How Healthy Is Your Credit?

Is Getting a Free Trial Credit Report a Good Idea?

Getting a free trial credit report can be a smart idea, especially if you’ve already received your free annual credit reports. Signing up for a free trial is much cheaper than buying updated copies of your credit reports from the bureaus. Checking your credit report regularly can help you to improve your score which can have a huge impact on the quality of your life from where you work, to where you live and even what you drive.

How Does a Free Trial Credit Report Work?

Most companies offering a free trial credit report will require you to sign up for one of their services before receiving your free report. Typically this will be a credit monitoring service that also allows you to access you credit reports and credit scores as often as you’d like as long as you remain a member of their program. After you sign up for your free trial you will be able to view or download your credit reports.

Benefits of Free Trial Credit Reports

Getting a free trial credit report is a good idea for a number of reasons which include:

Inexpensive - When you get a free trial you will only spend money if you decide not to cancel your membership during the trial period. There are also companies who will charge $1-2 up front for a trial membership. Just remember that after your trial period has expired there will typically be a charge that might range from $4.95 to $19.95 a month depending on the terms of the program you enroll in.
Unlimited Access - When you get your free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com you will only get a copy of your most current credit report once a year. When you enroll in a free trial membership program you will usually get unlimited access to your credit reports and credit scores as long as you remain a member. This can help a lot when you are attempting to repair or rebuild your credit history.
Valuable Tools - Most credit monitoring services will provide you with tools you need to help analyze your credit report and look for areas that need improvement. They will also provide you with up-to-date information regarding any changes made to your credit report as they’re made.
3 in 1 Report - Typically you will have access to all 3 credit reports from each of the major reporting bureaus when you sign up for a free trial. You usually get all 3 credit scores as well.

What to Know Before Signing Up

Before you go ahead and sign up for any free trial credit report there are a few things you need to consider such as:

Upfront Fees - Some companies may offer a truly free trial credit report, many companies will ask you to enter in your credit card information. They may even charge you a small fee to verify your credit card and give you access to their “free trial”.
Monthly Fees - After your free trial period there will typically be a fee associated with your membership. It’s important to weigh the cost of your membership against the benefits you receive. If you are serious about keeping your credit report clean then a credit monitoring service can be a huge help. Most services also offer identity theft insurance and assistance in the event that your identity is stolen.
Additional Features - Not all credit report monitoring services are the same. You should compare the features of the various plans available before signing up for your free trial credit report. For example, not every company will offer identity theft insurance or instant notifications.

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3 Free Credit Scores
Daily Credit Monitoring and Alerts
Quarterly Credit Updates and Updated Scores
Protection Against Identity Theft and Fraud
7-Day Free Trial