Alternative to IdentityGuard?

May 15, 2021 6:47 AM

I've been using IdentityGuard for the past five years, but they recently switched from giving me scores from all three credit bureaus each month to giving me a single "VantageScore" every month. This seems like a ripoff, because they are still charging the same amount. Are there any other companies that offer monthly credit score updates from all three credit bureaus? I enjoyed tracking my month-over-month score from all three bureaus, and I'd rather not pay the same monthly fee for an inferior service.
posted by jtothes to Work & Money (2 answers total)

If all you are looking for is true FICO scores (as opposed to 'FAKO' scores used by services like Credit Karma), there are two options I would recommend.

First, make sure any credit cards you have don't already provide them free to charge to you every month. Many do, though most only report from the bureau they primarily use to approve credit. Also check the exact version they give you as it is not always the standard FICO 8 or 9.

Second, look into myFICO. It is run by Fair Isaac, who designs the FICO score itself. They provide updates as they happen on your report (as often as they poll your data, anyway), including not only updated scores but changes to your report, like inquiries. There is quite a bit of options for configuring these alerts, including things like "tell me when my account balance goes up (or down) more than $100" and things like that. Those of course are available only as often as the lender sends an update to the bureaus, which in most cases is once per month, but myFICO usually sees those within a day and updates your information.

The $29 plan may be overkill for you but I found it very useful when going through some identity fraud issues. The $19 plan removes this component of it.
posted by SquidLips at 9:07 AM on May 15, 2021

Seconding that credit cards with no annual fees are a great way to get free FICO scores. American Express gives me my Experian score, updated monthly, and Discover does the same for TransUnion. I pay nothing for either card.
posted by Jawn at 11:10 AM on May 15, 2021 [1 favorite]