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I would like make a post regarding where one can obtain free monthly FICO scores and keep track for those who don't already know.
Here are the EIGHT (current as of 10/20 - Citi announcement for January) places that I know of. Please leave a comment if you know anywhere else.
1. Walmart Credit Card
There are two cards but either one works.
TU FICO 08 Classic (300-850)
http://www.walmart.com/cp/Walmart-Credit-Card/632402
2. Merrick Credit Card
There are two cards but either one works. Need to set up paperless statements to receive free FICO scores.
TU FICO 08 Bankcard (250-900)
http://www.merrickbank.com/Credit-Products/
3. FNBO Credit Card
Update: they have now restricted access to Nebraska and surrounding states from a user report - this is no longer generally available
There are several different cards. AFAIK, some of them offer free FICO right now and some will start offering next year.
EX FICO 08 Bankcard (250-900)
https://www.firstnational.com/site/personal/credit-card/
4. DCU Checking + Direct Deposit or Credit Card
Must have either [Checking Acocunt + Direct Deposit + ] OR [Checking Acount + Credit Card]. Must be a member.
Update: You no longer needs a credit card with them; just a checking account will do.
EQ FICO 04 Classic (300-850)
https://www.dcu.org/personal-banking/checking-choices.html
5. PSECU Credit Card
Need to be a Pennsylvania resident to join
EX FICO Risk Model v2 (98) (300-850)
6. Barclay's Credit Card
The service just started. Don't know if it will be monthly yet.
TU FICO 08 Classic (300-850) (same as Walmart's)
http://www.aboutbarclaycardus.com/prodsresource_products.php
7. Discover Credit Card
The official announcement was just made for the free monthly FICO score from TU.
TU FICO 08 Classic (300-850) (Same as Walmart's and Barclay's)
https://www.discover.com/credit-cards/member-benefits/fico-credit-score.html?SCMPGN=va_dcp_fico
8. Penfed - Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Membership with active checking account
Equifax Pinnacle (NextGen 150-950) uncertain if 1.0 or 2.0
http://blog.penfed.org/your-fico-score/
In addition to that, you can of course purchase your FICO scores from MyFICO.com.
TU FICO 8 Classic (300-850)
EQ FICO 8 Classic (300-850)
EX FICO 8 Classic (300-850)
Personally, I would go with DCU and either Walmart or Barclay's to get the two most important scores (FICO 04 Classic and FICO 08 Classic).
EDIT: I've recently discovered some more ways of getting free FICO scores.
1. Capital One CLI. It is all SP. Request a CLI and if they deny you, they will send you a letter with your EQ 04 Classic on it. If they approve, you can ask for another CLI immediately afterwards and it will be an automatic decline with your FICO score.
2. Apply for a loan at Lending Club. All SP as well. If they deny you, they give you what appears to be your TU 08 FICO score. You can try to be declined by requesting the maximum loan amount and putting down very low income.
Below is a summary chart. Hope this helps. --NOTE: the summary chart is out of date currently as of 10/20/14. --Rev
To add, some of these score ranges are not precise for the FICO '04 and earlier models as it's not possible to max the scorecard.
Does anyone know if FNBO is prime only? I am 23 post chapter 7 discharged. 690+ FICO across the board, 40K CL with a 2 % utilization.
Do I have a chance for a credit card to get the free Experian FICO? Thank you for any input.
@penguin11 wrote:Does anyone know if FNBO is prime only? I am 23 post chapter 7 discharged. 690+ FICO across the board, 40K CL with a 2 % utilization.
Do I have a chance for a credit card to get the free Experian FICO? Thank you for any input.
I do not yet have an account with FNBO but sounds like you have a shot at getting their CC.
I think it largely depends on which score FNBO pulls because the scores can vary a lot depending on version especially if you have a relatively short history.
I have a short history with AAoA at 9 months. My FICO scores were off by more than 70 points on the same week.
Capital one rejected me because the EQ FICO 04 they pulled was 681.
Amex and Fidelity accepted me because the TU FICO 08 they pulled was 750+
Also, keep in mind that the EX FICO 08 Bankcard that FNBO gives is not the Classic score most people are familiar with. It is a Bankcard Enhanced score that ranges from 250-900. AFAIK though, Chase always uses Bankcard Enhanced FICO scores and never the Classic scores on their CC apps. At least that was the case for me anyways and I had a lot of apps with them.. more than any other lender.
good information...
Good information. Thank you.
Are we certain that Capital One always does SP for CLI requests?
A CLI request may be a hard pull, which will ding your score a bit.
Beyond that, the score you get may be proprietary, or one of the FICO variants, and thus not very useful.
One of my CCs uses a scoring model with a 150-950 range.
Glad I'm not the only one who was doing that with Capital One.
And yeah, Capital One is a soft pull:
"Will a request for a credit line increase affect my credit score?
When you request a credit line increase online or in our automated phone system, our review to determine your eligibility will not impact your credit score. To check your eligibility for an increase, we use the information that we normally receive from the credit bureaus each month. This does not generate an additional inquiry."
I wasn't 100% sure it was FICO and if so what version though - it's not totally clear in the letter, if I remember right.
Also, it kind of lags - I checked in April and it had a February pull. Clearly they aren't doing a new inquiry.
@gh17 wrote:Glad I'm not the only one who was doing that with Capital One.
Am curious, but why when you have a freebie monthly TU '08 pull in your siggy anyway and it isn't hard to establish other freebie ones without doing something that likely is going to get noticed eventually by the lender in question?
Capital One said me online today that a request of credit limit increment in a credit card online or by phone will not be a hard inquiry never. It is a surprise for me.