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Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

Can you help me out here? Right now I just signed up for Credit Check Total which is only a 7 day trail, I feel that 29.95 a month is a little pricey. Can you please justify the price? and who you use

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
LJ555
Valued Member

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

I've used various things over the years, including MyFico.  Currently I use Experian - it's $24.95/mo which is also little pricey but you get all 3 bureaus included once a month, and I like how they break things down for you and show your other FICO scores.  It has been a while since I've subscribed to MyFico but I seem to recall it being about $14/mo - but at that time I wasn't as serious about working on my credit so I don't think I got as much out of it as I could have.  I also use CreditWise through Capital One because it's included, but that's more to compare with what I'm seeing over at Experian.

 

Despite using Experian personally, and being perfectly happy with it, whenever I talk to people I usually recommend MyFico.

Message 2 of 8
Zolomon
Regular Contributor

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

MyFICO. I was on the $30 quarterly updates, but just upgraded to the $40 monthly updates. Totally worth it for me. I would not be where I am today creditwise without myFICO.

 

Out of curiousity, I started with Credit Karma since it was free and was feeling good about my 620. Then through the reviews, I came to find out the difference between a vantage score and FICO. I was pretty upset when myFICO told me I was in the 500s. I stuck with myFICO though, and I've been making progress since.

Personal cards:

Business cards:

Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

I use the myFICO 3b Monthly Report. It's a bit expensive but it provides the most information. I like being able to see what my score is for any of the bureaus using any of the scoring models.

Message 4 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

Many people simply use the $1 trial at Credit Check Total.  They sign up for the trial, get their scores and 3B report, and cancel it -- then do the same thing again.  Repeating once a month seems fairly common, though some people do it every other month or every three months.  This approach (at most $1 per month) is obviously a lot cheaper than $40/month -- the latter adds up to about $500 a year.  (Some people love the $40/mo myFICO product and of course that's fine.)

 

The CCT strategy is typically supplemented with the various tools out there that give free reports. This site (for example) gives you a free report and FICO 8 drawn on Experian data once per month:

 

https://www.creditscore.com/

 

Karma gives you free EQ and TU reports as often as once a week.  WalletHub gives TU reports daily for free.  Etc.

Message 5 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

I don't subscribe. I think it is a waste of money. For me anyway. My credit is doing fantastic (just got approved for an Amazon prime card with the lowest interest) so I, personally, don't have a need. But don't take after me. Popular advice is to closely monitor your credit. Here's the thing. I don't DO anything. There's literally 0 chance of me adversely affecting my credit. Not everybody has the luxury to do this though. You should monitor, and monitor closely. I like CreditCheckTotal. But I have different needs than you. In the end, you have to choose what's best for YOU.

Message 6 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

Listen to this guy (CGID). He's been around a LONG while and knows his stuff!

Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Who do you subscribe to for Credit Checks?

Thanks for that kind word, pal.

 

I forgot to mention that over time our OP will eventually end up with credit cards that give him or her free FICO scores. 

 

It's hard to remember that only a few years ago there was almost no low-cost way to get frequent reports or FICO scores.  That's why so many folks (back then) subscribed to a myFICO product.  In the last three years, however there has been an explosion of freely available scores and reports, which has put pressure on myFICO to come up with some compelling reason for people to buy their product.  Their addition of FICO 9 scores was a good step in that direction, but raising the cost from $300 a year to almost $500 was not.

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