Track Your Credit Score Free With a WaMu Credit Card
Published March 3rd, 2008 in Credit Help and Tips.
If you’ve got a Washington Mutual brand credit card, you can track your credit score on a monthly basis for free.
This also works for Providian cardholders, as WaMu bought them a few years back for many billions of dollars.
Anyways, to view your free score, simply set up/visit your credit card account online and you’ll be able to view your TransUnion credit score, which is one the three major credit bureaus.
The score is based on the Bankcard Industry Option Fico score model, meaning it’s tailored to credit card companies like WaMu, American Express, and the like.
For this reason, the credit score will differ from your classic Fico score, but it’s still a good gauge to get a rough idea as to where you stand and why, especially when it comes to getting approved for other credit cards.
It’s also semi-outdated, as the information is generally pulled from the prior month, but again, it’s free.
It will display the number of accounts you have, including both open and closed accounts, inquiries and total revolving balances.
You’ll also have access to your credit score over the past 12 months, so you can monitor the changes and figure out why it went up or down during that time
Keep in mind that if you’re a new cardholder, it may take a few billing cycles before the free score shows up, so be patient.
It’s a great feature, but don’t choose a WaMu credit card just for this reason alone, as there a number of important factors that go into choosing a credit card beyond a free credit check.
American Express Clear also offers a free credit report with credit score once every 12 months.
(photo: gi)
