The 25% off code may have expired but people are reporting that CPPSAVINGS works for 20% off.

Every so often MyFICO, the consumer arm of credit score equation creator Fair Isaac Corporation, offers discount codes to some of their products. The product I’ve had the most interaction with has been the MyFICO ScoreWatch product, which has a 30 day trial, so I haven’t been keeping close tabs on the promotional codes lately.

The latest promotional code is valid until September 30th and it’s FinancialHelp25. It drops the price of all their products by 25%, making them:

• FICO Standard: Equifax – Normally $15.95, now only $11.96.
• FICO Standard: TransUnion – Normally $15.95, now only $11.96.
• Suze Orman’s FICO Kit – Normally $49.95, now only $37.46.
• myFICO ScoreWatch – A standing 30 day trial, $89.95 a year or $8.95 thereafter.

In the purchase process there will be a place to put in a promotional code, just enter FinancialHelp25 for 25% off.

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Whether you think we’re out of the recession or not (I would bet “no” based on the responses last week), it’s always important to play a little personal finance defense. Today, the topic is on credit scores and how to improve your score by taking a few small steps.

These aren’t steps you can use to boost your score 100 points overnight… those don’t exist. These are simply smart moves you can make, over and over again, that will ensure your score will be as accurate and as high as possible. And if anyone says they can boost your score 100 overnight, chances are it’s a scam (unless you have some egregious errors on your report!).

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I’m a numbers guy. I love seeing numbers, trying to find trends, and playing with statistics. That’s probably one of the reasons why credit scores fascinate me so much, they are able to distill a bunch of actions you take as a person and package it up into this convenient three digit number that lenders go nuts over. I’m not saying the system is good or bad, but it’s the system and you have to play by the rules of the game.

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If you ask anyone who knows much about credit scores, there’s one thing that most people know – the FICO credit score range goes from 300 to 850. The lowest possible FICO score you can get is a 300 and a perfect, albeit unrealistic and unnecessary, score is 850. However, knowing the range alone doesn’t really tell you much. You need to understand the “texture” of that range.

Is the range linear or logarithmic? Is the distribution of scores even across each value or is it a normalized distribution? The texture of the range can give you a better understanding about credit scores, much more than simply knowing the numbers in the range.

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Ever wonder what a good credit score is?

You can check your score at a variety of places that offer free FICO credit scores (I recommend myFico because you can cancel the trial online) but how do you really know whether your score is good or bad? Is a 700 good? Or do you need an 800? How’s a 600?

I think it comes down to what you plan on doing with that number.

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In February this year, Experian did something that “shocked” the credit score enthusiasts world (yes, such a world exists and they have a very vibrant and very knowledgeable community in the myFICO forums): they announced that they would no longer be offering Experian credit scores to myFICO users. Many on the myFICO forums were furious.

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Your FICO credit score is increasingly becoming one of the most important numbers in your life. I’ve written about what’s in your FICO credit score as well as how to get FICO credit score estimates, but never how to get the actual three-digit FICO score calculated by one of the bureaus.

While the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) did wonders to shed light on the credit reporting industry and the data they are collecting on all of us, the light wasn’t bright enough. There is no way for you to get a free FICO credit score unless you sign up for a trial with one of the bureaus or with Fair Isaac Corporation directly.

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I can’t remember the last time a company with a trial service reminded you that your trial period was expiring, but that’s exactly what MyFICO did.

What’s even better is that you can cancel the service online just by clicking on this link: https://www.myfico.com/scorewatch/cancelsw.aspx. You might be prompted to login but you can cancel the service entirely online. Once you click the cancel button on that page, your trial is canceled. You don’t have to talk to a customer service representative, you don’t have to wait on hold, you don’t have to deal with any shenanigans. They try to sell you their other products and they will do their best to try to change your mind, but you’re one click away from ending the trial.

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Quick answer? Close enough.

A while back I wrote about two free credit score estimates tools: myFICO’s Credit Estimator and CreditKarma. In the course of reviewing myFICO’s ScoreWatch, I learned my actual credit score. So the natural question was, how did my real score compare to my actual score?

The answer is that they were close, but not within the same “tier” of credit quality. The difference isn’t surprising though because they used data from different bureaus and each used their own equation for calculating the score. I think the scores were “close enough” to validate the use of credit score estimators. Here’s how they stacked up.

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If you were planning on buying Suze Orman FICO Kit Platinum, just wait a week.

MyFICO is going to announce a 20% sale on Suze Orman’s FICO KIT Platinum next week that will run from February 17th through March 7th. To get $20% off, just use the coupon code SUZEFEB09 after February 17th. The product is normally $49.95 so the 20% off will get it to you for $39.96, a savings of almost ten dollars.

I’m not a huge fan of Suze Orman, whenever I stumble onto her television show it seems like she’s berating someone (probably with good reason), and I don’t know much about the FICO Kit outside of what the marketing materials tell me so I can’t say whether it’s a good deal, 20% off or not. It appears to a tool that helps you maintain good behavior that will improve your credit, rather than a product like MyFICO ScoreWatch, which monitors your credit report and score. It has personalized plans to help you improve your credit, it lists all your credit reports and FICO scores (except Experian, because they pulled out), and it contains a myriad of other tools to help you maintain those good behaviors. Whether or not that’s worth forty bucks is up to you but if you do want it, but it in a week and save yourself ten dollars.

(Photo: smokedjerky)