Credit Karma Review Online

Credit Karma Review You’ve probably seen the ads for Credit Karma on TV and wondered if this is really a way to get your credit score without having to provide your credit card information.

The main questions people have is whether or not it’s really free and if there is a catch to using it. We can say from personal experience that you can actually get your credit score and other credit information from them without ever having to pay a cent, and without being bombarded by spam emails. We can also say that it is a much different experience than other credit report sites, so if you’ve ever used those before you’re in for a much better time.

This information can come in handy, and they say you should check this regularly so that you don’t have any fraudulent information on your credit report and so you can see if your score is increasing or decreasing based on what you’re doing with your finances.

Credit Karma Review – How It Works

Credit Karma does require you to verify your identity so that they don’t give your information to the wrong person. This information is not anything that can be faked by anyone else but you, and includes answering questions that only you would know the answer to, like the street address of your former residence, or the names of former employers. One thing they won’t ask for is a payment, because it’s a free discover student loans service. They are pretty much shutting down other credit score services that ask for a credit card number like Free Credit Report.com

Free Credit Report.com Not Really Free

The reason so many people are attracted to the idea of Credit Karma is because they used Free Credit Report.com and forgot to cancel before the free trial ended and ended up getting billed by them when they only wanted a free credit report. That’s why you’ll see people talking to their computers and doing other silly things to remind themselves to cancel, and then their friend walks in and recommends that they use Credit Karma instead.

So What’s the Catch?

If Credit Karma doesn’t want your credit card number, how do they end up making any money from giving you your credit score? They are collecting enough information from you to make you a lead for other services that can be offered through their partners. If you are checking your credit score you are probably in the market to make a purchase or do something else involving money. Anytime money changes hands, somebody is making a profit, so if you need your credit score, here’s what Credit Karma is thinking:

You’ll buy a house soon.

You’ll buy a car soon.

You’ll rent a house soon.

You’ll make a store purchase on credit soon.

You’ll take out a loan soon.

You’ll apply for a new job soon.

You’ll do something involving money soon.

Any of these situations is highly monetizable and there are businesses out there that would pay a good sum for the information on someone that is in the market for a new home or car, or wants to take out a loan.

It’s not really a catch because you get to set your communication preferences, and if you don’t want to be sent these promotional offers, you don’t have to. But Credit Karma is banking on the fact that you might not notice that check box and enough people will say that they want to receive these offers day night payday loans. You may also receive occasional message from them that don’t look like they are partner offers, but they may include a link to a partner offer.

Our Recommendation

Credit Karma gets our recommendation and it actually does work without using a credit card. It wouldn’t be very smart for them to run a national ad campaign saying you don’t need your credit card to get your score if you actually do need it. As long as you don’t mind giving some of your information to them in exchange for their service this is a totally free way to get your credit score and know where you stand before you go ask for a loan or try to buy something big. Check out Financial Services & Product Reviews here.