~Credit and Credit Cards~

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Credit Monitoring Services:

www.myfico.com <--- if you use them you'll have to call to cancel this service!!!


good ones to pick from:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/creditcheck_monitoring_main?akredirect=true


(AMEX, this is a good one)

https://www295.americanexpress.com/premium/credit-report-monitoring/home.do


Shopping for a credit monitoring service

Credit monitoring services typically are offered through banks or credit unions, by credit bureaus or directly from companies that provide the services. Experts recommend to thoroughly check out the provider before signing up for any credit monitoring service and offer the following tips for finding a reputable service provider.

Check to see if the company checks your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. Some only allow you access to just one, and many times information that is included on one credit report does not appear on the other.
Look at how long the company has been in business and what kind of security expertise it has -- and be wary of companies that say very little about its background on its website, O'Farrell says. "Do your homework on the company. It's an unusual industry, and there are a lot of shady characters and opportunists."
Steer clear of companies that make over-the-top promises. Grant warns: "Watch out for claims that they will prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft -- that's something that should send up a red flag since no legitimate company will make that claim."
Check with the Better Business Bureau and your state attorney general to see if any complaints have been filed against the credit monitoring service provider, the Federal Trade Commission advises.
Shop around, but consider going with a brand name you know or an institution where you already do business, suggests Mike Schenk, senior economist for the Credit Union National Association. "It's always a good idea to go to someone you trust -- if you've had a relationship with a financial institution for a while and feel they operate in your best interest and the fees they charge are fair and transparent, that would be a good place to start," Schenk says.



When Credit Monitoring Doesn’t Make Sense

There are times when credit monitoring services, especially the expensive kind, just don’t make sense. You can get a free annual credit report, and that’s enough for most of us. Here are situations in which it doesn’t make sense to pay for credit monitoring:

You want to prevent fraud. The truth of the matter is that credit monitoring services don’t actually prevent ID theft. These services can help you immediately catch some forms of ID theft – the ones that involve a thief opening up a credit account using your name and Social Security number. But these services don’t do a single thing to prevent theft from happening. The best way to do that is to freeze your credit, and that’s only a good solution some of the time!
You just need your credit report. There are a few good reasons to keep tabs on your credit score, but if you just want to check your credit report a few times a year (which you should do!) credit monitoring services aren’t worth your time or money. You can check your credit report for free once per year at each of the three major credit reporting bureaus – Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Why pay for something you can get for free?
You don’t have the cash to spare. Speaking of getting things for free, you may even be able to check your credit score (not just your report!) for free with some new services like Credit Sesame. Credit monitoring services cost $10-$15 a month on average, according to Fox Business. If this is more than mere pocket change in your budget, regular, paid credit monitoring probably doesn’t make sense.

When Credit Monitoring is Wise

On the other hand, sometimes credit monitoring services do make sense. Whether you get an updated credit score every month or every three months, here are situations in which you might want to pay for credit monitoring:

You’ve been a victim of ID theft. Victims of identity theft are legally entitled to free copies of their credit reports after filing a fraud alert, according to the FTC. However, if you’re afraid that your personal information is still floating around out there, you may want to look into a credit monitoring service that specializes in alerting you to new credit accounts open in your name. Again, these services can’t prevent further fraud, but they can help you notice problems right away and take care of them as soon as possible.
You’re building or rebuilding credit. If you’re just starting to build your credit, or are rebuilding after a financial disaster, credit score monitoring might make sense. In this case, you can check out your score each month to ensure that it’s going up as it should be. One option here is to check out a service like MyFICO.com’s Score Watch, which can forecast what certain financial decisions will do to your credit score, and which choices will raise your score the fastest.
You’re getting ready for a major purchase. If you’re preparing to buy a home – the largest purchase most of us will ever make – or another large credit-based purchase, consider monitoring your credit score for a few months before hand. Again, a service that lets you see which actions to take to quickly improve your score can be helpful here. And while you’re in the home buying process, you’ll be able to catch any credit score red flags before they cause problems with your potential lenders.

Paying to monitor your credit score, like most financial decisions, makes sense in some cases but not in others. Your goal should be to use these services when they make the most sense for you, but not to let fear drive you to spend money when you don’t need to!