November 17th, 2021 | Updated on June 28th, 2022
Credit scores are hugely important if we want to take out a mortgage, a loan, or apply for any other financial help. With a low credit score, you might struggle to do any of this so it’s essential to make sure you know how to keep your score high.
The number for your score will be between 300 and 850 and will be calculated by credit inquiries, payment history, new credit you have, credit usage, and the length of your credit history.
Your credit score will generally be used by lenders and banks to evaluate if you can take out a loan, mortgage, or for any other financial borrowing reasons.
There are only some exceptions that don’t check your credit rating, they are usually only for emergency situations, for example, bad credit loans if you need a top-up to last you until payday.
Be aware that some companies offer credit reports but not credit scores. Bear in mind, you will need to use a credit monitoring website or a credit card company (only some provide this) to find out your credit score.
There are many different software programs you can use to find out your credit score but here are some of the popular ones you can use for completely free…
Credit.com For Monthly Updates
This website provides not just one free credit score, but two. You will need to register on Credit.com to get your Experian score and your Vantage Score 3.0.
Some websites update scores regularly, this particular software updates scores every month. It’s free to sign up for your account and luckily you don’t need to put in the credit card number when you register.
If you are looking for a report as well as your score, you can do this on Credit.com and it will point you in the right direction to improve your credit score.
Credit Karma For Weekly Updates
Credit Karma is a reliable source to find out your credit score for free and it will also provide a report that’s updated weekly. You won’t be missing anything if you use Credit Karma and it’s a bonus that you don’t have to use a credit card when signing up.
Within your credit report, you will get a factors analysis, which pulls the key details out of your credit report and summarizes them. It will give you free information indicating what might affect your credit score and how to improve it.
Credit Card Companies That Provide Scores Including Barclaycard And First Bankcard
Both Barclaycard and First Bankcard provide a free credit card score check for their customers. Barclaycard users get a free FICO score included on their monthly statement that highlights areas that might be affecting their score.
They usually point out the two main factors affecting your score, if there are any at all. Barclaycard also displays a chart enabling you to see how your credit score has changed over time, this will only appear if you have at least 3 months of credit score history.
First Bankcard is similar to Barclaycard, it also offers credit card users a free FICO Bankcard Score 9. Bear in mind, this score is tailored to credit card lending and wouldn’t be used for something like mortgages.
Different scores are used for different purposes. Either way, you will still get a picture of where your credit score stands. Like many other software programs, these banks will update your credit score on a monthly basis.
Overall, it doesn’t matter which software you use to check out your credit score, it’s just important to know it so you can evaluate your financial health.
You can then decide if you need to make improvements anywhere to get your credit score higher or generally look more healthy.
Most people need to do this before applying for a mortgage, for example. Good luck with your finances and raising your credit score if it’s low at the moment.
