You can already get 3 free credit reports a year, but getting free credit scores hasn’t always been easy.
Speaking of the 3 free credit reports, I was talking it over with Ungsunghero and Derek and it appears they’re both smarter than me about it. Every year I would get all 3 of my credit reports at the same time to see if there’s any problems in any one of the credit bureaus, but the real smart way to do it is to get them separately. That way you can get updated credit reports every 4 months instead of once a year. I now have appointments scheduled in Outlook to remind me to get my credit reports from a particular credit bureau every 4 months.
Anyway, back to the free monthly credit score. WaMu (Washington Mutual) has been offer credit cards that come with free monthly credit score updates as a bonus feature if you have their card. The feature’s rather nice and doesn’t have any fees or require any monthly purchases. Once you log in and click on “FICO Credit Score”, you’ll be shown your score along with other data such as Accounts, Open Accounts, Closed Accounts, Inquiries, Derogatory Items, Delinquencies, and Total Revolving Balances. You can also see the history of your credit score for up to a year.
You can apply for the WaMu Platinum MasterCard online.
I have actually tried applying for this card for a total of 3x, being rejected twice initially. They always mail me a postcard apologizing for rejecting my application and that if I had any questions, to contact them. However since I never really needed the credit card, it wasn’t one of my priorities to get this straightened out. However, I decided I really wanted to see what my credit score was and called up WaMu and asked them why I was rejected. Unfortunately my previous request was over 60 days old so no information is available. I went ahead and reapplied and this time I was instantaneously accepted. No idea why, but I’m not complaining.
One thing I do dislike about their website is the fact that they’re like American Express and limits your password to be 6-8 characters.