How do I get the 25% discount with Identity Guard?
Posted by Tasha
Q: How do I get the 25% discount with Identity Guard?
A: It's easy—to get this exclusive deal just follow any Identity Guard sign up link on our site. Or click here to get the 25% discount ($5.00 off) AND free 30-day trial. Along with this great deal, you'll also receive free 3-bureau credit scores at signup. And even if you cancel your membership during the free trial period you'll still get to keep these 3-bureau credit scores and a public records report for free.
As you could probably surmise from our #1 rating of Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION, we really like this service. Combined with the discount and free trial, we think it's a great offer. So great, that I'm actually a member!
My credit is frozen. Do I have to unfreeze my credit to get a credit report?
Posted by Tasha
Q: My credit is frozen. Do I have to unfreeze my credit to get a credit report?
You can still get your credit reports when your credit is frozen
A: No, you do not have to unfreeze your credit to obtain your credit report. Credit freezes prohibit third parties—like potential lenders—from being able to access your report, and are typically set to help prevent identity thieves from being able to open new credit accounts in your name. However, you are still able to access your own credit report. Here's a quote directly from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) site:
"Placing a credit freeze does not affect your credit score—nor does it keep you from getting your free annual credit report, or from buying your credit report or score."
If you have been a victim of identity theft (or even if you haven't), you might want to consider signing up for an identity theft protection service. Many of these services will monitor your credit reports, scan for the use of your personal information in a variety of arenas, provide free credit scores and free subscriptions to internet security software. They are also able to monitor your credit reports while a credit freeze is in place. Our top pick is Identity Guard, and right now they are offering a free 30-day trial and an 18% subscription discount.
If I sign up for a credit monitoring service, can I get all 3 reports with credit scores anytime I want?
Posted by Tasha
Q: If I sign up for a credit monitoring service, can I get all 3 reports with credit scores anytime I want or is there a limit?
PrivacyGuard provides all 3 credit reports and scores for $1
A: It depends on which credit monitoring service you subscribe to. If you're looking for frequent credit report and credit score updates, we highly recommend PrivacyGuard. PrivacyGuard provides 3-bureau credit reports and credit scores when you sign up AND features monthly report and score updates. This is in addition to 3-bureau credit monitoring, a free subscription to Norton Internet Security Online and a variety of financial calculators.
The monthly report and score updates make PrivacyGuard a great solution for keeping your eye on your credit information. Plus, right now PrivacyGuard is offering a 30-day trial for a $1, during which you'll get your 3-bureau reports and scores.
How accurate is the Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION credit score compared to the credit score the bank uses?
Posted by Tasha
Q: We are working on applying for a home loan, but need to get our scores up. How accurate is the Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION credit score compared to the ones the bank uses?
A: Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® credit scores were very, very close to FICO credit scores in our (non-formal) testing among 8 different people. Identity Guard uses the CreditXpert brand of credit scores which we believe is a good approximation of what your FICO score might be. Banks typically use FICO brand credit scores, but this is not always the case. It is impossible to predict which credit scores your particular bank uses, but a good way to find out is to call and ask them.
If you're working on improving your credit scores, Identity Guard includes a useful credit analyzer tool that lets you try out different financial actions to see how they might affect your credit score. For example, you can experiment with making loan payments, transferring balances and opening or closing credit accounts. The credit analyzer tool will take your existing credit score, factor in the change and simulate what your new credit score would be. This is a pretty nifty way to help determine which actions may help your credit score the most.
Right now Identity Guard is offering a free 30-day trial, during which you'll get free 3-bureau credit scores, a free public records report and free Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite. Even if you cancel during the trial period, you'll get to keep all these goodies free of charge, so it's a great time to try Identity Guard out and see if you like it.
Do I Have To Sign Up For Identity Theft Protect and Credit Monitoring Separately?
Posted by Tasha
Q: I am interested in signing up for identity theft protection and also credit monitoring. Do I need to sign up for each individually?
A: No, you don't. Our top-rated Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® provides both comprehensive identity theft protection and thorough 3-bureau credit monitoring. Upon signup for their free 30-day trial, you'll also receive free 3-bureau credit scores, a free public record report and free Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite software – yours to keep even if you cancel during the trial period. We like Identity Guard so much, we even rated them #1 in our identity theft protection reviews and credit monitoring reviews.
How Many Computers are Protected Under Identity Guard? Will the Price Go Up?
Posted by Polina
Q: Will Identity Guard protect all computers in the home for the basic price of $14.99? When does the price go up to $17.99?
A: Our top-rated identity theft protection solution, Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION® includes free anti-virus, firewall, anti-phishing and anti-spam software from Zone Alarm Internet when you sign up. Your subscription also includes PRIVACYPROTECT® and MOBILE LOCKBOX® technology to help protect you from hackers and thieves attempting to access your personal information and online transactions. We gave customer support a call and found that once you sign up for Identity Guard and download the Zone Alarm software to your computer, only that particular computer will be protected.
If you sign up for an Identity Guard subscription through NextAdvisor, you'll get the discounted monthly price of $14.99, which is a really great deal. Although this is not a "trial" price and there are no immediate plans to change the monthly price, like most other services, Identity Guard cannot guarantee that the price will always stay the same. If they do raise the price in the future, they'll notify you ahead of time via email. Then if you feel the value isn't in it for you anymore you can choose to cancel your subscription. Since it's a monthly subscription you're not tied into any long-term contracts.
We have to say we really like Identity Guard's identity theft protection service because it is the most comprehensive out of all the identity theft services we review. Identity Guard monitors your credit reports at all 3 credit bureaus and includes free 3-bureau credit scores. It also monitors public records for any changes in your name, scans databases for application or Social Security fraud, and monitors the Internet's black market for any use of your credit cards or other personal information. Right now they are even offering NextAdvisor readers a free 30-day trial, so you can check it out and see if it meets your needs. If you don't think it's the service for you, just cancel during the trial period and you won't be billed. You'll get to keep your credit scores and the ZoneAlarm Internet Secuity suite for free, even if you cancel during the trial, so it's a win-win.
Will my credit score be affected if I apply for a credit card?
Posted by Tasha
Q: Will my credit score be affected if I apply for a credit card?
A: In general, if you already have a strong credit history and score, then applying for a new credit card shouldn't affect your score much (if at all). It if does change, it would only be by a couple of points.
However it's important to know that whether your credit score is affected by applying for a new credit card depends on several factors. Most credit score agencies take 5 things into account when they are calculating your credit score; your payment history, the amount you owe, the length of your credit history, the type of credit you have and and new credit (learn more about how your credit score is calculated).
If you have a positive credit history, than applying for a credit card (which falls into to "new credit" bucket) shouldn't really affect your score. Just don't apply for too many credit cards in a short period of time, as this can be construed by the credit score companies as a need for money, and lower your score. It's best to do your research ahead of time and then apply for the credit card best for your situation.
If you don't have a positive credit history, than continually applying for new credit cards won't help your score. However, it may be that you also need to examine the other factors involved in calculating your credit score. For example, when your score is calculated the cumulative amount you owe is usually counted more than opening new lines of credit. If you are carrying a large balance on your cards, you can probably help your score more by paying this balance off than you can hurt your score by applying for one new credit card.
If your credit isn't the best you might want to consider a credit card for those with poor credit like the Household Bank Rewards Mastercard. It helps improve your credit history by reporting to all 3 credit bureaus every month so you can rebuild your credit, has a 0% introductory APR for the first 9 months and even earns users 2 points for every $1 spent. And since it's application process pre-qualifies users for either an unsecured or secured credit card, you are likely to be accepted. Or take a look at all our poor credit card reviews and choose a card that works for your situation.
Do preapproved credit card offers lower your credit score?
Posted by Tasha
Q: My 27 year old daughter often gets mail from credit card companies wanting her to get a card from them. On her recent TransUnion credit report we we saw that tons of those credit card companies have accessed her credit report. We were told that having a lot of those lowers her credit score. How can this be remedied?
A: The good news is that these type of credit report inquiries are known as "soft inquires", and don't affect your credit score. Soft inquiries occur when your credit report is accessed for marketing purposes, in this case to preapprove your daughter for a credit card offer. Soft inquiries will not change your credit score and don't appear on credit reports given to third parties, although some credit bureaus include them for informational purposes on the credit report that they provide to you.
On the other hand, a "hard inquiry" will affect your credit score. Hard inquiries usually happen when you're actively requesting credit and a third party like a lender, landlord or credit card company requests your credit report to grant you that credit. That's why it's not a good idea to apply for too many credit cards within a short amount of time, as it can lower your credit score.
If you'd still like to opt-out of having preapproved credit card offers sent to your daughter, you can do so online at OptOutPrescreen.com. If you want to keep a close eye on her credit reports and be aware of who may be accessing them, think about signing up for a credit report monitoring service like Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION®. Right now Identity Guard is offering NextAdvisor readers a free 30-day trial and 3 free credit scores, a no-risk way to try out the service free of charge and cancel within the trial period if it's not for you.
If I put a credit freeze on my credit report, does that mean that no one can make a purchase on any of my credit cards until I unfreeze my credit?
Posted by Tasha
Q: If I put a credit freeze on my credit report, does that mean that no one can make a purchase on any of my credit cards until I unfreeze my credit?
A: No, it doesn't. A credit freeze is specifically related to the information on your credit report and means that no new creditors will be able to access your credit report for any reason. It will help prevent anyone from applying for a new credit card using your information, but it does not have anything to do with preventing purchases on the credit cards you already have.
If you have concerns about your identity being compromised or having someone use your credit cards without your permission or knowledge, it would be wise to call your credit card company and cancel the card. They will reissue a new card with a new number free of charge. You should also consider subscribing to one of our top ranked identity theft protection services. Several of the services we review offer free trials and even free credit scores, including Identity Guard TOTAL PROTECTION®.
Does having a credit monitoring service submit credit scores to you twice a month ding your credit?
Posted by Tasha
Q: Does having a credit monitoring service submit credit scores to you twice a month ding your credit? Also, I want my credit scores from all 3 credit bureaus; how easy is it to cancel after I get them?
A: When you sign up for a credit monitoring service, having them check your credit reports and scores will NOT hurt your credit score. This is because you can check your own credit report and scores as many times as you want without having it affect your credit scores. When you subscribe to a credit monitoring service you authorize them to act on your behalf to monitor your credit reports, so they can check your credit reports and scores too. Ultimately, the credit monitoring service you sign up for can provide you with as many credit reports and/or scores a month without harming your credit score in any way.
If you'd like a credit monitoring service that provides monthly updates to your 3-bureau credit scores, we recommend PrivacyGuard. At just $14.99 per month it's a great deal, as paying for your reports and scores separately will cost you $50 elsewhere. Right now PrivacyGuard is even featuring a $1 30-day trial, during which time you'll get your 3-bureau reports and scores. If you find the service isn't for you, you can call them to cancel within the trial period and only pay the $1 price.
Top Credit Report Monitoring
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Popular Services Reviewed:
Credit Monitoring Services |
Find Us On:
Copyright© 2006 - 2012 NextAdvisor.com - All rights reserved.
Disclosure: NextAdvisor.com is a consumer information site that offers free, independent reviews and ratings of online services. We receive advertising revenue from most of the services we review. Our editors thoroughly research and whenever possible test each service we review and offer their honest opinions about each one. We are independently owned and operated and all opinions expressed on this site are our own.