Experian is one of the 3 major US credit bureaus (along with Equifax and TransUnion). Experian acts as a credit reporting agency that allows you to retrieve your credit report and credit score directly from their own credit data about you.
Experian offers free credit reports that allow you to monitor your credit. Your Experian credit report enables you to review your latest credit information, including any credit accounts, current balances, payment history, or derogatory items you may have. You can also see a summary of your account totals, total debt, and personal information.
The bureau’s reports are updated every 30 days from when you sign in to your account, meaning that you can receive monthly updates on your credit status and stay up-to-date with your activity. They also provide you with free credit monitoring that alerts you to any surprised or unusual behavior in your accounts. You may be alerted about things such as inquiries, potential fraud, and other important changes.
Experian CreditWorks Premium
You can also access your FICO credit score via Experian, but you will have to pay for it. The Experian CreditWorks Premium service allows you to do this, and it starts at $4.99 for the first month before increasing to $24.99 for all the following months. This may seem a little steep to some, but you can cancel at any time. The plan allows you to perform 3-bureau FICO score checks on your credit, meaning that Experian will provide you with your FICO scores according to the data from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – all 3 major credit bureaus. In addition to this, you’ll receive credit score tracking features that allow you to track changes to your FICO score in real-time, receiving alerts if your credit score drops or rises unexpectedly. You’ll also receive a lot of helpful information about troubleshooting and improving your credit score.
Experian’s identity theft protection and security services
Experian offers identity theft protection, which is free for the first month, and then $19.99 for every following month. Their security features include dark web surveillance, which scans over 600,000 web pages every day to detect if your personal information has been stolen. It also includes 3-bureau credit monitoring, which checks for suspicious credit activities in your reports across all 3 major credit bureaus, including Experian themselves.
This identity theft protection service also allows you to receive alerts from court records and bookings, alerting you if a crime has been committed in your name. You’ll also be alerted to fraudulent payday loan applications in your name, as well as anyone who attempts to open a bank account or apply for a credit card in your name. What’s more? You’ll receive up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance.
Loan Comparisons
Experian also advertises financial products on its website, such as credit cards and personal loans. These are displayed in comparison tables that allow you to narrow your results based on specific criteria, such as whether you have good or bad credit at the moment. Though these comparison pages can be helpful for choosing the best loan or credit card for you, they do not have the impartial consumer reviews that many other websites have, which may deter consumers who are less trustworthy!