Keep An Eye On Your Credit With The Top Credit Monitoring Apps

The average credit score in America is 695 points and the average Vantage score is 673. The Vantage and FICO credit scores are two of the most used credit scoring models in the country.

When it comes to accessing credit and obtaining the lowest interest rate, credit score is the key. The higher the better. Your credit score is one of the most important elements of your financial profile. A healthy credit report and strong credit score can open many financial opportunities.

A favorable payment history, low balances and a good credit mix are all important to maintaining and improving your credit score.

Keeping track of how creditors are reporting your credit activity is equally important. This is where credit score monitoring comes in.

In today’s digital world, credit score monitoring apps make it easy to keep an eye on your credit and quickly respond to erroneous reporting.

The following are the top credit report monitoring apps available:

Credit Karma

Credit Karma offers free credit tracking. The apps provide an in-depth breakdown of the areas that have the most impact on your credit score.

The free service also comes with weekly score and report updates. Credit Karma’s credit report card feature breaks down all the factors that contribute to your credit profile such as the age of open credit lines and credit utilization rates.

Credit Karma shows the Vantage score rating and allows members to track credit scores from Equifax and Transunion. You can manage the settings on notifications to be alerted when there is any change to the report.

Credit Sesame

The Credit Sesame app offers members a peek at their Experian National Equivalency Score ( ENES). The ENES scoring model ranges from 360 to 840 compared to the FICO scoring model ranges of 300 to 850.

By accessing an alternate scoring model credit Sesame can perform “soft” pull inquiries on credit histories. This gives members the ability to keep track of outstanding debt, interest rates and current credit score.

Credit Sesame has a partnership with Lending Club and offers refinancing options to pay off high-interest debt. The service is free with optional paid membership plans.

CreditWise

CreditWise has partnered with Capital One to offer free credit monitoring services. You can sign up for a new account even if you are not a Capital One customer.

Capital One account holders are encouraged to sign up for CreditTracker service. Once signed up, the app will provide a weekly TransUnion credit score update. The CreditWise app also allows members to simulate ways to increase their TransUnion Credit score.

The simulator lets you create different financial choices, like paying off a loan or opening a new line of credit, to see how that decision will affect your credit score. The simulator feature allows the member to test out a variety of financial decisions before a permanent impact is made to the credit profile and score.

Credit.com

Credit.com offers a no cost option to access your Vantage 3.0 score and Experian National Equivalency Score.

The program issues grades, ranging from A+ to F in five areas that affect credit score: debt usage, payment history, account mix, credit age and credit inquiries. Through the use of visual aids, specific action items are given with the goal of improving the members’ credit score.

Credit.com is probably one of the easiest apps to understand. It is nice to watch your credit score improve in real time.

Mint: Money Manager, Budget and Personal Finance

Mint offer free debt management and credit monitoring. The app provides members with a simplified summary of how the credit score can be improved. The information the app uses is provided by Equifax Credit Score, which is a credit platform developed by the Equifax credit bureau.

Bank accounts, investment accounts and credit cards are paired with the Mint account to give a comprehensive view of credit as well as finances.

Experian

Many of the credit score monitoring apps utilize Experian’s credit rating model. It is now possible to go straight to the source and sign up for credit monitoring services with the credit bureau directly through an online profile or phone app.

The service includes monitoring and notification of any changes to the Experian credit profile. Members can access a free Experian credit report that is updated every 30 days.

TransUnion

The TransUnion credit reporting agency also allows credit report access from your smartphone. The platform does not offer a credit monitoring service currently. Much like the FICO scoring model, the TransUnion credit score ranges from 300 to 850.

Keep Track of Your Score

Credit scores are used by creditors to determine creditworthiness before extending an offer. Credit monitoring apps offer a real time snapshot of credit health.

For a more comprehensive view, you should periodically examine information reported by all three credit bureaus. Credit score monitoring apps can help you keep your credit information safe and can protect you from identity theft.

Frequent monitoring will give you an opportunity to identify and address any new accounts or inquiries not authorized by you. Whether you are working on increasing your credit score or simply want to keep track of your credit, a credit score monitoring app can make a huge difference.