Do any of the credit monitoring services you have reviewed allow me to get my credit score more than once a year?

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May 2nd, 2011 - Posted by Tasha

Q: Do any of the credit monitoring services you have reviewed allow me to get my credit score more than once a year? Can I get scores whenever I want or are there restrictions?

A: Credit monitoring services often provide credit scores as part of their total package.  Several of the credit monitoring services we've reviewed provide updated credit scores:

Identity Guard gives you all 3 credit scores when you sign up for their free trial, and then updates the scores every 3 months.  You can see your credit scores anytime you want via their online interface.  Identity Guard is the most full-featured credit monitoring services we reviewed, providing 3-bureau credit monitoring, credit scores,  scanning of the Internet and public records for the fraudulent use of your personal information, and free anti-virus computer software.  If you sign up from our site, you can try Identity Guard for free for 14-days, and then $14.99 per month thereafter ($3 off the standard monthly price).

Equifax Complete provides all 3 credit scores at sign up and updates all 3 annually.  However, you get unlimited access to your Equifax credit score, so you can see the most recent score whenever you want, as many times as you want via their online portal.  Equifax Complete also includes 3-bureau credit monitoring and some nifty tools like the Interactive Score Simulator for $16.95 per month.

CreditCheck Total gives you all 3 scores for $1 when you sign up for their free 7-day trial.  You also get unlimited access to all 3 credit bureau scores whenever you want.  CreditCheck Total is the priciest of the services we review, at $29.95 per month, but if you want to see your most recent score and report anytime you want this might be a good deal for you.  Paying for all 3 scores and report normally costs $50, so even if you're just checking them twice a month this is a great deal.

NOTE:  There is some confusion around whether having credit monitoring services check your credit score will affect your credit score.  It's won't.  You (or a credit monitoring service you sign up for) can check your own credit report and score as many times as you want without any consequences.