Credit Sesame Review

A new service called “Credit Sesame” gives you access to a monthly updated free credit score based on credit profile information pulled from credit bureau Experian.

While this sounds pretty cool, keep in mind that Credit Sesame uses “Experian’s National Equivalency Score,” which is not a Fico score.

However, it does rely upon the Fico score range, which ranges from 300-850, so that’s a plus. But it’s not the credit score lenders will use. It’s merely a “fako score,” though you can’t argue with free.

[Which credit score do lenders use?]

But these types of credit scores can definitely point you in the right direction in terms of what your real Fico scores will be, and because they’re free and don’t require a credit card to sign up, they can be quite handy.

Another downside is that Credit Sesame does not provide a credit report with payment information and tradeline activity, so it’s a bit limited. And certainly no substitute for a credit report.

The good news is that the credit pull is a soft one, meaning it will not hurt your credit score (since you’re not applying for a loan or any other type of credit). You’re merely seeing where you stand credit score wise, which will never count against you.

Signing Up for Credit Sesame

So out of curiosity, I decided to sign up for Credit Sesame – they ask quite a few personal questions, including home address and annual household income, but alas, I continued.

They then ask for your social security number, which is used to pull credit information from Experian (this is standard practice, so don’t freak out).

After that, you must answer a few questions about what may appear on your credit report to verify your identity. Again, standard business.

Once registered, Credit Sesame provides you with your credit score instantly, along with your monthly liabilities, which is the combined minimum monthly payments for all your credit card debt and loans (auto leases, mortgages, etc) that appear on your credit report.

They also provide your credit usage, which is the amount of your revolving credit currently in use. The lower the percentage the better if you want to end up with a good credit score.

Final Word on Credit Sesame

For the record, Credit Sesame offers all this information in the hopes you’ll take advantage of tailored offers, such as balance transfer credit cards , mortgage refinancing, and other debt restructuring products (similar to Credit Karma).

They even suggest that you open certain accounts that they’ll earn a commission on, which is a little less than savory.

You don’t need to take them up on any of the offers or purchase anything to participate, so all in all, it’s a good way to see your credit score for free without a credit card.

And the fact that it updates monthly is also a plus, allowing you to monitor your credit score with at least one of the three major credit bureaus for free.

You can sign up here if you’re interested in Credit Sesame. I don’t mind getting monthly updates from them. In a way, it works as a free credit monitoring program in case anything crazy happens and I’m not readily aware of it.

But if you want to see all 3 credit bureau credit scores free of charge ($0) for a full 14 days, along with all your credit report information, click here. This will provide you with a more complete picture of your credit profile.

After all, credit scores can certainly vary from credit bureau to credit bureau, so if you only know one or two, you could miss something substantial.

(photo: Tobias Klüpfel)