CreditKarma.com is a credit score service that allows users to check their credit score and credit report for free. Many people may struggle to believe that they can check their credit score for free, but here’s how Credit Karma actually works:
-Credit Karma provides you with your credit scores and credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax. These are completely free of charge and come complete with weekly updates.
-Credit Karma then makes recommendations to you based on your credit and financial data, recommending financial products (supplied by banks and lenders) that could improve your credit situation.
-If you choose to purchase one of bank’s/lender’s financial products, Credit Karma is paid a fee by the bank/lender for pointing you in their direction.
-Credit Karma makes their money, you get a free credit check, and banks/lenders have a way to offer you their products. Everybody wins!
Your Credit Karma credit scores and reports are updated weekly, meaning you can always stay up to date with your credit status and how certain activities affect your score. Credit Karma also offers a plethora of additional free services to its customers, including:
Free Credit Monitoring
Free credit monitoring means that Credit Karma will send you “credit alerts” if anything suspicious or unusual happens on your TransUnion credit reports. This can help you to spot identity theft and foul play early, putting it to a stop before it gets worse.
Free Financial Tools
Credit Karma provides its users who a whole host of tools designed to aid you and your financial situation. This includes things such as financial calculators and credit score simulators, which allow you to calculate things such as mortgage repayments and loan payments, while also seeing how they may affect your credit score.
Member Reviews
With Credit Karma, you can view TripAdvisor-style member reviews on things such as credit cards, loans, and much more. These impartial reviews from other consumers allow you to make informed and balanced decisions regarding your finances.
Credit Insights
Credit Karma’s insights allow you to learn about what affects your credit in both positive and negative ways, encouraging you to change your financial behavior for the better. You can view data about your hard inquiries, credit utilization, payment history, and much more. Rather than just viewing your credit score, insights allow you to understand why exactly it is that number in the first place.
Educational Articles
Credit Karma’s trusted team of writers regularly contribute to the ‘articles’ section of the website, providing comprehensive and intuitive information about things such as credit cards, APR, balance transfers, and much more.
Credit Karma also has many other free services on offer, including their free tax filing app. “Credit Karma Tax” allows you to e-file your taxes for free, and also makes you aware of any tax credits or tax deductions you may be eligible for, potentially bringing down your overall tax liability.
In addition to their tax filing app, the website also has comparison pages for various financial services such as auto loans, personal loans, student loans, and more. Their comparison pages can be refined with various search criteria, and their results even feature customer reviews. Credit Karma really is the one-stop shop for all your credit and financial concerns.