Don’t trust credit karma? Here are 3 other ways to get your credit score

Want to see your credit score for free?

Key points

• With over 110 million members, Credit Karma is an online credit service that provides users with their credit score for free.
• Recently, the FTC ordered the company to pay $3 million for misleading consumers with credit card offers.
• There are other ways to get your credit score for free, including Experian, Credit Sesame, and many credit card companies.

Do you use Credit Karma to get your free credit score? Over 110 million members do. Credit Karma is an online credit service that provides real credit scores from two of the major consumer credit bureaus. What’s the catch? Credit Karma lets you monitor your credit information for free, but receives compensation from third-party advertisers and when customers are approved for loans or credit cards through their site.

Unfortunately, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just ordered the company to pay $3 million to its users. The FTC said Credit Karma falsely claimed consumers were “pre-approved” and had a “90% chance of approval” to get them to apply for a credit card. According to the FTC, nearly a third of people who applied for these offers were ultimately turned down and this misrepresentation impacted their credit scores. Credit Karma said it disagreed with the FTC but was managing to avoid disruption. Although Credit Karma, which is owned by Intuit, is one of the most popular free credit score sites, here are three other ways to get your score for free.

Credit Score vs Credit Report

Your credit score is one of the most important financial numbers in your life. Financial institutions use it to determine if you qualify for a loan or a credit card, as well as your interest rate. Your score can also determine how much you pay for your insurance premiums, and many employers and landlords pull your credit as part of the screening process.

Your credit report, on the other hand, lists your bill payment history, loans, current debt, and other financial information. It shows where you worked, lived, and whether you were sued, arrested, or declared bankrupt.

Federal law gives you the right to get a free copy of your credit report every 12 months. Until December 2022, everyone in the United States can get a free credit report each week from all three national credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) at AnnualCreditReport.com. It is important to note that your credit report and your credit score are two different things.

Free credit reports provided by national credit reporting agencies do not include credit scores. Although you are entitled to a free credit report, you are not entitled to a free credit score. To get your score, you can buy it from one of the three major credit reporting agencies or other third-party companies that use one of the credit bureaus. Beware of programs offering “free sheet music” if you sign up. They may offer a free trial period, but they’re usually not really free. Credit Karma was one of the first sites to offer a free credit score. Here are other sites where you can also get a free score.

Experian

Experian is one of the three major credit bureaus. Experian allows you to get your FICO score for free. Checking your credit score is considered an informal request and will not reduce your credit score. If you want your VantageScore, a credit score developed by the three national credit bureaus, you’ll have to pay $7.95.

Sesame Credit

Credit Sesame is a credit and loan company, similar to Credit Karma. You can get your free credit score from TransUnion with a free Credit Sesame account. You can upgrade to a premium Credit Sesame plan to get credit report and credit score information from all three bureaus. Like Credit Karma, Credit Sesame collects a small commission from financial institutions, but only after securing a loan or credit card.

Your credit card company

Your credit card company may provide a free score. The following card issuers do:

In some cases, you don’t need to be a customer to register. You can sign up and receive your weekly Capital One TransUnion credit score reports even if you don’t have a Capital One card. Chase also gives you a free credit score with Chase Credit Journey. It’s free for everyone and you don’t need to have a Chase account. Chase Credit Journey uses Experian’s VantageScore 3.0®. Contact your credit card companies to see if they offer a free credit score.

With so much at stake, it’s important to maintain a good credit rating. Frequently checking your credit score will help you better understand your current financial situation. It can also help you detect any inaccurate information. These three ways to get your score are worth using to monitor your credit to make sure it’s healthy!