There are two different ongoing monitoring services from FICO: the quarterly TU service that you got an e-mail on, and EQ Scorewatch. Click on the Products tab at the top left of your screen and you can compare.
For EQ Scorewatch, the price pays for 2 EQ scores and reports --one you get immediately, and the second you choose. It periodically checks your reports and sends you alerts if things change that might affect your credit scores (usually.) When you do get an alert, if you want to pull an EQ score report (other than the ones that come with the deal), the price is discounted.
For the TU quarterly monitoring product, you are paying for a 4 TU reports, available every quarter. It checks weekly for things like changes of address --demographic info that might indicate that someone is trying to steal your ID. When it pulls your score each quarter, you get graphs and whatnot showing changes in your scores and reports. But in between these quarterly pulls, it does not look for changes that might affect your credit scores, as the EQ product does.
My preference is TrueCredit for monitoring reports frequently, and paying for scores when it looks like it's time. I'm hoping to get to where I only pull quarterly! LOL Right now I have a lot of stuff going on, and very little patience and self-control, so I'm not there yet. I also have Scorewatch. Too much money, yes, but I screwed up my credit with stupid decisions and inaction, and to me, this is worthwhile for now.
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
