It’s possible to avoid paying for your credit score or at least an estimate of it. Here is a list of all of the well-known ways to get a FICO score or score estimate for free:
Free FICO credit scores:
- Discover Free Credit Scorecard (Experian, FICO-08)
- freecreditscore.com (Experian, FICO-08) — you do not need to give your credit card number
For free estimates of your credit score estimates and credit monitoring:
- Credit Karma (TransUnion, Equifax)
- Credit.com (Experian)
- Mint (Equifax)
- Chase Credit Journey (TransUnion)
Also, see the Wikipedia page on free credit report websites.
Credit cards (no annual fee) that offer a free FICO score with their monthly statement or online:
- American Express (Experian, FICO-08)
- Bank of America Cards (TransUnion, FICO-08)
- Barclaycards including the Sallie Mae Mastercard (TransUnion, FICO)
- Branded Citibank cards (Equifax, FICO-08)
- Discover cards (Transunion, FICO-08)
- FNBO Cards (Experian, FICO-08 Bankcard)
- Walmart Store Card (TransUnion, FICO)
- Wells Fargo Cards (Experian, FICO-09)
Deposit accounts that offer a free FICO score with their monthly statement:
- Digital Federal Credit Union (MA) – (Equifax FICO-05: Mortgage Score) (open to anyone with a $10 donation)
- Service Credit Union (NH) – (Experian FICO-02: Mortgage Score) (open to anyone for free)
- NASA FCU (MD) – (Experian FICO-02: Mortgage Score) (open to anyone for free, may be a hard pull to join)
- Pentagon Federal Credit Union (VA) – (Equifax FICO-09) (open to anyone for free)
Credit cards (no annual fee) that offer a free estimated credit score online:
- Amazon Synchrony Store Card (Transunion, Vantage 4.0)
- Capital One credit cards (TransUnion, VantageScore 3.0)
- Chase credit cards (TransUnion, VantageScore 3.0)
Also, there are 3 main credit bureaus that each offer 1 free credit report per year: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
Request your free report(s) here.