Five Ways To Get a Free Credit Score (No Trials)

Credit Sesame
Every month, Credit Sesame can offer you a credit score based on your Experian credit report. They also offer tips to improve your score and qualify for a mortgage


CreditKarma
CreditKarma.com is an ad-supported site that offers you the ability to check your credit score daily, called a Transrisk score, based on your TransUnion credit report. The score range is the same as FICO, from 300-850. You don’t get your credit report details, but you do get a few tips on what recent changes to your credit report have impacted your score.


Equifax Credit Score Card
The Equifax Credit Score Card comes directly from Equifax and provides a free credit score range of Low (280-559), Below Average (560-659), Average (660-724), Above Average (725-759), and High (760-850). It’s called the Equifax Risk Score. FICO has a range of 300-850, and this range is 280-850 so you don’t really have to do any scaling. It doesn’t provide any specific data from your Equifax credit report, but it does include a short summary of any negative factors that you may have on your report.


Prosper Person-to-Person Lending
Prosper Lending provides a free credit grade for prospective borrowers, based on your Experian credit data. If you don’t actually finalize the application for the loan, they will not check your credit. They do offer some good rates on personal loans, if you are looking to consolidate credit card debts.


LendingClub Person-to-Person Lending
Similar to Prosper, if you start an application to become a borrower at LendingClub.com they will check your credit on your behalf to find out what rate they will charge you. Instead of a numerical score, you will get a grade like “A2″ or “B3″. Then you can use the table below to determine your credit score range. For example, A2 would indicate a score range of 747-769. It is also based on your TransUnion credit report.


You will need to provide your personal information and Social Security number to these companies, naturally, so be comfortable with that. None of these methods by themselves will affect your credit score as you are requesting them for yourself.

Is Bad Credit Good?

Could a bad credit rating save you from bigger problems? It has done just that for many young people. How can this be?

I am not recommending that you purposely try to get a bad credit rating, but if you already have one, it isn't all bad. The habits that got you there would probably get you into even more trouble if you could borrow more bad credit loans. Look at it as an opportunity to stop going further into debt, and a chance to learn better habits.

Start paying cash for everything. Pay down those credit card balances (the higher interest ones first). The moment you get those cards paid off, start setting aside money to buy a good used car for cash. When you've done that, start putting what would have been a car payment into a savings account, for a future down payment on house or a business (the only things you should borrow for). A bad credit credit card rating can be good thing, if you take it as a lesson and an opportunity.

FREE 10,000 Points from Hilton HHonors Credit Card

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1. Get 5 Hilton HHonors® bonus points for each eligible dollar spent on stays at over 2,700 Hilton Family hotels worldwide and for eligible purchases at supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, dining establishments, the U.S. Postal Service, and for wireless phone bills

2. Get 3 HHonors bonus points for every eligible dollar you spend on purchases

3. No annual fee

How to Increase your Amex Blue Credit Card Credit Limit to 25K or 50K

A few people asked me how you can get a Amex blue card with a high $50,000 credit limit. It is very simple and I know some people who did this successfully. Amex doesn’t need any sort of a income verification process for any credit line increase of 25k and under. You can either call them during business hours or do it online anytime at http://www.americanexpress.com/cards/loc.shtml

I will guarantee that if you put in a 6 digit income(which they dont verify for requests under 25k) they will auto approve you to a 25k credit limit. Now if you are still wondering how to get a 50k limit on the card, it is just 1 step longer. If you have two cards say an American Express Blue rewards card, and a Blue cash card then call in to close the rewards card, but tell them you'd rather just consolidate the limits first of both cards (25k each at the time) and then just close the other card. They should be happy to do it, and dont require any verification at all.

Note that part of your credit score is your utilization rate on a card. If your credit limit is 5K and you owe $2,500 then your utilization rate is 50% and that looks pretty bad on your credit score till you pay it off. If you have a 50k limit and have a $2,500 balance, then a 5% utilization rate would look very favorably on your credit score.

Tips for improving your credit score and keeping credit cards open

CardData.com recently announced that the average US household has over $10,000 in credit card debt alone, and that debt ceiling is rising every year. With concerns about a lagging economy, oil prices, and political turmoil abroad, worrying about your credit score is probably not another worry you need compounded to your list of concerns. Here are a few ways you can improve your credit score and keep those credit cards open.

1) Pay your bills on time. This one may seem obvious, but it's on that a lot of people miss out on. Paying your bills on time means that you must make at least the minimum monthly payment every month, without missing a single time. Each time you miss a payment, the folks at the credit card companies get nervous, and, like startled wildebeest, it doesn't take much for them all to start stampeding towards high credit fees of 20% or more. The best way to avoid this unsightly event is to only have as many cards as you can pay off reliable. That will also help show that you don't take on more credit than you can handle.

2) Don't use more than 50% of your credit limit. If you need to use more than that, consider calling your credit company and asking them for a "credit line increase." This will help keep you out of the FICO gallows and will also improve your score because a higher limit means that the normal balances you ran up before will now take up less of your credit limit, which is a good thing (but obviously only if your spending does not increase with your credit line - be wary of this). This is what credit card companies call your credit ratio, and it can account for as much as 30% when they determine your FICO score.

3) Get - and keep - your cards for as long as you can. This shows the credit companies that you have the financial stability to stick with it and it gives them more of a history to draw on when considering you for important loans like financing a new car or taking out a home loan. Avoid cards with annual fees or high APR's, and make sure you keep them open, either by using them occasionally (if they are for emergencies only, which they should be) or by calling your credit card company to make sure they know you still wish to keep your card open.

4) Be aware of your score. If you've gotten this far, you could probably already tell me what your FICO score is, which is a good thing. If you can't, you should head over to www.annualcreditreport.com, which will provide you with a free report of your credit standing (up to once every year under a new federal law). Another important thing to do when you get your credit report is to scan it for inaccuracies. They do happen, and can bring your score down by as many as a hundred points or more if you are not careful. If you see a discrepancy, call your credit card company to work something out. They will be forced to start an investigation into your claim.

5) Don't accept too many credit cards - or ask for too many credit line increases - in a short amount of time. When someone starts grabbing for credit like a chicken trying to keep it's eggs from being taken away, it makes the credit companies nervous. All sorts of scenarios start running through their heads (is he about to fake his death and buy an island somewhere?), and while they may be way off the mark, it'll end up hurting you financially. A six month cushion between any net credit increase is usually a good rule of thumb.

The main thing is to remain reliable and avoid giving credit card companies any reason to worry. Your FICO score will haunt you for the rest of your life, and while you can improve bad credit, it is much easier to start - and stick - with good credit.