"You are about to discover what 99% of people don't know about Credit Reports and Credit Scores...."
Most people confuse official "FICO Credit Scores" with "Credit Scores" that are usually advertised for sale by many companies. This is done on purpose by a number of vendors to confuse you. (if they were not trying to confuse you, why would they use the same exact same numbering system as the FICO Credit Scoring system?)
Remember this - only MyFico.Com and Equifax.Com sell official "FICO Credit Scores", the scores 90% of all lenders use - directly to consumers. These are the only Credit Scores you should care about. (and pay for)
For this reason, we recommend you only use MyFico.Com or Equifax.Com. to get your current Credit Reports and FICO Credit Scores, so you know exactly how lenders see you and you will never get surprised by your real Credit Scores when banks and other financial companies ask for your FICO Credit Score.
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View Your 3 Credit Reports and FICO Credit Score - Free!Order Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring - Free for 30 days and see:($14.95/Month after 30 days - Cancel Anytime)
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The Good:
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First 30 Days Free with FICO Score - Your first 30 days are free, and because you can cancel anytime. You can then keep your Three Credit Reports and FICO Credit Score - for Free.
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3 in 1 Credit Report - See Your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion Credit Reports. (See Sample) It's easy to read and viewable instantly online.
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Real FICO Credit Score - Your actual FICO Credit Score. (Not estimated Credit Scores provided by most Credit Report vendors)
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Credit Monitoring - Your 3-in-1 Monitoring makes it easy for you to monitor all 3 of your nationwide credit reports by alerting you within 24 hours of key changes:
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Toll-free access to Fraud and Credit Education Specialists - Available to assist with any your concerns.
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Credit Analyzer and Online Tools - Credit tips and tools to help you understand your credit rating:
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Identity Theft Protection Insurance - Up to $25K in insurance in case your ID is stolen.
The Bad:
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Only one FICO Credit Score - We would have like to seen all three FICO Credit Scores offered with this package, however you only get your FICO Credit Score based on your Equifax Credit Report, althouh you will see all 3 Credit Reports.
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More expensive than MyFico.Com ScoreWatch - Even though Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring has a lot more features than the competition, we still would have liked this service to be slightly cheaper. However with the first 30 days free, you can always cancel.
The Bottom Line:
Our Take: We think Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring Service is a great deal because you get Free 3-in-1 Credit Report and FICO Score. (All 3 Credit Agencies - Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union) Most Credit Monitoring products only give you a one agency Credit Report. Another great benefit is that you get great tools that help you can do to improve your Credit Score, personalized just for your unique credit situation. You also get your actual FICO Credit Score, most Credit Report Vendors only give you your estimated Credit Scores - which can differ from your real FICO Scores that most lenders use.
Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring Service also gives you the first 30 days free. You can cancel within the 30 days an not be charged. After 30 days you cost is $14.95 /Month for all the great features including Unlimited Equifax Credit Reports, 3 Credit Agency Monitoring, and ID Theft Insurance.
You will also get a toll free number for any questions about the service. You can also cancel anytime without any further obligations, so there is no risk in the case that you are not happy with the service.
Learn More About Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring Service >>
MyFico.Com ScoreWatch - Second Place >>
- Credit Report -
- Toll-free access to Fraud and Credit Education Specialists
Credit Analyzer and Online Tools
Our Take: We think MyFico.Com ScoreWatch is a great deal because you get your Equifax Credit Report and FICO Score. Another great benefit is that you get great tools that help you can do to improve your Credit Score, personalized just for your unique credit situation. You also get your actual FICO Credit Score, most Credit Report Vendors only give you your estimated Credit Scores - which can differ from your real FICO Scores that most lenders use.
that way you can try the service on a month to month basis without having pay for the whole year upfront.MyFico.Com ScoreWatch is also the cheapest solution ($8.99/ Month) out of all the major products we compared, and it includes your actual FICO Score! Many products charge much more per month and include an "Estimated Credit Score" instead.
You also get credit monitoring, so after you run you initial Credit Report you can see changes to your report on a weekly basis. These changes include anything that has affecting your credit report, and you get an updated FICO Score based on those changes. For example, if you found inaccurate information on your Credit Report, and disputed it and got it removed, you would get an alert from MyFico.Com that the item was removed AND get your new updated FICO Score.
When you sign up, you get one free Credit Report right away, and another during the year. Because you are getting alerts to changes weekly there is no reason to pay for new reports every month.
The only negative is that MyFico.Com ScoreWatch does not come with ID Theft Insurance. Although we would have liked to have seen this as part of the package, we don't think it's that important to pay much more money per month for. If you want a more complete package, you should get Equifax Gold Credit Monitoring Service.
Definitions of Terms Used:
Free Trial Days - Number of days of free access before monthly fee gets charged
Number of Credit Reports - There are three main Credit Reporting agencies, this tells you how many Credit Reports you will see
Number of Credit Scores - Since there are three Credit Agencies, you also have unique Credit Scores from each Credit Reporting agency.
True "FICO" Credit Scores - FICO Credit Scores are used by 90% of all lenders and was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. You can only get your FICO Credit Scores from either MyFico.com or Equifax. All other Credit Scores are only estimates of your actual FICO Scores.
Identity Theft Coverage - This is how much insurance protection you will receive in case you become a victim of ID theft while using Credit Monitoring service.
Unlimited Credit Reports and Scores Monthly - Some Credit Monitoring Agencies allow you to run your Credit Report as much as you want to.
Credit Monitoring - This is service which looks at your Credit Report every business day and alerts you of anything new that may have been added or changed. For example new credit cards being opened, late pays, etc.
Credit Monitoring Agencies - Since there are three Credit Agencies, it is best to get credit monitoring that covers all three agencies. This will alert if anything is affecting your Credit Report
