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.
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.
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.
Credit Karma helps on both counts. It keeps you up to date on that all-important credit score, but it also informs you of potential credit breaches and provides tools that help you find and secure the best credit card, loan, vehicle, and auto insurance deals.
Credit Karma is a popular service that lets its members access their TransUnion and Equifax credit scores and reports completely free. In addition to giving free credit data, Credit Karma also educates its members on the factors that contribute to their score and gives tips for improvement.
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.
At launch, Credit Builder will be primarily available to Credit Karma members in the U.S. with credit scores of 620 or below, who are new to credit or need help building their credit.
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.
In a statement, Credit Karma spokesperson Emily Donohue said, “What our members experience this morning was a technical malfunction that has now been fixed. There is no evidence of a data breach.” Regardless of if it was a data breach or not, the exposure of personal credit information is alarming.
The most accurate credit scores are the latest versions of the FICO Score and VantageScore credit-scoring models: FICO Score 8 and VantageScore 3.0. It is important to check a reputable, accurate credit score because there are more than 1,000 different types of credit scores floating around.
Credit Karma is always free. Credit Karma won't ask you for your credit card number during the registration process or at any other time. We don't ever sell your information. We do get paid through our partners if you get a product through one of our recommendations.
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.
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.
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.
You can get your FICO® Score for free from hundreds of financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, credit card issuers and credit counselors that participate in the FICO® Score Open Access program and offer free scores to customers.
Credit Karma offers free access to TransUnion and Equifax credit data, as well as offering tax preparation assistance, and other services. It makes money by receiving a fee every time a user purchases a product or service it recommends. Credit Karma is a fintech startup focusing on providing credit information.
In order to confirm your identity, you will need to confirm your full Social Security Number to open a Credit Karma Money Spend or Save account. Your full SSN is required to be collected under the Customer Identification Program (CIP) of the USA PATRIOT Act when opening a new savings account.
We're happy to announce Intuit has acquired Credit Karma! Credit Karma will retain its distinct brand, culture and autonomy, led by Founder and CEO Ken Lin, as an independent Intuit entity. See more details in the Press Release.
Credit Karma uses two of the three major credit bureaus and scores your creditworthiness according to the widely used (but not quite as widely used as FICO) VantageScore system. 6 Your score should be within the same range it is everywhere else, including with the major credit bureaus and its many competitors.
Consequently, when lenders check your FICO credit score, whether based on credit report data from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, they will likely use the FICO 8 scoring model. FICO 8 scores range between 300 and 850. A FICO score of at least 700 is considered a good score.