Best credit monitoring service?

[Anonymous]

Not sure if this is the right topic for this but here it goes...
I currently use Credit Karma to check my credit reports and scores. However it only has two of my three scores and updates every week or so. I’m looking for something that updates daily, shows all three scores and is maybe just a better service/site overall. Having an app on my phone would be preferred but not a deal breaker. Any suggestions?
Free is best but willing to pay if worth it. The cheaper the better, of course.
Thanks!

[Medic981]

Unfortunately, there is no end all be all credit monitoring service or app. No credit monitoring service that I know of updates your FICO scores daily as FICO scores do not necessarily change daily. 

CK is good for credit monitoring and checking your TU and EQ , however, the credit scores are VantageScores and for the most part are worthless and do not include EX. CK exists to tout credit products which is why it is free and does not provide FICO scores.

myFICO, which I subscribe to, has a great app and ok monitoring however it is pricey at $30 a month. FICO scores are updated as they change however it is not instantaneous nor is it daily.

CreditCheckTotal (CCT) has a great $1 free trial, that I use and abuse about once a week, just be sure to cancel the trial before seven days are up or you will be charged for a nonrefundable months subscription. You get your current FICO scores and current credit bureau reports each time you renew your trial. The downside is that CCT has no app.

I have a multitude of credit monitoring apps and if there is a change on my CR one of them will typically alert me within minutes, such as a hard inquiry. 

Welcome to your obsession with your credit and join the club.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for nothing!  Haha. Seriously though, I was hoping for a silver bullet, best in class solution. Sounds like there isn’t one.

If I’m willing to pay $20/month or so, in order to not have to create new email accounts every week to get free trials, any suggestions?  Like Experian has one I think. 

And yes, I’m becoming obsessed. Need updates by the minute!!  Lol. 

Anyway, thanks for the input. 

[Medic981]

With CCT there is no need to create new email accounts. Just cancel your free trial and when the seven day period ends, log back on and, voila, you are eligible for another free trial. 

[Anonymous]

Perfect!  That’s not too bad then. Just did it (and immediately canceled!) and of course my scores are worse than Credit Karma led me to believe. Ugh!!!

[Medic981]

That is interesting, my CK scores are worse than my FICO scores. Go figure!

[Anonymous]

Perfect example above on how VS 3.0 has no bearing on FICO scores and vice-versa.  Always ignore non-FICO scores.

OP, at least you know your 3 FICO 8 scores now.  Check out the reports provided by CCT and look for your areas of opportunity.  Whenever you feel you've addressed one or two, feel free to do another $1 trial and see how the change(s) impact your scores.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Perfect!  That’s not too bad then. Just did it (and immediately canceled!) and of course my scores are worse than Credit Karma led me to believe. Ugh!!!

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Your CK scores are unlikely to be used by any lender apps. It is certainly possible to find some credit card apps which might use VS 3.0 but the vast majority of applications will use FICO scores.

You can certainly play the game a few times a month to abuse CCT, or you can sign up for the monitoring on MyFICO and get updates automatically, soon after the day your score changes. Depending on how many credit card accounts you have, your MF updates could be quiet ( 3 cards probably sees 6 to 9 updates throughout a month) or much more active (my ~23 credit card accounts generate multiple "updates" on most days of the month ).

The advantage with the MyFICO subscription is, you get a quarterly report that shows all your variations for FICO scores, including legacy CC scores, Mortgage, and Auto lending score variations.

You get what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

The best choice for a credit monitoring service (CMS) depends largely on what credit needs you may have in the next few years.  Most importantly, do you think you will buy a house in the next three years?  If so, when?  (Best guess.)

[Anonymous]

Nope on house.  My main concern for near and intermediate term is credit cards.  In about two years it will be auto loan/lease.

I'm hooked on the convenience and simplicity of apartment living and doubt I'll ever buy a home again.