You might have heard of a personal finance service called Credit Karma in an appropriately named manner. If you pay your credit card bills on time and in full every month, don’t open and close accounts frequently, make regular payments on your loans, and avoid negative events (such as bankruptcies and tax liens), your credit rating can be excellent. Because most of us don’t have perfect credit habits, we need to know where we stand and how we can improve that critical number. Credit Karma provides assistance on both fronts. It not only keeps you abreast of your credit rating but also informs you of potential credit breaches and offers you tools that assist you in finding the best credit card, loan, vehicle, and car insurance bargains. It does this for free, earning itself by providing recommendations based on your overall credit profile. With this review, we’ll let you know about the ins and outs of the site and app itself.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Free to use, wonderful mobile app with PIN login, gives solutions for problems, great dispute services, keeps you up to date with every change, a new no-fee checking account option
- Cons: You can’t import transactions, too many financial product recommendations
Features
Credit Tracking
There are a variety of reasons why two Credit Karma credit scores are often different. It’s common for them to differ. They may not report to all three credit unions—some don’t report at all—or their updates may come at different times. Because of this, there are numerous reasons why your credit score might differ. Here, you can view your credit score by clicking Score Details under the Overview menu. You can also toggle between TransUnion and Equifax. Below the graph showing four months of credit score changes is a list of factors that are most and least influential. Credit card usage, payment history, and derogatory remarks are in the first group, while credit age, number of accounts, and hard inquiries are in the less significant group. If you click on one of these factors, you can obtain additional details.
The Mobile App
Although Credit Karma’s Android and iOS apps are similar in replicating the browser-based experience, I prefer using the app on my phone because of its attractive, concise design. Everything I wanted to read, including the calculators, Credit Score Simulator, and other resources to improve my credit, was available. Both apps give quick access to your credit scores and reports, cost-saving financial products, comparison shopping, and suggestions for raising your credit scores. You can also investigate your accounts in-depth using four buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Tools Inside of A Tool
Credit Karma aims to assist you with two things: saving money and boosting your credit score. Credit Karma gives the Credit Score Simulator, which demonstrates how several actions might alter your score. By using the simulator, you can view how you might be affected by acquiring a new loan, failing to pay your bills, or receiving a credit limit increase, for example. If you wish to know what your new credit rating will be, click on the graphic at the top. You might find the calculators for mortgage refinancing and debt repayment, in addition to other helpful tools. You can find them scattered across the site, but you can see them all by clicking My Recommendations in the toolbar. You can also locate credit cards by filters such as Balance Transfer, 0% Interest, and Travel Miles.
The New Checking Account
Credit Karma created Credit Karma Money (banking services provided by MVB Bank Inc.) two years ago. Of course, that yield was 0.13% APY back then, when interest rates were almost nonexistent. There is no fee to open an account, and there is no minimum deposit required. You may link one external account to your Credit Karma savings account by providing your online banking password and username.
Credit Karma Cost and Pricing
Wondering about what the catch is? Well, Credit Karma is actually always free. They never request your credit card number during the registration process or at any other time. Credit Karma does not sell your information. Through their partners, they receive payment if you purchase a product through one of their recommendations. They provide personalized offers and suggestions based on the information contained in your profile in an effort to provide you with the services and products they believe may be of interest to you.