Anyone who sees their credit score for the first time has probably heard the word FICO.
The Fair Isaac Corporation is the leading credit score for all levels of credit. With all this credit information at their disposal, it is no surprise that they are now offering monitoring and ID theft protection.
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How Does myFICO Work?
myFICO is the consumer-facing side of the Fair Isaac Corporation. Once you sign up for the service, you will be given full access to the tools available.
Depending on which plan you choose, you can check your FICO scores across one or all of the credit bureaus.
To help with monitoring, myFICO will notify you of any changes to your credit reports.
In short, myFICO is a one-stop-shop for monitoring your credit and making sure you are not a victim of ID Theft.
Plans and Features
myFICO offers three plans, which differ in terms of how many credit bureaus the credit scores and credit reports are accessed from and also in terms of the extent of identity theft protection provided.
Basic
$19.95 per month
You get your FICO Score from one credit bureau, i.e., Experian.
Your FICO Score 8 monitoring is also based on data from Experian, and it’s done on an ongoing basis.
The same holds for credit monitoring, and you will receive alerts via email, texts, or the myFICO app if any changes are detected. You will also receive alerts when new items are added to your credit report.
You will receive monthly access to credit reports from Experian and access to 10 different FICO Score versions that are used by mortgage companies, auto companies, credit card companies to determine coverage, interest rates, etc.
To be more specific, you will receive your FICO Score 8, FICO Score 9, and eight other FICO Score versions, of which three are for the auto industry, four are for the credit card market, and one for mortgage companies.
As part of the plan, you get a FICO Score simulator service, which uses current data to extrapolate the changes to your credit score in 24 different situations, including you taking a new mortgage, increasing your credit limit, etc.
It can simulate one action at a time or multiple actions at the same time.
The next feature or service that’s part of this plan is the FICO Score analysis. It provides a detailed analysis of all the factors that affected your credit score based on Experian data.
Both the simulator and analysis services will be provided every month.
Advanced
$29.95 per month
All of the services and features that are part of the myFICO Basic plan is also available with this plan. However, there are two significant distinctions between myFICO Basic and Advanced.
First, the data used for the credit scores, credit monitoring, score simulator, and analysis is from all three national credit bureaus; Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.
You also get access to credit reports and credit scores for a mortgage, auto and credit cards from all three credit bureaus.
Second, access to credit reports, credit scores, score simulator, and analysis is provided every quarter as compared to a monthly basis in the previous plan.
In addition to these services and features, you also get identity theft monitoring services including
- Social security alias monitoring
- Dark web surveillance
- Access to identity restoration experts
- Lost wallet protection
As part of lost wallet protection, myFICO takes care of the cancellation and placing orders for:
- New credit cards
- Debit cards
- Driver’sDriver’s licenses
- Social security cards
- Passport
- Insurance cards
Premier
$39.95 per month
All of the service and features that offer with the myFICO Premier plan are available with the FICO Ultimate 3B+ plan. There’sThere’s just one distinction between the two plans.
The access to credit reports, credit scores, score simulator, and analysis is provided every month instead of every quarter, as is the case with myFICO Premier.
Identity Theft Insurance
Up to $1 million identity fraud reimbursement coverage will cover losses due to:
- fraud
- embezzlement
- theft of personally
- theft of identifiable information
- theft of ATM access
- forgery of checks
- drafts
- promissory notes
- data breach from a financial institution
- data breach from a credit reporting agency
- identity is stolen online
- unauthorized electronic funds transfer
- Legal expenses incurred as a result of these losses
To file a claim, you have to get in touch with a specialist at myFICO or call on 1-888-213-1459. In case there’s an insurance claim related to the incident that caused the loss, then the claim will be handled by the insurance company in question.
Company History
FICO was founded in 1956 by Bill Fair and Earl Isaac. Fair was an engineer, and Isaac a mathematician.
They focused their new scoring system for individual credit to major lenders. They continued on this business model until 1989 when they offered their first publicly available FICO score.
The standard was adopted in 1995 by the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the countries top mortgage lenders.
Alternatives
Identity IQ – Best ID theft protection for the money.
Identity Force – A top option for anyone looking for the most comprehensive coverage.
Credit Sesame – The best free option that includes some id theft insurance.
Pros
- The overall quality and extent of services and features offered by myFICO is one of the best in the market.
- The value-added services such as credit score simulator, score analysis, interest rate checker, etc. are innovative and helpful in maintaining credit score at a steady level.
Cons
- The plans are priced quite high. Competitors offer almost the same set of services at lower price points.
- There’sThere’s no trial period.
- There’sThere’s no provision to add your spouse or partner to the existing plan, nor do they offer a joint plan.
myFICO Review Final Thoughts
myFICO is a legitimate credit monitoring and identity theft protection service. They have some of the best tools available for fixing problems in your credit and knowing how it will affect your score.
Where they fall short is that the price for three-bureau monitoring is above average for the industry.
If you are looking at using this company for DIY credit repair or like the access to their tools, they are worth the extra cost over other available services.
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