Hard inquiries may have a negative impact on your credit scores. But there's good news: Getting rejected or approved for a card has no impact on your credit scores.
Credit Karma Approval Odds is a benefit offered to users so they can avoid applying for a credit card they aren't likely to qualify for. Whenever you apply for a credit card, it results in a “hard pull” on your credit, which can hurt your credit score.
Checking your free credit scores on Credit Karma doesn't hurt your credit. These credit score checks are known as soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit at all. Hard inquiries (also known as “hard pulls”) generally happen when a lender checks your credit while reviewing your application for a financial product.
If there's a downside to Credit Karma, it's the fact that, yes, they're using your personal credit data to advertise to you. It's no different than Facebook using your likes to serve ads based on your interests.
You can file a dispute with any of the three major consumer credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — that has an inaccurate hard inquiry recorded for you on its corresponding credit report. Credit Karma members can dispute errors on their TransUnion® report through the Credit Karma Direct Dispute™ tool.
Credit Karma touts that it will always be free to the consumers who use its website or mobile app. But how accurate is Credit Karma? In some cases, as seen in an example below, Credit Karma may be off by 20 to 25 points.
A: Credit Karma is a legitimate company; however, for a variety of reasons, its scores may vary greatly from the number your lender will share with you when it checks your credit. We have answers to all your questions about Credit Karma.
A FICO score of 650 is considered fair—better than poor, but less than good. It falls below the national average FICO® Score of 710, and solidly within the fair score range of 580 to 669.
Some lenders report to all three major credit bureaus, but others report to only one or two. Because of this difference in reporting, each of the three credit bureaus may have slightly different credit report information for you and you may see different scores as a result.
Our Verdict: Credit Karma has better credit monitoring and more features, but Experian actually gives you your “real” credit score. Plus it offers the wonderful Experian Boost tool. Since they're both free, it's worth it to get both of them.
FICO credit scores, the industry standard for sizing up credit risk, range from 300 to a perfect 850—with 670 to 739 labeled “good,” 740-799 “very good” and 800 to 850 “exceptional.” A 700 score places you right in the middle of the good range, but still slightly below the average credit score of 711.
Regardless of whether your credit card issuer performs a hard or soft credit check (or both), when you ask for a higher credit limit, the impact those inquiries have on your credit score is typically negligible in the long run.
70% of U.S. consumers' FICO® Scores are higher than 660. What's more, your score of 660 is very close to the Good credit score range of 670-739. With some work, you may be able to reach (and even exceed) that score range, which could mean access to a greater range of credit and loans, at better interest rates.
Credit Karma members will be happy to learn that the company protects users with 128-bit encryption, a dedicated security team, and a bug bounty program. It also promises to never share or sell your personal information to third parties without your consent.
Your score can then differ based on what bureau your credit report is pulled from since they don't all receive the same information about your credit accounts. Secondly, different credit score models (and versions) exist across the board. As it states on its website, Credit Karma uses the VantageScore® 3.0 model.
Your Credit Karma Approval Odds can help you find a card that matches your credit profile, but they don't guarantee approval. Ultimately, the credit card company has the final say.
Although ranges vary depending on the credit scoring model, generally credit scores from 580 to 669 are considered fair; 670 to 739 are considered good; 740 to 799 are considered very good; and 800 and up are considered excellent.
Credit scores can drop due to a variety of reasons, including late or missed payments, changes to your credit utilization rate, a change in your credit mix, closing older accounts (which may shorten your length of credit history overall), or applying for new credit accounts.
You will likely need a credit score of 640 or higher to get approved for a $10,000 personal loan. Most lenders that offer personal loans of $10,000 or more require fair credit or better for approval, along with enough income to afford the monthly payments.
Highlights: Credit scores are three-digit numbers that show an important piece of your financial history. Credit scores help lenders decide whether to grant you credit. The average credit score in the United States is 698, based on VantageScore® data from February 2021.
700 is a good score — and with a little effort, you should be able to find a mortgage lender who will give you a competitive rate and get you into the home you want.
The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma come directly from TransUnion and Equifax, two of the three major consumer credit bureaus. The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those credit bureaus.
Credit Score Range
FICO Scores range from 300 to 850. At first, VantageScore credit scores featured a different numerical scale (501 to 990). However, VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 adopted the same 300 to 850 scale that FICO uses. With both FICO and VantageScore models, higher scores are better.
The credit scores and credit reports you see on Credit Karma come directly from TransUnion and Equifax, two of the three major consumer credit bureaus. They should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus — but they may not match other reports and scores out there.