Where Can I Get My Free Credit Score?
Updated: May 13
Image Courtesy Penfed
One of the most important questions, when you're thinking about a new credit card or a new installment loan like a mortgage, is your credit score.
The 3 main bureaus to keep in mind are Equifax, Transunion, & Experian, & it's important to get a "FICO" score rather than a "Vantage" score, with many "free" scores being Vantage scores (i.e. Creditkarma).
In rare cases, long-term monthly updated options for free legitimate FICO scores are available to the public where you can check your score every month, such as Experian.com . In most cases though, you'll need either a bank account, a credit union account, or a credit card to get a free FICO score on a monthly basis, as most public "free score" websites use the Vantage score model. Keep in mind that the models can change over time as well, & please let me know if you encounter any of the below that is not up to date at the time you check.
Experian Options
Chase if you have the Chase Slate (& not with other cards where you'll only get the Vantage score)
Experian.com free account (the best Experian option, though every time you sign in they like to ask you if you want to "upgrade" though, which is a paid upgrade)
Wellsfargo.com (if you're an account holder)
Equifax Options
DCU - checking +credit card (both, not either unless you receive direct deposits into your checking) - Equifax Classic Risk Score 2008 (EQ-08).
Huntington Bank (if credit card holder)
Langley Federal (if bank account holder)
Navy Federal (if account holder)
Penfed (if bank account holder)
Transunion Options
Bank of America (if you're an account holder)
Barclays (if you're an account holder)
Discover (if you're an account holder of Discover It or Discover More)
Partners 1st - bank account holders
Walmart Discover card or Walmart credit card
Short Term Options
1 Month Free trial I recommend if going a free trial route or looking to get all 3 scores in 1 place initially without as high concern about long term scores:
Extra Credit by Credit.com (multiple versions of all 3 scores - score on top right tends to be closest to mortgage credit score)
Credit Check Total provides a $1 trial that includes Fico 8 version of all 3 scores at the time of this writing. If you used Extra Credit's free trial months or >1 year ago and need updated scores with no means of getting 1 or all below, it's a decent option as long as you cancel in the trial period (7 days at the time of this writing).
Get Your Free Full Annual Report
If you want to start building your credit, it's helpful to know what your credit scores are. You don't need to pay for this service. You can contact each credit bureau for a free report each year. If you do it this way, it's best to spread out the requests, pulling from one credit bureau first (such as TransUnion), pulling from another credit bureau in 4 months (such as Equifax), and pulling from another credit bureau third (such as Experian). Don't worry about damaging your credit score when you are checking your own credit, as it is only a "soft pull" on your credit score. From this source you will find more accurate scores than any other outside the bureaus since Annual Credit Report pulls directly from the bureaus. You can do it all here.
Vantage Scores to Not Pay Much Attention to
Vantage scores are completely different models than FICO scores and could be different than the score a lender is pulling by 100 points in some cases. You'll see Vantage score talking about how many lenders use it, but if you ask a lender directly, they'll typically not be using a Vantage score. The FICO scoring model is used by around 90% of lenders (I've also read that no mortgage lenders use the Vantage score). It will also give grades on the components of your credit score, and will include tips on how to fix each component. While the information can be good on the following sites, avoid paying much attention to the score on the following though the information on the report can be valuable for helping improve scores:
1st Advantage Credit Union: Vantage Transunion
Amex (Vantage mostly though there are some examples of true FICO scores depending on the account)
Bayport Credit Union - Vantage Transunion
BB&T - Vantage Equifax
Capital One-Vantage Transunion
Chase - Vantage Experian (unless you have the Chase Slate)
Citi (Bankcard 900 max model - details)
Credit.com (VantageScore 3.0 Experian)
Creditkarma - Vantage Equifax/Transunion
Creditkarma used to publish a FICO score before shifting to the Vantage score model, and for a while, even while it prioritized the Vantage score, if you had the right link, a hidden archive of updated FICO scores was available.
First National Bank Omaha - Experian Bankcard Enhanced FICO score 2008 (EX-08 bankcard enhanced, range of 250-900)
Merrick Bank (Transunion 250-900)
Mint.com-Vantage Transunion
Wallethub-Vantage Transunion
More
For more details on many of these options & additional options, see https://www.doctorofcredit.com/free-fico-scores/ which was one of the top sources for the above.