After the previous post about joining Navy Federal Credit Union, reader John asked whether there was a hard pull. Similar questions came up before on opening accounts at other banks and credit unions. My answer was I didn't know. A hard pull [...]
Free FICO Score From Your Credit Card
I don't care that much about my credit score but I will take it if it's handed to me. Alliant Credit Union gives me a VantageScore from Experian every quarter. Now my credit card company Barclaycard will give me a FICO score from TransUnion every [...]
Is a Vantage Score Good Enough?
I don't care much about my credit score as long as I still get the best rates when I borrow. In previous posts I showed you don't need a top score to get the best rate. I don't buy credit scores. My bank Alliant Credit Union shows me a VantageScore [...]
Free Credit Score After Credit Application
I wrote several times on this blog I don't care much about credit scores. Most people shouldn't either because they have a good enough score that will give them the best rates anyway. Improving a good enough score doesn't really make a difference. I [...]
Why Credit Score Is Not Free and Should Not Be Free
Last week I said the credit score purveyor do a very good marketing job in making something of a non-issue to most people seem like a big deal. The marketing creates artificial demand from people to buy their credit scores. Actually their [...]
A High Credit Score Is Not Necessary for the Best Loan Rate
My mortgage refinance is almost done. I will sign the docs this week. Long story short, I'm refinancing from a 15-year fixed at 3.75% to a 5/1 ARM at 2.625% with a negative $900 closing cost. It's a great rate. Getting paid to do it makes it even [...]
The Credit Crunch Finally Hit Me
In last week's post Emergency-Proof Your Emergency Fund, I said I decided to apply for an unsecured personal line of credit from Wells Fargo, where I also have a checking account. I submitted the application online. The questions were as expected: [...]
Credit Scores After Canceling Oldest Credit Card
My mortgage lender sent me my credit scores. That's the only time I look at them. Otherwise I don't bother. I compared the latest scores with what I got from my last refi in February 2008. Credit Bureau Model Feb. 2008 [...]
Quit Obsessing with the Credit Score
I've said it before, and I will say it again: dear media, please quit obsessing with the credit score. Last week's episode of the NPR program Marketplace Money was about credit and credit scores. One of the stories was The power of FICO. It featured [...]
