How to safely check my credit score

Q: What is the most secure way to check your credit score?

Three major credit reporting agencies provide credit reports: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. 123 These may be the safest routes to obtaining your credit history, which ultimately affects your personal credit score.

Q: How can I check my credit score without damaging it?

Check Your Credit Report One Time a Year AnnualCreditReport.com the website to visit to gain access to your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports one time every year. This is a free service. It does not hurt your score. Try to check one report every four months for accuracy.

Q: Is it safe to check your credit score?

Good news: Credit scores arent impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.

You actually have more than one credit score. Credit scores are calculated based on the information in your credit reports. If the information about you in the credit reports of the three large consumer reporting companies is different, your credit score from each of the companies will be different. Lenders also use slightly different credit scores for different types of loans.

Table of Contents Show

How to check your credit score
What are the different ranges of credit scores?
Credit score ranges
What factors affect your credit score?
What hurts your credit score?
What is the most secure way to check your credit score?
How can I check my credit score without damaging it?
Is it safe to check your credit score?
How do I check my credit score myself?

There are four main ways to get a credit score:

Check your credit card or other loan statement. Many major credit card companies and some auto loan companies have begun to provide credit scores for all their customers on a monthly basis. The score is usually listed on your monthly statement, or can be found by logging in to your account online.

Talk to a non-profit counselor. Non-profit credit counselors and HUD-approved housing counselors can often provide you with a free credit report and score and help you review them.

Use a credit score service. Many services and websites advertise a “free credit score.” Some sites may be funded through advertising and not charge a fee. Other sites may require that you sign up for a credit monitoring service with a monthly subscription fee in order to get your “free” score. These services are often advertised as “free” trials, but if you don’t cancel within the specified period (often as short as one week), you could be on the hook for a monthly fee. Before you sign up to try one of these services, be sure you know what you are signing up for and how much it really costs.

Buy a score. You can buy a score directly from the credit reporting companies. You can buy your FICO credit score at myfico.com . Other services may also offer scores for purchase. If you decide to purchase a credit score, you are not required to purchase credit protection, identity theft monitoring, or other services that may be offered at the same time.

Some credit score sources provide an "educational" credit score, instead of a score that a lender would use. The CFPB published a report on the differences between educational scores and those used by lenders . For most people, an educational score will be close to the scores lenders use and can be helpful for consumers. But the scores can be quite different for some. Our report found a meaningful difference for one out of four people. When choosing where to get your credit score, find out what kind of score it is.

TIP

Always get and review your credit reports, which you can do at no cost to you at www.AnnualCreditReport.com . Your credit scores are calculated based on the information in your credit reports. If there are errors on your credit reports, they can reduce your scores unnecessarily.

TIP

If you are shopping for a mortgage, knowing one of your credit scores can help you find out the range of mortgage rates you can expect.

We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms.

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money

Updated on: November 9, 2022 / 11:17 AM / CBS News

It's important to understand your credit score, what it means and what factors influence it. Peter Dazeley / Getty Images

The power of credit can't be ignored. With a strong credit score, you will have an easier (and financially beneficial) time applying for a mortgage or student loan. Employers, insurers and landlords may also refer to your credit score as they evaluate you.

When you first open a credit card, you'll soon receive a credit score and report associated with your name. You can even get a credit score without owning a credit card at all. If you've ever taken out a loan or had bills, chances are you probably have one. The question then is: Do you know what your credit score is?

You should be aware of your current standing. Here's a fast and easy way to check your credit score now.

How to check your credit score

There are at least four ways to check your credit score, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

Check your bank, credit card or loan statement. Many financial institutions offer free credit scores for their customers. You can often find your score on your monthly statement or by logging into your account online. You may need to opt into the service to receive your scores.
Use a free credit score service. Make sure you understand a company's terms before signing up for its credit score service. While some scoring services offer free credit scores, others provide scores only to customers who pay monthly fees for their credit monitoring services.
Buy credit scores from a credit bureau or other provider. You can purchase credit scores from one of the three major credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. Your scores are also available through other paid providers, such as FICO and VantageScore.
Consult a non-profit counselor. Credit counselors can often give you your credit report and score for free and review the details with you. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling is a valuable resource for finding a credit counselor in your area.

It's important to closely check your reports for any errors or inaccuracies. A poor credit report will hurt your overall score. See if anything is negatively impacting your credit score when getting a free report from Experian today.

What are the different ranges of credit scores?

When you receive your credit score, keep in mind that there are numerous credit scoring models, and you likely have multiple credit scores. Your credit score may vary depending on the site or bureau.

FICO and VantageScore are two widely used scoring models, but these scores break down even further. According to Debt.com, there are at least 16 different FICO credit scores and many of them are industry-specific.

Try not to pay too much attention to the exact credit score number. Instead, focus on the credit range your score falls in, as that lets you know where your credit stands and if it is poor, fair, good, very good or exceptional.

A good FICO score is between 670 and 739, while a good VantageScore falls between 720 to 780. Conversely, a FICO credit score is considered fair or bad if it falls below 670. Along these lines, a VantageScore between 658 and 719 is fair, and scores of 600 or lower are considered either poor or very poor.

Here's a breakdown to better compare the two:

Credit score ranges

FICO

Poor: <580
Fair: 580-669
Good: 670-739
Very Good: 740-799
Exceptional: 800+

VantageScore

Very Poor: 300-600
Poor: 601-657
Fair: 658-719
Good: 720-780
Excellent: 781-850

Generally, if your credit score is good or better, you stand a better chance of qualifying for credit products with favorable interest rates and terms. Lower scores typically make it harder to qualify for loans and credit cards and you'll likely pay higher interest rates. As such, you could add up to paying thousands more in debt over your lifetime.

If your credit is below-average, consider taking steps to repair your credit before applying for new credit.

What factors affect your credit score?

When you get your credit score, you should also see a list with up to five factors impacting your credit score.

Payment history: 35% of your credit score
Amounts owed: 30% of your credit score
Length of credit history: 15% of your credit score
Mix of credit types: 10% of your credit score
New credit: 10% of your credit score

What hurts your credit score?

As you can see from the scoring factors above, some aspects of your credit history can significantly affect your credit score. The elements that hurt your credit the most are:

Late or missing payments: Making on-time payments is one of the best credit habits you can follow since your payment history makes up the most significant percentage of your credit score. According to FICO, missing even one payment can cause your credit score to plunge up to 180 points, depending on how long the payment is late and your credit history.
High debt balances: Your credit utilization percentage - the amount of available credit you're using - accounts for up to 30% of your credit score. A rule of thumb is to keep your credit utilization rate under 30%. The lower, the better.
Negative account information: Certain information in your credit report can severely impact your credit score for years. Bankruptcies, foreclosures, repossessions, charge-offs and settled accounts are examples of negative account information that could remain on your credit report for up to seven years or longer.

Thanks for reading CBS NEWS.

Create your free account or log in
for more features.

Please enter email address to continue

Please enter valid email address to continue

What is the most secure way to check your credit score?

Three major credit reporting agencies provide credit reports: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. 123 These may be the safest routes to obtaining your credit history, which ultimately affects your personal credit score.

How can I check my credit score without damaging it?

Check Your Credit Report One Time a Year AnnualCreditReport.com the website to visit to gain access to your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion credit reports one time every year. This is a free service. It does not hurt your score. Try to check one report every four months for accuracy.

Is it safe to check your credit score?

Good news: Credit scores aren't impacted by checking your own credit reports or credit scores. In fact, regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is an important way to ensure your personal and account information is correct, and may help detect signs of potential identity theft.