Credit Karma is very popular as a service, as it offers free credit reports and free credit scores. But that also makes people ask themselves “How accurate is Credit Karma?” If you’re in the same boat and want to find out more about the accuracy of the service, this article will tell you everything you need to know.
- What Is Credit Karma?
- Is Credit Karma Accurate?
- How Does Credit Karma Compare to Actual Credit Scores?
- Who Should Use Credit Karma?
- How Often Does Credit Karma Update?
- Read More
- Conclusion
What Is Credit Karma?
Credit Karma is a credit score service that is known for offering free credit reports and scores. But although this is pretty much what it offers, the website classifies itself rather as a way to help people build a much better financial situation in the future.
Using Credit Karma is possible if you give them some of your personal information. No need to worry – they will not ask for all of your data, but rather some basic information meant to identify you. If you give them your name and your Social Security Number’s last four digits, you can start using Credit Karma.
If you give it your permission, it will also be able to access your credit reports, as well as create a VantageScore.
Is Credit Karma Accurate?
Many people who use Credit Karma are wondering whether it is accurate or not. Since it is a free service, people want to make sure they are actually getting accurate results.
Well, the credit score and report information on Credit Karma is accurate, as two of the three credit agencies are reporting it. Equifax and TransUnion are the ones giving the reports and scores. Credit Karma also offers VantageScores, but they are separate from the other two credit bureaus. Therefore, people can have peace of mind that the scores are just as accurate as they are expected to be from a free service.
While scores are accurate for the most part, there are also situations when they are not perfect. In fact, the score may be off sometimes, which is why apart from Credit Karma, you should also have a credit report done by your financer or a credit agency. After all, you need to ensure you have the right credit score if you want to get a loan, buy a car, or get a new house.
Credit Karma is not a credit bureau, so the information they collect isn’t from creditors. Instead, the reports and scores show your credit information based on the report of the two credit bureaus involved.
Credit Karma allows users to track their progress, and see whether there are any credit changes, which makes everything better. This is probably the best way to use Credit Karma. You can set up alerts – so, whenever there are any changes to your credit score or report, you will be notified. It is something very useful and might even prevent identity theft.
While it is not always the most accurate, Credit Karma still has enough accuracy that makes users return to it. Over time, the scores they provide have become better and more trustworthy.
How Does Credit Karma Compare to Actual Credit Scores?
A lot of people also wonder how Credit Karma compares to actual credit scores. Well, Credit Karma generates credit reports from two of the three credit report agencies that are at the top. As already mentioned, they create these credit reports through agencies like Equifax and TransUnion. The score reported from these two is very close, and even if the points will be a bit off, they won’t be by much.
The only top credit agency that does not report to Credit Karma is Experian. This is basically where the few points that are off are coming from. This relates to the actual credit or FICO score, so that is why it is affected.
Who Should Use Credit Karma?
There are a lot of people who are too scared to use Credit Karma because they do not want to give their personal information. One of the pieces of information you need when signing up on Credit Karma is the Social Security Number. Not everyone is comfortable with giving these details.
However, it’s a necessary piece of information if you want to track your credit history and score. If you wish to find out your credit score and monitor it in order to know when you can buy a house or a car, then Credit Karma is the way to go.
Even if you don’t give your information to Credit Karma, when you want to buy a new home, you will have to give the mortgage lender your Social Security Number. This will allow him/her to check your credit score. But when that happens, there will be a hard inquiry on your credit report, which will bring down your credit score by a bit.
On the other hand, Credit Karma doesn’t end up in a hard inquiry on your report. It is only there to gather information and let you monitor your credit.
So, Credit Karma is a good alternative for first-time homebuyers or just anyone who wants to keep an eye on their credit before they borrow a loan or make a great purchase. You should consider this service and sign up in order to monitor your credit score. On top of allowing you to check your score, Credit Karma also lets you learn more about credit scores, what impacts them and how to improve them.
You should just bear in mind that this service will sometimes give you advertisements for things such as credit cards or others, as this is a way for Credit Karma to make some money.
How Often Does Credit Karma Update?
Credit Karma will show updates from TransUnion every 7 days – so, if you log into your account once a week, then you will see how your credit score looks. There are situations when there are no updates, but there’s no need to worry in this regard, as it may take up to 30 days for reports to come from banks. Afterward, it takes about two other weeks until there are any additional edits made by the lending institutions.
The fact that there is an update every 7 days is great because you can keep a close eye on your credit at all times and know where you’re standing. Not only will you see the credit score you have at the moment, but also the credit score from the past weeks, months, etc. If there are any problems that might drag your score down, then you will notice them before they get even worse.
Credit Karma will also let you know when the score was last updated. Moreover, if there are any problems with your credit score, the app will alert you.
Read More
- How to Remove Paid Collections from a Credit Report
- How to Get Approved for a Cell Phone with Bad Credit
- How Many Points Will My Credit Score Increase When I Pay Off Collections?
- How to Check Your Credit Score Without an SSN
- How to Remove Late Payments from a Credit Report
- Why Did My Credit Score Go Down When Nothing Changed?
- Can You Be Denied a Job Because of Bad Credit?
Conclusion
Credit Karma is a great alternative for people who want to check their credit score without having a hard inquiry on their credit. While the score may be a little off sometimes due to the absence of Experian’s reports, for the most part, it is accurate. As such, this makes Credit Karma an amazing way to keep track of your credit and lets you fix any issues before they become worse.
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Frank Gogol
I’m a firm believer that information is the key to financial freedom. On the Stilt Blog, I write about the complex topics — like finance, immigration, and technology — to help immigrants make the most of their lives in the U.S. Our content and brand have been featured in Forbes, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, and more.
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