Using Boost lets your streaming, phone and utility payments "count" toward your Experian credit score. Boost scans your bank transactions for the payments, and reports only positive payment info. You must give enough personal data for Experian to access your accounts. Only Experian credit scores will be affected.
Yes, Experian Boost is safe to use. Boost only adds on-time payments to your credit report, so it cannot hurt your credit score.
Should you use Experian Boost? There's no harm in trying Experian Boost. It's completely free, Experian will keep your data safe and you may get a nice credit score increase.
In short—yes, Experian Boost is safe. Experian utilizes read-only access to your bank statement data to find your qualifying payments made to telecom and utility companies. This process is secure, and Experian does not store any consumer bank credentials—it only stores a record of any qualifying on-time payments.
Unlike credit repair companies, Experian Boost is completely free and can increase your credit scores fast. Credit repair may cost you thousands of dollars and only help fix inaccuracies, which you can do yourself for free.
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.
Overall, 85% of thin-file consumers who used Experian Boost saw their FICO® Scores increase. And on average, consumers saw an increase of 19 points.
Experian Boost impacts multiple credit scoring models, so as long as your lender utilizes the most common versions of the FICO® Score and VantageScore®, they will see your boosted credit scores when they request your credit report from Experian.
If you're keeping track of your score through apps like Mint or Credit Karma, you may not see your boost. Mint reports your TransUnion VantageScore™ and Credit Karma reports both your TransUnion and Equifax scores based on VantageScore 3.0.
If you decide you no longer want to use Experian Boost, you can disconnect your bank accounts. This removes your entire payment history for those bills from your report, which means your credit scores could drop.
Some credit cards that use Experian only reportedly include Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Citi Premier Card, among others.
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.
The positive bill payment history can add points to certain credit scores, but people have to link their bank accounts so Boost can scan for those payments.
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.
Credit scores help lenders evaluate whether they want to do business with you. The FICO® Score☉ , which is the most widely used scoring model, falls in a range that goes up to 850. The lowest credit score in this range is 300. But the reality is that almost nobody has a score that low.
Beyond the ability to boost your credit score, Experian Boost provides updates to your Experian credit report and FICO® score every 30 days.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
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.
Best Overall AnnualCreditReport.com
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms that AnnualCreditReport.com is the official website that allows you to access each of your credit reports from all three of the major credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — at no cost.
Auto dealerships use the FICO credit bureau, which stands for Fair Isaac Corporation. They also use the FICO Auto Credit Score, which has a range of 250 to 900. This may mean that an auto dealer has a different credit score for you than the one you see on your personal credit report.
And since Experian Boost doesn't affect your TransUnion or Equifax credit scores, the impact on your creditworthiness could be limited regardless.