Bank of America Credit Monitoring

[Anonymous]

I first have to say WOW!  There is soooo much information here that I am still soaking in.  Lurked here forever then recently joined because wife and myself are workign on getting our scores up so we can purchase a home in about 24 months.

That said, does anyone have any experiance with Bank of America Credit Monitoring?  I use them as my bank of choice and noticed that they offer credit monitoring service for (I beleive) $18 a month.  Anyone have thoughts on this.  I want to be able to pull my cores a few times a year to see where I stand.

Thanks and looking forward to being here!

[haulingthescoreup]

You can do a whole lot better with TrueCredit, and probably some of the others as well (CreditSecure, etc.)

The thing to look for is the ability to pull all updated three reports every 24 hours. (Some let you pull multiple times a day.) Ignore their scores and advice!!! ALL of these monitoring services have FAKO scores and advice, and they are completely unrelated to your FICO's.

The best thing about any monitoring service is being able to follow changes in your reports. So you want maximum access for minimal cost. I pay somewhere around $12/month for TC, although the price seems to wander around a bit.

[Candice]

So is the goal of these credit monitoring services to let you know when something changes on your report, so that you can know when to pull FICO to get updated scores?

[smallfry]

If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

[haulingthescoreup]

---

@Candice wrote:
So is the goal of these credit monitoring services to let you know when something changes on your report, so that you can know when to pull FICO to get updated scores?

---

Well, it's probably more likely that they want you to buy your FAKO scores, if they're not already included.

Seriously, it's to keep track of the activity on your credit reports. Some people do it because they're worried about identity theft; others because they are working on their credit and want to see results of their efforts and just know what's going on; some are even fighting collection agencies and seeing when a new one pops up. (Fighting junk debt collectors can be like playing whack-a-gator at the arcade. As soon as you smack one down, two more pop up.)

And in the end, it's a nice additional revenue stream for the companies that offer them.

[Anonymous]

smallfry wrote:

If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

TC is a TU based product, Chase Id also uses the TC engine.

Message Edited by dicej32 on 09-02-2008 01:14 PM

[wmarat]

BOA Privacy Assist has been my first monitoring service, though I paid $12/mos then. It allow to pull once in 3 months and provide FAKO scores. I found it to expencive and cancelled it.

[smallfry]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

@smallfry wrote:

If you want or need to pull daily or a few times per week get ChaseIdentityProtection. 12 bucks each month unlimited updated 24+1 pulls. TC has the nicest and easiest to read layout. Credit Secure is another option for those with AMEX accounts. I would avoid all TU based products. Bank Of America does not update.

TC is a TU based product, Chase Id also uses the TC engine.

Message Edited by dicej32 on 09-02-2008 01:14 PM

---

CIDP is not TU based.

[Anonymous]

Okay so what I am hearing is that the Chase Identity protection is the best out there for me?

Basically I want to keep an eye on my score because I plan on purchasing a home in 18 months or so.

Thanks again

[Anonymous]

Sorry, one more question.  Looking at the chase web site it indicates that it will give me unlimmeted access to my credit score.  Is this an actual number score or just my report?

Thanks