Credit karma how does it work

We use our love of data to analyze your credit profile and make product recommendations that could help you save money.

If you get a product through one of our recommendations, the bank or lender pays us. If you're like most of us, you probably receive tons of credit offers in the mail. But how often are they actually a good fit for you? Here at Credit Karma, we want our offers to provide value to you — whether it's savings, rewards or debt relief — and we choose financial partners that share our mission.

If we do our job well, you save some money, we make some money and banks turn away fewer customers. Everyone wins. We'll send you credit alerts if anything important changes on your TransUnion credit report.

That can help you spot identity theft. From financial calculators to educational articles, we're here to help you better understand what credit is all about. We feature thousands of member reviews on credit cards, loans and more — so you can make a more informed decision. How it works. Help center. Log in. Sign up for free. Credit Cards Shop Credit Cards. Balance Transfer Cards. Unlike so many companies in this industry, Credit Karma seems to be genuinely interested in helping its members improve their financial lives.

It goes a lot further than just giving you access to your credit reports and credit scores. The website also breaks down your credit report to show you where things have gone wrong, why, and how to fix those problems.

It will tell you how your credit score is calculated, what areas of your credit report are problematic, and give you recommendations on how to correct issues and improve your credit steadily over time.

Barring coming into a lot of money suddenly through inheritance or winning the lottery, there are usually no quick, easy fixes to credit problems. However, with steady pressure, you can work to improve your credit history. Their tools tell you how and where to apply such pressure, giving you actionable recommendations that will produce the results you desire if you stick with them.

A significant question asked is how accurate is Credit Karma? This question comes up all the time because there are different credit scoring models and different credit scoring bureaus. When someone asks if Credit Karma is accurate, the answer is yes based on the information they provide you. The company does not use the same credit information as the FICO model, and you need to keep that in mind. Your FICO score is quite essential for certain situations — mortgage lenders look at your FICO score to decide whether they will lend to you and what kind of terms they will offer.

The FICO score is considered the industry standard. The score also helps lenders to determine the likelihood you will pay the loan back and not end up having to foreclosure on your property.

Fico scores are considered the standard for credit scoring. They are used by ninety percent of the top lenders to help them make the best lending decisions. A bit of trivia — the Fair Issac Corporation created fico scores in the s. Credit Karma does not offer FICO scores to its members, something that some people see as a significant drawback to the site. However, Credit Karma has a response to such criticism that clarifies the benefits they offer and their overall purpose for their members:.

By using Credit Karma to monitor your VantageScore 3. They are just different scoring models which does not make them any less accurate. The VantageScore model is a respected alternative.

Are there any drawbacks to Credit Karma? Users of the tool notice that the credit score they see on the site can vary slightly from the ratings they see on other websites and from other providers. The company devotes a whole article to discussing the question of accuracy and variation.

They explain that differences in credit scores are typical and expected due to the nature of credit reporting. The variations are unlikely to be significant. There are several reasons why credit scores can vary from those found on Credit Karma, including:. Besides asking if Credit Karma is accurate, another popular question is how often the site updates credit information. Transunion is now updating its credit information every day.

Keep in mind that credit scores are fluid. Also, remember that Transunion is only one credit bureau. It is important to remember this is only one piece of financial information in a sea of much more.

Your credit scores will continue to change over time as more pieces of data arrive at each of the credit bureaus. Transunion credit reports being updated more frequently is a good thing. The more updated your personal data, the better. Signing up to use their financial tool is straightforward and only takes a couple of minutes to get started. You will need to give them your name and address along with a couple of finance-related personal details like your social security number.

The sign-in and login are super easy to use. As you would expect, the Credit Karma login is in the upper right-hand corner of the site, so signing in is a breeze. Given the company will be holding your sensitive information, it offers security features that all users should consider opting into. There will be much less worry about identity theft. For example, you can get a texted code to verify your identity with two-factor authentication if you plan on logging in from different devices.

You will be able to turn credit and identity monitoring on or off. You will also be able to request email notifications for changes to your credit score, special promotions, etc. Having these options comes in handy, especially if there is suspicious activity. If you need to reach Credit Karma by phone, you can do so by calling their phone number at They are available to answer your calls from 8 a. Eastern time. If you love to access your financial information on your phone, you can use the Credit Karma App.

The mobile app is free to download for iOS and Android users. The app has tools and features that allow you to stay on top of your finances and check your credit score for free. You can also file your state and federal tax returns with Credit Karma tax and put away cash with Credit Karma Savings.

With the app installed on your phone, you will have the ability to receive credit alerts if the company gets a crucial change to your credit reports from either Equifax or Transunion. Similarly, if you were to apply for a car loan from an auto lender, it will use its own score designed to predict the likelihood of you defaulting on an auto loan. This can result in an even lower credit score from these lenders. You can ask a potential lender to pull your credit, though this might cost you both in fees and in a knock to your credit for the hard inquiry.

You can order your free credit report with information from all three credit bureaus once a year, at AnnualCreditReport. Lastly, for more frequent monitoring, you can sign up for access to your FICO score and 3-bureau credit report on Experian.

There are other similar services out there, but most are not legitimate or are grossly overpriced. View all posts by: admin. How Does Credit Karma Work? We have answers to all your questions about Credit Karma.