Want to check your credit score for free? Good news!
Via Doctor of Credit, Discover just launched Credit Scorecard, giving anyone (not just Discover cardmembers!) FREE access to their Experian FICO score.
Knowing your credit score is important in the hobby of points & miles. I’ll tell you more about Discover’s new service!
Check Your Experian FICO Score for Free With Discover’s New Website
Link: Discover Credit Scorecard
Discover launched their “Credit Scorecard” which gives anyone free access to their Experian FICO score!
You do NOT have to be a Discover cardmember to use the service. You just have to sign-up online.
They’ll ask for things like your name, email, address, and social security number. And then verify your identity with a few questions. It’s a straightforward process!
Along with the free score, you’ll be able to see a breakdown of how your score is calculated and what factors are affecting your score.
Is This Different From Other Sites Offering Free Credit Scores?
Discover is offering folks free FICO scores from Experian, but there are 2 more credit reporting agencies, TransUnion and Equifax.
Different banks pull scores from different bureaus when you apply for new cards, so it’s something to watch for when you sign-up.
There are other credit monitoring sites too, like CreditKarma and Credit Sesame.
Both sites allow you to view your credit data and score. But they provide only an estimate of your score, often referred to as a FAKO score.
FAKO scores are based on information from your credit report, but they use different scoring criteria than FICO. Because they aren’t regulated like FICO scores are.
Lenders use FICO scores when making credit and lending decisions.
CreditKarma estimates your scores with data from Equifax and TransUnion, and Credit Sesame uses information from Experian.Other Ways to Get Your Free FICO Score
AnnualCreditReport.com will give you a free credit report from each credit bureau once every 12 months. But it won’t include your actual FICO score.But there are a number of credit cards offering folks access to free FICO scores from different bureaus.
For example, anyone with a personal card from American Express, like the Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express card or Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express, gets access to their score from Experian.
The Discover it® Cash Back and Discover it® Miles card both come with your TransUnion FICO score.
And the Chase Slate card will show you your Experian score.
The information for the Discover cards has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer
And Citibank cards like the Citi Prestige, Citi ThankYou Premier, and Citi ThankYou Preferred allow cardholders to view their free FICO score from Equifax.
Why Your Credit Score Matters
Want to know how your credit score is calculated and why it matters when you’re applying for credit cards?
Read about why you should apply for cards from different banks. And the factors that affect your credit score.
You can also check out my post on how to boost your credit score!
Bottom Line
Discover’s new “Credit Scorecard” is a great resource that anyone can use to view their free FICO score from Experian. You don’t even have to be a Discover cardmember!
Credit scores are important in the points & miles hobby, because having a higher score improves your likelihood of getting approved for credit. So you can earn more sign-up bonuses!
Just remember, different credit cards offer free FICO scores from the 3 credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian). And credit monitoring sites like CreditKarma and Credit Sesame use FAKO (not FICO!) scores.
Do you use any of these sites or cards to monitor your credit?