We should, as much as possible, refrain from routinely monitoring our credit score more than required because doing so might somehow negatively affect our credit score.
Whether in the form of loans, credit cards, or any other kind of credit, your capacity to borrow depends much on your credit score. One may naturally want to monitor the credit score more often to ensure it is accurate and to compare it with the past status. You may be concerned, however, that constantly checking your credit score may negatively impact it. This article describes how often one should check their credit score without damaging it and how the checking process works.
Hard credit checks are also known as "hard pulls," or "mortgage credit checks; gentle credit checks are also known as "soft pulls."
Two types of credit checks are going to be available to you: soft and hard checks. Should you be tracking your credit score using your credit report, this will simply be a mild query. Among the credit check operations are many ones: These actions are known as soft checks and do not damage your credit score whether you check your credit score or whether a credit card firm examines your credit status as usual business activity. Conversely, the hard checks are most commonly encountered upon application for new credit limits. Too many hard checks are among the factors probably dragging down your credit score.
How Often Soft Checks Are Okay
The good news is that there is nothing wrong with being able to check your credit score as frequently as you wish to without getting a detrimental score check. Regardless of how often you engage in soft checks – whether daily, weekly, monthly, or otherwise – they will not harm your credit report or credit score in any way However soft checks are not seen by lenders or reflected in credit scores, which is why soft checks are not called hard checks. The only way to hinder your score-checking process is that frequent applications for new credit might lead to a hard check instead of a soft check.
The 8 Best Free Methods to Monitor Your Credit Score
There are now many free ways to check your credit score as often as you want through soft checks without incurring any fees or negatively impacting your score, including:
- Your credit card/bank account(s) – More often than not, credit card companies and banks have made it possible to check your FICO or Vantage credit score on your account without any additional cost. Some of the companies that issue credit cards for their customers include Capital One, Discover, Chase, and Wells Fargo.
- Credit reports and scores – Consumers can go online and access free credit scores from various websites including Credit Karma and Wallet Hub whose scores are updated weekly or monthly. These are often VantageScores, not FICO scores, but they can provide useful information here.
- AnnualCreditReport.com - is a government-sponsored site that offers consumers one free credit report from each of the three major credit repositories, per year, although consumers in some states are allowed several reports per year. While reports do not have scores, they are comprehensive and present a history of the higher learning institution’s performance.
More often than not, people are torn between the desire to check their credit report more often and the need to avoid it because of the consequences it may have on their credit score.
Credit rating experts advise that one should review credit score regularly, whether as often as every few months, or annually at the very least. It enables you to easily identify illegitimate transactions and challenge them, as well as understand the effects of your regular spending and credit behaviors on your credit score. Nevertheless, checking much more often than only the monthly return gives very little additional benefit. Last, of all, make up your mind on a frequency that will leave you comfortable while at the same time providing tangible results.
Just remember that no matter what time interval you set to look at your score – soft checks can never hurt your credit. Certain services claim to offer free credit scores but when you get to the details, you find out that they offer you hard checks or are a paid membership. If you stick to a truly free soft-check source, you have the go-ahead to check your credit without any hesitation.
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