Comments on: How Accurate Are Credit Estimators?

By: thunderthighs

thunderthighs — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:50:35 +0000

Hmm Credit Karma was 28 points off for me…

By: PAUL ONEAL

PAUL ONEAL — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:43:04 +0000

Isn’t it good that the score on credit karma is lower than your actual credit score? I would rather see a calculated score that is lower than my actual score than higher.

By: Jandi

Jandi — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:44:49 +0000

I disagree. These aren’t even in the ballpark. I used creditkarma (whose score for me has never changed more than 6 points over a year) and the estimate they gave me was 675. I checked on FreeCreditReport and they had a score that was about 730. myFico estimator was in the correct range, and when I checked my actual FICO score it was 718. These score are all over the place and i don’t think a 60 point difference is “close”

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:51:28 +0000

CreditKarma told me that they use TransUnion’s equation/computation, but either way as long as you’re comparing CK today vs. CK yesterday, it’s still apples to apples.

By: Leo

Leo — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:16:10 +0000

I am using CreditKarma for a few months now. And I have to agree with Jim Wang (author), CreditKarma seems to give a much lower credit score since my actual FICO is 60 pts higher than what I got from CK. I was initially alarmed when I 1st used CK, but I guess its ok, since they only use one bureau and have their own computation, besides, its free. So for CK 1st timers, dont get alarmed when you get a very low score, check your actual score with the 3 bureaus 1st.

By: thomas

thomas — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:56:52 +0000

I never really understood paying for a FICO score just to check. The free sites are pretty close as stated and give you great direction. Only certain score areas is being exact necessary. If you show up in the 600s for free, you got better places to put that $30 than getting a report – most likely your credit card bills. If you are in the 700s what does it matter – you are a solid investment and will get the good rates.

By: Chiko

Chiko — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:55:57 +0000

You are right, I don't think the actual score really matters unless you are trying to make a major decision. Besides that you can use websites like creditkarma, this is what I use. I just check it out and my score is 728 (for a 22 year old that's good stuff). This is a good thing since I plan to retire early.

By: Start-Up

Start-Up — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:05:27 +0000

Wow, that’s super good to know. I’ve been planning on using Credit Karma to track my credit score. It’s good to know how accurate these estimates really are. It never hurts to have a ballpark figure.

By: Miss M @ M is for Money

Miss M @ M is for Money — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:42:05 +0000

I reviewed credit karma a few months ago and said the same thing. The score they give you is close but probably not exact. It won’t be a big deal for most people, unless you are on the cusp of better credit tier and looking to take out a loan. At least credit karma is free.