Your Credit Score - It is the Perfect Time for a Credit Check

When was the last time you checked your credit? I recently went through the exercise of ordering my credit report and score for each of the different retailers to see what is out there. It's amazing how different the products available can be. It can be confusing, even for someone who's been in the business for 7 years!

Before I share some warnings and tips, here are a few reasons why you should order your credit report and score right now:

• Crime, including identity theft, increases during periods of economic downturn. Make sure your credit isn't being used by a crook.
• Credit scores are even more important now that lenders have made their underwriting stricter. You need a score well above 750 to qualify for the best rates these days.
• Record gas prices are making it a good idea to look for a gas rewards card. You'll need a score over 700 to qualify for most of these deals.
• It's a great time to buy a new car. Especially with the low loan rates available for good credit.
• It is also a really good time to get out of debt. Use your credit report to see where your balances stand.
• Summer is also the time when renters are looking at new places. Print out your credit report and take it with you to apartment viewings.
• As always, checking your own credit does not harm your credit score.

Convinced that you need to check your credit yet? Good! Here are some tips and tricks:

• If you just want your credit reports, with no scores, order from www.annualcreditreport.com for free.
• Don't pay $6 to upgrade to a score with TransUnion and Experian. They offer the new VantageScore which comes with a 500-990 range. You'll confuse more than you'll learn with these scores. Only Equifax will upgrade you to a FICO score.
• If you want to see all three of your credit reports and scores, skip AnnualCreditReport.com and order a retail product instead. The advantage here is that you'll get all three bureau's data in an easy to read format and all three scores using the same formula. You can get this for $14.95 from TransUnion. Or, if you want FICO scores, for $49.95 from FICO. In between those two, Equifax has a 3-in-1 report with one FICO score for $14.95.
   
• TransUnion (TrueCredit) is the only bureau that will let you pay by check online.

Not sure which credit report product is right for you? Credit.com has recently updated their Credit Report section with tools to make it easy to compare features and prices of the eight most popular products.

Emily Davidson – A former TransUnion insider and a member of Credit.com's expert team. Emily writes about credit reports, credit cards, loans and personal finance as the CreditBloggers.com editor.