By: Kurtis | Last updated February 13, 2019 
Credit monitoring is essential for a good credit score and a good credit score is essential in almost any aspect of your life. A bad credit score can affect you in so many ways: when you want to make a loan, when you want to get a job, rent a place and so on.
Why use a credit monitoring service?
In a lot of cases, your credit score can deteriorate without you messing it up in any way. You can fall victim to financial fraud, have your identity stolen, your financial data hacked and so on.
Credit monitoring services are valuable because they notify you immediately in case of any changes to your credit reports: if someone tries to use your credit cards, to get a new credit card, applies for a new loan using your name, etc.
Learn how to choose a good credit monitoring service.
MyFICO – is it a good option to consider?
MyFICO is a credit monitoring service offered by FICO. FICO is the company that invented the FICO credit score, which is the most popular one used in all lending decisions. More than 90% of all lenders use this score, as well as all the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion, Experian).
MyFICO offers two types of products: one-time credit reports for one or all 3 major credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, Equifax) and ongoing credit monitoring services, also for one or all credit bureaus.
Pricing
One-time credit reports
Fico Score 1B - $19.95 (one-time fee) – includes a 1-bureau credit report and FICO scores
Fico Score 3B - $59.85 (one-time fee) – includes 3-bureau credit reports and FICO scores
Credit monitoring services
Fico Basics 1B - $19.95/month – includes 1-bureau credit monitoring and a monthly credit report
Fico Ultimate 3B - $29.95/month – includes 3-bureau credit monitoring and quarterly credit reports
Fico Ultimate 3B+ - $39.95/month – includes 3-bureau credit monitoring and monthly credit reports
Overall though, we can say that MyFICO is not among the most affordable credit monitoring services you can find.
Read more about MyFICO pricing.
What do you get?
In addition to the one-time reports and credit monitoring, MyFICO also offers ID theft restoration on a 24/7 basis, up to $1 million insurance in case of ID theft and access to their interest rate estimator and FICO score simulator. You can explore several scenarios such as closing a credit card account, paying off a credit balance, forgetting to pay a bill, opening a new credit account and more. There are up to 24 scenarios you can test.
The alerts included with the MyFICO monitoring services are going to be sent within 24 hours, via text or e-mail. You’ll be notified in case of any changes to your credit reports.
Another feature is the black market website surveillance, but it is only included with the Ultimate 3B and Ultimate 3B+ subscriptions.
In terms of ID theft protection, MyFICO scans all relevant resources, including passport numbers, email addresses, up to 10 credit card numbers and so on, to make sure no one is using your identity for financial frauds.
MyFICO also has a mobile app and it is compatible with iPhones and Android smartphones. It has a straightforward interface and it gives you access to your credit score history, credit report, the credit score simulator, etc. It basically offers all the features of the website.
Another useful thing about MyFICO is that it places a lot of importance on education. You can learn a lot on how to improve your score, make better financial decisions and so on, from their blog, forums and all their educational materials.
All in all, MyFICO is a comprehensive credit monitoring service and also offers ID theft protection and restoration. You can find cheaper services out there, but overall, MyFICO is a reputable and trustworthy company.
