Credit Karma May Be a Good Tool to Help Monitor Your Credit Score
Smart consumers know their credit score affects their ability to get a loan, their mortgage rates and credit card approvals. So, it’s a good habit to review your credit report and score frequently – not only for accuracy but also to identify ways you could improve your score. A company like Credit Karma can help!
Credit Karma offers free, ongoing access to your credit scores and reports from TransUnion and Equifax. You sign up at creditkarma.com. There is also an App you may download on your phone. You do not have to register a credit card as is often the case with other sites. Once you are a member, you can track your credit as often as you like. This may be helpful to keep a watchful eye for identity theft as well. Credit Karma also provides free online tools and information to help you understand your score. The service also provides personalized tips to improve your score, including how to reduce your credit utilization or improve your on-time payments.
The Bottom Line
Credit Karma is an online personal-finance platform that promises to take the guesswork out of credit. It allows you to monitor your credit reports and scores for free and offers other tools and services based on your profile. The company gets compensated by matching consumers with tailored product ads that are based on their credit profile and the likelihood that they will be approved. The company does not sell the information you share in order to get your credit reports from its site. Instead, its revenues come from tailored, targeted advertising by financial companies on creditkarma.com.
PLEASE NOTE THAT CREDIT KARMA IS JUST A “BALLPARK’ ESTIMATE” of your credit score. Your ACTUAL credit score may vary as much as 30 or more points. The best way to find out your TRUE CREDIT SCORE is to obtain a free credit report from each of the three major credit report companies once every 12 months – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. To obtain a copy, consumers have to apply through AnnualCreditReport.com, the official credit reporting site.
NOTE: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute professional advice from Evergreen Park Schools Federal Credit Union. Please contact your personal attorney or financial adviser with any questions you may have regarding Credit Karma.
