Now, Discover has actually gone one step further and is making FICO credit scorescredit report offered free to anyone– even to people who don’t have a Discover card and may have no interest in getting one.
The ratings are available to consumers who register online at Discovers Credit Scorecard function (http://tinyurl.com/gm5ozht). They do not need to applyobtain a card to obtain a score, said Julie Loeger, chief marketing officer for Discover.
Credit scores are three-digit summaries of the info offered in your credit report. They are utilized by lenders to determine whether to offer you a loan and what interest rate to charge. Discover says FICO scores are utilized by 90 percent of major loan providers.
Why would Discover and its partners, FICO and the credit bureau Experian, which supplies the information utilized to produce the ratings, wantwish to offer the scores free?
Loeger stated the company got a big reaction when it started offering complimentary FICO ratings to its card clients in 2013 and has slowly been widening its offerings. We got a great deal of extremely positive feedback, she said. (The programs vary somewhat. FICO scores offered to existing Discover customers are based on credit data from TransUnion, another major credit bureau.)
Discover also hopes, obviously, that the function will help attract new clients to its credit cards. Im not going to say we do not wantwish to be Americas preferred credit card, Loeger stated.
There may be offers for Discover cards embedded on the site and links that compare the card with other offerings, Loeger stated, but there is no commitment for users to click on them. Its not a very hard sell, she said.
The company also promises on the site that it wont sell consumer data to outside companies.
John Ulzheimer, an expert on customer credit, stated increased competition dealt with by FICO from other credit score suppliers, like VantageScore, along with higher scrutiny of credit bureaus from regulators, were most likely factorsconsider the increased access to free ratings. There are now so numerous choices for totally freetotally free ratings that it does not make sense for many consumers to pay to obtain one, he stated. If you cant get a free credit scorecredit report, he said, youre not really looking.
Here are some questions and answers about credit scores:
What info must I provide to get a totally free score from Discover?
To acquire their scores, customers need to register and provide standard info like their names and addresses, along with their Social Security numbers. They must also address security questions, comparablemuch like those asked when consumers obtain their totally free credit reports online. The concerns might ask a customer to confirm a previous address or ask the name of their home mortgage loan provider.
Is the Discover offer for a single, one-time credit scorecredit history?
Discover states customers can look at the rating at any time and that it will be updated a minimum of every One Month.
Where can I get a totally free copy of my credit report?
You are eligible for a complimentary copy of your credit report (annualcreditreport.com) as soon as a year from the significant credit reporting bureaus (Equifax is the third significant credit reporting bureau, together with Experian and TransUnion).
Tips for obtaining your report and keeping an excellent score are readily available on the Consumer Financial Security Bureaus website (http://tinyurl.com/hr69ogx).