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Knowing your credit score is important when you’re getting ready to get a loan for a major purchase (house, car, etc.) since you want to have at least a basic idea of what kind of interest rate you’ll be given. If you know your credit score is pretty solid, you’ll probably know you can qualify for something better than a 14% APR rate on an auto loan. On the other side of the coin, if you know your score isn’t too hot, it lets you set realistic expectations about the terms/rate you can get for a loan.
Credit Sesame is one of the many sites which gives you access to your credit score and shows you what’s on your report. The process of signing up for it is extremely easy (it takes about 2 minutes), it’s free and you’ll get score updates going forward.
The signup page is pretty straightforward, put in your email address and click the “Get started – 100% free” button. That’s going to take you to the next page:
Credit Sesame needs to know you are who you say you are. They don’t want to start giving out credit information to identity thieves or fraudsters. You’ll put in your phone number (which they will verify) and the last 4 digits of your social security number. The email section should automatically be filled out, I just removed my email address for this review. After you’ve confirmed your information and click “Get started”, you’ll be taken to this screen:
You’re going to put in your address and birthday so they find the correct credit file. If you’ve moved in the past month, you may want to put your old address as your credit reports may not have had a chance to be updated yet. Once you put everything in and hit continue you’ll be taken here:
Make a password to make your Credit Sesame account which will pull your credit report and show your score. It’s important to note here that this is a soft pull, meaning it will not affect your credit score in any way. Typically, soft pulls are you trying to see your credit yourself. Hard pulls are done by lenders trying to see your credit because you have indicated to them you want to take out a loan. Once you’ve made your password and hit “Submit”, you’ll be taken here:
This is Credit Sesame verifying your identity, usually a text message is the easier and faster way of doing it, which is what I chose. Hit “Send Code” and you’ll receive a text message and be taken here:
Take the code you were texted and enter it here. It will automatically verify the phone once you enter it in, you don’t have to click anything. Once you’ve entered the code, you’re taken to your dashboard and you can see your credit score:
You can click each of the individual sections in the circle to get a closer look at everything that goes into your credit score which includes: Payment history, Credit Usage, Average Age of Accounts, Credit Mix and Hard Inquiries. On the left, you can go deeper into your credit and take a look at what Credit Sesame can match you up with when it comes to loans or credit cards.
The signup process is simple and everything I saw on it appeared to be accurate. It’s a comprehensive product that, especially when used with other credit score sites, can give you a complete picture of your credit, and help you lock it down. Give the Credit Sesame dashboard a try and make sure everything looks correct. If it doesn’t you’re going to be happy you did so you can start the process of getting your credit straightened out.