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Credit monitoring is essential for those who want to improve their credit rating. Those who want to advance in their financial lives, such as buying a house or applying for other financial services, need to keep an eye on their credit score. To ensure that identity theft doesn’t come back to haunt you in the future, credit monitoring is a great way to ensure that no other lines of credit are opened in your name. A paper credit report once a year used to be the only way to keep tabs on your credit score, but these days, there are services that will keep track of everything for you automatically, allowing you to check your credit score whenever you want. As you work to improve your credit history, some of the following services are excellent for keeping tabs on your credit score.
Tracking Your Credit Score
If you’re looking for a place to start, the services reviewed here are a great starting point. Should you choose Credit Karma vs SoFi Relay or Credit Karma vs Mint? Keep reading to learn more.
Credit Karma
In terms of credit monitoring, Credit Karma is one of the most well-known names, and one of the oldest. Its main selling point is that it’s free, which sets it apart from other, more advanced services. In general, the user experience is excellent, and it offers suggestions and solutions for any issues you may be having. Its mobile app is easy to use and has a straightforward user interface. However, it has a tendency to divert your attention with recommendations for financial products and does not allow you to import transactions. Even so, Credit Karma has more than 110 million subscribers, making it one of the most popular services out there, and the process of signing up takes just a few minutes.
Credit Sesame
Often mistaken for Credit Karma, Credit Sesame is an alternative service to keep an eye on your credit report. In fact, many articles rounding up credit score monitoring services compare Credit Karma vs Credit Sesame. It offers, for free, basic credit and identity monitoring, and the all-important multifactor authentication for privacy and security of sensitive data, such as TouchID. Identity theft insurance, which costs an additional fee but can reimburse you up to $1 million if your identity is stolen, is also available through this service. Despite this, it has a lengthy sign-up process, limited customer support via an online form, no live chat, and has had problems securing privacy. However, the service is an excellent choice for those who are concerned about their identity being stolen. Other monitoring services do not monitor the dark web for illegal activity involving your identity, but this one does, and it’s usually an additional fee on other services.
Mint
When it comes to credit monitoring, Mint is also one of the oldest services, and provides a wide range of tools. In addition to budget tracking and alerts for large and unusual spending, it provides a wide range of other services. Credit score monitoring is also provided for free. Mint displays all of your accounts’ transactions by line item, as well as providing you with a free credit report. As a result, it is simple to use and set up. There are a few issues with account syncing that necessitate manual intervention every time the user logs into the service, making it a nuisance. However, it is also one of the most user-friendly services on the market.
SoFi Relay
SoFi’s Relay service, which allows a user to link all of their financial accounts, including checking and savings, into a single dashboard that can be accessed through the mobile application, is easy to use for those who already use their banking services. This is a great way to keep track of your spending habits, particularly those that could harm your credit score. As part of the service, you’ll be able to monitor your credit rating and get advice on how to improve it. Using SoFi Relay, you can see how your credit score has changed over time. The service can be set up so that the user gets weekly updates on any changes. Credit monitoring alerts are also available, but they are not as strong as some other services.
Summary
Keeping track of your credit score used to be a mystifying process that required faxing or writing letters to the credit monitoring bureaus, all of which gave you at least one free credit report a year, but which made regular ongoing monitoring difficult. However, with the advent of mobile applications and services, keeping track of your credit score and taking steps to improve it has never been easier. It is not so easy to choose between Credit Karma vs Credit Sesame, Credit Karma vs SoFi Relay, or Credit Karma vs Mint, however, as much depends on the features a user finds the most useful to his own needs. With services such as these, which are free, there really is no reason not to make use of them if you are intending to improve your credit score and improve your finances and eligibility for loans.
FAQ
1. What sorts of documents and information will I need to get started on the services?
Most require proof of identity, such as a driver’s license, your Social Security number, and a few financial-related details.
2. Does checking your credit score affect your score?
These days, it does not, although in the past, multiple checks on your credit score was usually an indication that there was a problem, which might cause some financial institutions to decline an application for a loan. But today, people aren’t as suspicious of you if you check your credit score often as they were in the past.
3. What is considered to be a good credit score?
A credit score of between 306 and 629 is considered bad, while a score between 630 and 689 is considered fair. A score of 690 to 720 is considered good, and anything over 720 is excellent.
Reviewed and edited by Albert Fang.
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Article Title: Credit Karma vs Credit Sesame vs Mint vs SoFi Relay Comparison for Free Credit Score Monitoring
https://fangwallet.com/2022/06/13/credit-karma-vs-credit-sesame-vs-mint-vs-sofi-relay-comparison-for-free-credit-score-monitoring/
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