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MyFICO is a credit monitoring service launched by FICO. FICO is the company that came up with the popular credit score model used by all three major bureaus (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian).
In addition to credit monitoring services, MyFICO also offers identity theft protection.
FICO scores are the ones taken into consideration by 90% of creditors, when reviewing applications for loans or different types of credit. Higher scores translate into better chances of getting a credit, loan, etc. FICO scores start at 300 and go up to 850, which is the maximum score.
In terms of credit monitoring services, MyFICO has 2 packages: FICO Essentials 1B and FICO Ultimate 3B.
Both plans offered by this service continue to automatically renew your subscription every month (or year), unless you cancel. If you decide to cancel on them, they do warn you that partial month/year refunds are not available.
The sign up process can be completed within minutes. Once you decide on a plan, you have to provide your personal information, such as name, SSN, address and credit card details. After they verify you, you are all set to go and you’ll have instant access to your credit reports and scores.
Their credit monitoring service will alert you within 24 hours in case of any changes that may appear on your credit reports. You will receive alerts by email or text, if you choose so.
You’ll also receive immediate, real-time updates to your credit scores, whenever a change has been reported to one of the credit bureaus. If there aren’t any changes, you’ll simply not be notified during that period.
MyFICO also includes some of the popular tools found with most competitors. One of them is the FICO Score Simulator. The Simulator estimates how your credit scores might change or get affected based on various actions you may take.
As mentioned above, both plans include ID theft protection and restoration services. They offer lost wallet protection, ID restoration on a 24/7 basis and up to $1 million ID theft insurance.
FICO Ultimate 3B also includes black market website surveillance, scanning thousands of websites and SSN alias watch (names and addresses associated with your identity will be monitored).
MyFICO also offers a mobile app that is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The app also requires a subscription.
Another useful thing about MyFICO is the fact that it provides a lot of educational materials that will help people better administrate their credit and money in general. There is a blog, a support center where you can find detailed explanations on what FICO scores are, on mortgage rates for your score ranges and various data on loans, ID theft, credit cards, debt management and so on.
FICO Essentials 1B costs $19,95/month or $219/year. The latter saves you over $20/month.
This plan includes access to your FICO scores and one credit report, the one from Equifax.
You’ll get monthly access, updates and monitoring services for your Equifax credit report. The plan also includes restoration services in case of identity theft.
FICO Ultimate 3B costs $29,95/month or $329/year. The latter option saves you around $30 monthly.
This plan includes instant access to all your three-bureau credit reports and FICO scores. The FICO scores also include the ones that are mostly used in mortgage, auto and credit card lending.
You get quarterly access, updates, monitoring services for all 3 credit reports, identity theft monitoring and restoration services, in case you have your ID stolen.
You can contact their customer support staff through phone or email. Their phone hours are Monday-Friday, from 6 am to 6 pm (Pacific Time) and Saturday, from 7 am to 4 pm. The waiting time is decent, under 5 minutes. If you contact them by email, you’ll get a reply within 2 business days.
Phone: 1-800-319-4433
Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, iTunes,
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myFICO
Twitter: https://twitter.com/myfico
You can also use their FAQ section on their website or their forums.
Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.