Don’t Miss Out On Your Free Credit Score

Everyone loves something for free! However, it is only natural to wonder, ‘What is the catch?’ or ‘How much is this really going to cost me?’.

I once was given a free ticket to a luxury box at an Alabama football game by someone looking for investors. At halftime, the host asked each of us to invest 50k into his dream. A couple of people ended up investing, so my ticket wasn’t really free, it cost three of those guys $150,000. So when people tell me that I can get a ‘Free Credit Score‘, I am, understandably, skeptical.

But here’s the thing… in most cases, you are already indirectly paying for the free credit scores I’m going to discuss as part of your member services. 

Here are some of the best ways to get a ‘free credit score’ at no additional cost to you.

Start With Your Credit Card Company

A great place to get a free credit score is from your credit card company. Many credit card companies will offer you a monthly updated credit score from one of the three major credit bureaus as part of your member services. The major credit card companies have their own proprietary free credit score platforms that offer varying degrees of credit report and credit building advice. These free credit scores tend to be a safe place to access your information with no strings attached and without harming your credit.

Get A Free Credit Score From Your Bank

Just like your credit card company, your bank will probably also offer you a free credit score. Standard member services now tend to include a free credit score that you can access from your computer or a mobile app. This is a great place to get your score because you don’t have to give them any additional personal information, and regularly checking your score doesn’t hurt it. 

A Lesser-Known Way To Get Your Credit Score For Free

I like to think of this method of obtaining a credit score as the making lemonade out of lemons strategy. Have you ever been declined for credit online, in person, or on the phone? If you have, then you know… a few days later, you are even further humiliated by a letter from the company declining you in writing for a second time. But in that letter contains a treasure trove of free information about why you were declined and a FREE CREDIT SCORE!

Look, I get it, this is not the #1 way anyone wants to get a free credit score but when you’re given lemons, make lemonade.

Other Free Credit Score Tricks

If you have purchased ID Protection Services or Credit Monitoring Services, these usually include a free credit score. My FICO’s credit monitoring services and ID protection also includes your FICO score for all three of the major credit bureaus. It is not uncommon for these types of services to include multiple free credit scores with a paid account.

Another but more dubious way to get a free credit score is through third-party sites, like, Credit Karma, Nerd Wallet, or Credit Sesame. These sites will provide you with a free credit score but must provide them with your personal information, and you will be relentlessly marketed to when you are on their website and in your email box. They will also usually provide a slimmed-down credit monitoring service for at least one of the three credit bureaus once you sign up.

Knowing your credit score is extremely important as you navigate through your finances. There really isn’t much of an excuse for you to not know with so many free options out there.