official credit score is the one that is given by one of the three reporting agencies. Also, that these agencies each have their own way of scoring your credit. So there will most likely be differences in them. Just by knowing your score gives you an advantage because there will be no surprises when you go in to apply for a loan or get a new credit card. And by knowing what to improve on will allow you to get your score as high as possible so that you can take advantage of the best offers.
