Big banks are jumping on the bandwagon to provide free credit scores to their customers. The majority are offering FICO scores, the most commonly used measure of creditworthiness among lenders. Citibank says that most of its consumer cardholders can now go online to see their FICO scores. Bank of America says it will provide FICO scores to its consumer card users later this year. Ally Financial is conducting a pilot program to supply FICO scores to its car-loan customers; a full launch is planned for this summer. Those three issuers join Barclaycard, Discover, Pentagon Federal Credit Union and Sallie Mae, which already offer FICO scores.
QUIZ: Will It Sink Your Credit Score?
Depending on your lender, you may be able to see your score on your monthly statement, by logging in to your account online, or by viewing it on a mobile app. Your lender may also include a 12-month history of your score and key factors affecting it. Keep in mind that the scale a lender uses to evaluate your credit profile may differ from the standard FICO range of 300 to 850. Citibank, for example, provides a score based on a scale of 250 to 900.
Not all of the free scores are FICO scores. USAA says that by summer it will provide all its credit card customers with their VantageScore—a score developed by the three major credit agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion). Some sites, such as Mint.com, Credit.com and CreditKarma.com, will also show you free scores from the major credit agencies. Even when scores aren’t the same ones used by your lenders, they are useful indicators of your credit health. And don’t forget to check your credit report. You can get a free look once a year from each of the credit agencies at www.annualcreditreport.com.
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