Today I am reviewing a product that I personally use myself. I am not paid to write this review but there are affiliate links in the article. On to the review!
So What is Credit Sesame?
Credit Sesame is a great free tool I discovered many months ago. It is one of a couple websites that will actually give you a credit score for free! Do I have your attention yet?
You fill out your information that is required to pull your credit score and answer the questions to verify your identity and *POOF!* your credit score pops up. They pull Experian’s National Equivalency Score which is not your FICO score but my guess is it is going to be in the same ballpark. Don’t worry though, it won’t lower your credit score because they perform a soft pull and those don’t ding your credit score.
Credit Sesame displays your credit score for you to see and they don’t charge you one penny! They don’t even require credit card information so there is absolutely no way they can charge you. On top of this they automatically update your score once a month. So what else does Credit Sesame do?
Your Credit Score Isn’t All Credit Sesame Pulls
Credit Sesame takes the information from your credit report (which they don’t show you, unfortunately) and build all sorts of neat infographs too! Credit Sesame totals up your debt balances and monthly payments and puts them all in one place and even breaks them out by category (mortgages, credit cards, etc). I would have hoped you already know this information but if you don’t this is the easiest way to do it. It doesn’t break out individual debts but it does have the totals by category.
So What Is the Catch?
Of course if this is all that happened they wouldn’t make any money… They do try to sell you a credit report for $9, but as you know from my post How to Pull Your Free Annual Credit Report you can already pull one copy from each bureau once a year for a total of three credit reports for free. Credit Sesame also suggests other types of loans, credit cards and mortgages that they think can save you money.
Should You Apply for Any of the Credit Sesame Offers?
If they make sense and actually save you money it might make sense. However, you need to do your own homework and make sure you can’t get a better deal yourself. They do get a cut from any product that you end up buying through their offers so keep in mind that they may not have all of the best options available.
In Review, is Credit Sesame a Good Tool?
I think Credit Sesame is an amazing tool if you just want to see what your credit score is and have the common sense to not sign up for anything else they offer. However, I bet a lot of people do click on their other offers. You’ll still likely save some money but I am betting you’d be able to find a better deal elsewhere. For me I just check monthly for my updated credit score and leave so it is a great tool for me.
So if you’re interested in finding out your credit score without paying for it head on over to Credit Sesame yourself ! I visit Credit Sesame monthly and enjoy watching what happens whenever something in my credit changes.
Have you used Credit Sesame? Feel free to share your thoughts below!
An accountant by day and blogger by night, Lance is the owner of this site. 
Haven’t heard of Credit Sesame before, will have to check it out.
DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted..Should You Ask Friends to Help You Move?
It is a pretty neat tool. Glad you’re checking it out!
It is good to routinely check your credit although there are free resources out there.
krantcents recently posted..I Am Getting Younger
Yes, this is one of those free resources! I’m glad they offer it!
I use it to check my credit score as well but don’t pay attention to anything else they offer.
WorkSaveLive recently posted..Blog Income and Site Statistics – July 2012
Just like me then! Get what you want and get out!
I’ve never actually tried this, but I have checked my report before. This is great as long as you don’t let yourself buy anything unnecessary. I like what you’re doing here with the affiliate links – its refreshing to get a real review of a product.
My Money Design recently posted..Book Review: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Thanks! I try to make my website as informative as possible!
That is great. I had never heard of that before- good to know!
Have a great day!
Holly@ClubThrifty recently posted..Why I Prepay My Mortgage
I really like the service they provide.
They sound a little similar to Credit Karma.
Great article and review:-)
Ornella @ Moneylicious recently posted..7 Key Ways to Parlay Your Money Toward Your Success
It is I believe. There are a few website that do this now.
We rocked this and got our score for free, and thanks for the heads up on avoiding the other offers. Why is it that my wife is always like 10 points above me? I don’t know how to pass her? Any tips?
Jacob @ iheartbudgets recently posted..What To Do When You Blow The Budget
Probably because your wife has better credit than you! All kidding aside as long as you both have decent scores it doesn’t really matter. If you qualify for the best rates that is all that matters.
Good review Lance. I haven’t used Credit Sesame since I assume it is for Americans only. Since it’s free and doesn’t hurt your credit score, it definitely would be a good idea to periodically check your credit score like this. It would be much better than finding out about problems when you actually need to use your credit for something like a loan or mortgage.
Modest Money recently posted..Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Home
I’d think it probably is but I’m not sure 100%. Never really thought about how credit scores work in Canada…
I haven’t heard of Credit Sesame but might give it a try. It isn’t one of those where you have to sign up with your credit card and cancel within 30 days is it? I always forget to do that and end up with a charge that I have to call and get cancelled.
Kim@Eyesonthedollar recently posted..How do you live in the city without being broke?
No, no credit card information is required at all so they have no way to charge you
!
Nice I was looking for something like this, about to buy a house next year and just want to check my score. Thanks Lance
Aaron Hung recently posted..Blogging is Therapeutic
I haven’t used it, but like you, I’ve thought I should try it out so I can write about it as a review. Thanks for beating me to it! Duh!
AverageJoe recently posted..Don’t Be the Emperor With No Emergency Fund
It’s a great tool to get free credit score. Just get your credit and go for exit.
shilpan recently posted..Keeping Up with The Joneses: A Fast Lane to Financial Fatality
Exactly what I do!
The scores provided are a valid equivalent to the FICO score. It is a collaborative effort between the three credit bureaus to cut the royalties paid to Fair Issac, the developer of the FICO score.
Most scores work in a similar fashion, and most lenders do not rely on FICO alone anyway. You can absolutely trust the data you get.
I like credit sesame, I use it to compare my score to my Credit karma score. But I use credit karma and AAA for their free credit monitoring services..
Harry @ PF Pro recently posted..Get Rich Investing in Human Capital
I’ve also used Credit Karma! I’ll have to do a review on them sometime too!