Score change date: When & Where?

[Anonymous]

I am fairly new here, my apologies if this information is already available...

1) Is there a free or cheaper source to check out my score, I do know about CCT, CK i do use for change notifications, (I also use the Discover Scorecard but it only gives out a once monthly update) but is there a more accurate reliable app i can just pop in randlomly to see how i'm doing (sort of like a realistic credit karma is I guess what i'm wishing for).

2) Is there a certain time that scores update? Is it daily, weekly, monthly? 

Been doing some changes to my credit and anxious to see what it is without the $30 per month gouge. Thanks for your help

[Anonymous]

$1 CCT trials are the way to go. 

Your scores will change any time that a change is made to your credit report that impacts score.  If you don't have much going on with your report, your scores won't change very often.  If you do have a lot of things going on like paying down high balances, removing negative items, opening up new accounts, taking inquiries, etc. your scores will change much more often.

As soon as the CRA(s) update the information provided to them, that new information will be used for your next score generated.  For example, if today on your credit report you have a negative item on one account such as a late payment, but your creditor submits information to the CRA(s) to remove it, as soon as the CRA(s) make the adjustment and you pull your score your new score will reflect that change.  CCT $1 trials are great for this, because you can get before/after pulls when you know things are changing.

[Anonymous]

Great thoughtful post by BBS, as usual.

Quick question.  You mention having the Discover Scorecard.  That does not give you access to your EX report.  Have you considered signing up for CreditScore.com?  That would give you both your EX report plus your score.  A nice thing to do would be to sign up for it about two weeks after your last Discover update.  Then you'd get a full EX report each month plus an EX FICO 8 every 15 days..

One thing to consider is to figure out why you want the frequent scoring updates.  If you are just interested in a sense of trends (is my score generally improving?) Karma plus CreditScore.com works fine for that.    The Vantage Scores supplied by Karma are really quite decent as long as you are only comparing them to themselves.  If your EQ Vantage is stable or gradually going up, then your EQ FICO 8 is likely to be doing that too. 

You can periodically double check all scores (Vantage and FICO 8) by pulling the $1 CCT trial at the same time that you pull your Karma.  But such an approach minimizes the need for constantly doing $1 CCT trials.  Double checking all scores could be done quarterly in that case.  Remember you know you plan to be checking Karma frequently anyway for the reports, so there's something to be said for using its scores as well.

And remember, you can always have CCT in your back pocket should your Vantage ever take a big dive.  I.e. if that happens, you can always pull your scores at CCT to see what happened to your FICO 8.

If you want another free tool to check your EX scorecard, you can signup for credit.com.  The scores are not FICO but fine for tracking trends against themselves.  And the credit.com dashboard is a nice summary of your report.  (Unlike Karma it gives an accurate summary of your AAoA.)

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Great thoughtful post by BBS, as usual.

Quick question.  You mention having the Discover Scorecard.  That does not give you access to your EX report.  Have you considered signing up for CreditScore.com?  That would give you both your EX report plus your score.  A nice thing to do would be to sign up for it about two weeks after your last Discover update.  Then you'd get a full EX report each month plus an EX FICO 8 every 15 days..

One thing to consider is to figure out why you want the frequent scoring updates.  If you are just interested in a sense of trends (is my score generally improving?) Karma plus CreditScore.com works fine for that.    The Vantage Scores supplied by Karma are really quite decent as long as you are only comparing them to themselves.  If your EQ Vantage is stable or gradually going up, then your EQ FICO 8 is likely to be doing that too. 

You can periodically double check all scores (Vantage and FICO 8) by pulling the $1 CCT trial at the same time that you pull your Karma.  But such an approach minimizes the need for constantly doing $1 CCT trials.  Double checking all scores could be done quarterly in that case.  Remember you know you plan to be checking Karma frequently anyway for the reports, so there's something to be said for using its scores as well.

And remember, you can always have CCT in your back pocket should your Vantage ever take a big dive.  I.e. if that happens, you can always pull your scores at CCT to see what happened to your FICO 8.

If you want another free tool to check your EX scorecard, you can signup for credit.com.  The scores are not FICO but fine for tracking trends against themselves.  And the credit.com dashboard is a nice summary of your report.  (Unlike Karma it gives an accurate summary of your AAoA.)

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Thank you both, BBS & CGID...

Having a need for frequent updates give me some satisfaction to see my score climb so that I can apply for another substsantial card. My aim is getting to 700 so that I can apply for an AmEx and Discover, then I'll garden. The sooner I can get to this point and then let the aging begin, I'll rest. 

In regards to CreditScore.com, I have not tried them yet, but isn't CCT an entity of EX? I tried CCT a few weeks ago, used the $1 trial, and it took about 4 hours to get through to cancel the membership which I found super annoying.

RE: CK, their scoring system stays generally the same monthly I've noticed. I'ver recently closed 2 accounts that are concerning me, they are not showing up as closed yet per CK, even though I've called the companies to confirm. Just wanted some further reference to make sure in fact they are closed (OpenSky & CreditOne). I really need those accounts to go away, although always on good terms I would like to move on to bigger and better. This subject is now turning into a new thread so I won't elaborate further, just wanted to give you more explanation why I'm paying such close attention 

[Anonymous]

My comments in blue below.

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@Anonymous wrote:

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Thank you both, BBS & CGID...

Having a need for frequent updates give me some satisfaction to see my score climb so that I can apply for another substsantial card. My aim is getting to 700 so that I can apply for an AmEx and Discover, then I'll garden. The sooner I can get to this point and then let the aging begin, I'll rest. 

If it makes you happy then that's fine.  Frequent checking won't make it go up any faster, but you probably know that and it's your decision certainly.

In regards to CreditScore.com, I have not tried them yet, but isn't CCT an entity of EX?

Yes.

I tried CCT a few weeks ago, used the $1 trial, and it took about 4 hours to get through to cancel the membership which I found super annoying.

BBS will probably chime in here.  He's my go to guy for all questions I hear about CCT.  He recommends that people never telephone as a means of cancelling.  Rather he suggests they use email and that they send that email within a few minutes of getting the report and scores.

RE: CK, their scoring system stays generally the same monthly I've noticed. I'ver recently closed 2 accounts that are concerning me, they are not showing up as closed yet per CK, even though I've called the companies to confirm.

CC companies are under no obligation to report a card as closed within days of it being closed.  They might not do so for several weeks and then it could take another week after that for the bureau to update its database.

Just wanted some further reference to make sure in fact they are closed (OpenSky & CreditOne). I really need those accounts to go away, although always on good terms I would like to move on to bigger and better.

Why do you need the accounts to go away?  It sounds like you have done the thing that felt right by closing them, so good for you.  But closing them will not improve your scores.  Indeed, if you had fewer than three cards after closing, then the closing would have hurt your score.  (Looks like you now have three so you may be ok.)

Again, good that you closed them to address your concerns (annual fees, etc.) but your scores won't get better by them reporting as closed.

The best thing you can do to move towards your 700 score is not frequent score checking but paying two of the three cards to $0 and paying the remaining card to a small balance -- and while you do that work on getting the derogs removed. 

This subject is now turning into a new thread so I won't elaborate further, just wanted to give you more explanation why I'm paying such close attention.

No need to respond further if you are finished with this thread.  Just wanted to give you a few more thoughts.  Wish you the very best...

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[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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 I tried CCT a few weeks ago, used the $1 trial, and it took about 4 hours to get through to cancel the membership which I found super annoying.

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What I'd suggest is shooting an email to help at creditchecktotal dot com shortly after starting your trial.  You can do this the same day or the following day.  In your email simply state that you've been having trouble cancelling via the phone, so you're emailing to cancel in writing.  Be sure to provide them with your full name, last 4 of your social, your DOB and your zip code, as those are the pieces of information required to cancel via non-email means.  Within 24 hours or so you should receive a confirmation that your trial membership was cancelled.  If you need any other information don't hesitate to fire away!