Free Credit Scores From Credit Karma

Kenneth Lin, the CEO of Credit Karma recently e-mailed me regarding their site, obtaining the free credit-score tracking. Credit Karma can be around for awhile, but I had never bothered joining until Kenneth contacted me. I figured that it’s free, so what’s the damage in trying? Setting up your free account was dead easy, and you should be aware that they’ll obtain some fairly sensitive information, together with your social security number (SSN). This should come as no real shock, while they need this info to get into your credit records, but I simply wanted to forewarn you.



The very good news is that they never obtain a debit card number, so there’s absolutely nothing to cancel. Once I had confirmed my e-mail address, I was in. The actual “product” that Credit Karma delivers is fairly simple. It’s a three digit number built to reflect to your credit rating (see below). As I realize it, this isn’t a “real” FICO score, but it's based on real information out of your TransUnion credit score.



They also recently changed their algorithm to generate their scores more much like FICO scores. There’s little to say here. The other point could be that the site is fairly ad-intensive. That’s understandable, however, because they’re offering a reverse phone lookup for free, and so they need to create a buck somehow. The nice thing about it here could be that the ads don’t limit the usability on the site. Indeed, it’s still super easy to find all that you need.







If you’d rather get a real credit history, so you don’t mind needing to call returning to cancel before getting charged, then you certainly should have a look at TrueCredit or MyFICO. Both offer 30-day free trials that provides you use of your credit file and your credit history. See also my earlier article concerning how to get your credit profile for free.