Monitoring your credit score is very important and you want to make sure that you have the right resources to keep an eye on things. There are many different apps and websites on the market that promise to give you a free look at your credit score. Figuring out which ones are worthwhile and which ones aren’t legitimate isn’t always easy. Thankfully, it’s a lot easier to see what the best options are when you can find the right information online.
Today we will conduct an in-depth Credit Sesame review. Credit Sesame has been around for many years and has proven to be a popular source of information that helps people to manage their finances. In this Credit Sesame review, we will be going over all of the details that you need to know. First, let’s take a general look at Credit Sesame and what they’re all about.
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Credit Sesame Overview
Credit Sesame is a good free option for people who want to take a look at their credit scores. You will be able to access your score for free and you can also make use of special savings advice. This site offers services such as identity theft protection and credit monitoring for free. There is also a paid version of the site that is much more robust.
Users of Credit Sesame can use its basic features to keep an eye on their credit scores while being able to look at pertinent advice. It works very similarly to most other free credit score websites out there. It may not stand out from the pack in too many ways but it does a good job of giving users what they expect. This is marketed as a user-friendly way to monitor your credit without having to pay for the privilege.
Keep in mind that many of the best features will be locked behind the paid membership. It offers you many features for free but it does a lot more for you if you’re willing to pay a little bit of money. This is still one of the most affordable credit monitoring sites out there.
Credit Sesame Pros
Among all of the credit monitoring sites and apps, Credit Sesame is going to be one of the most affordable options. The paid membership plan that they offer is very low in cost. The free plan is going to be adequate for those who just want to keep an eye on their credit scores without going too in depth. If you only want to take care of simple credit monitoring, then this may be one of the premier options online.
The Credit Sesame plans will give you access to basic ID monitoring services too. It’s also possible to sign up for higher-tiered packages if you decide that you want more. Having this option available to you at such a low cost is very good. ID monitoring services are one of the main reasons why people sign up for sites such as this so it’s good that you have access to it here.
Also, you will be able to use Credit Sesame to get affordable access to monthly updates from the three major credit bureaus. If you just want to keep an eye on how your credit is trending, then this will give you good monthly reports. You will be able to use this information to inform your financial decisions moving forward. This isn’t much different from other credit monitoring sites but the reports are presented well when using Credit Sesame.
Free identity theft insurance is available when you sign up for Credit Sesame too. This is a nice feature and it helps to make you feel safe. You won’t have to be quite so worried about whether or not someone is going to use your identity to open credit accounts. Not many sites offer insurance such as this for free users so it’s a nice touch.
- Very low in cost
- 100% free plan
- Basic ID monitoring services
- Access to monthly reports from the three major credit bureaus
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Credit Sesame Cons
One of the worst aspects of Credit Sesame is that it doesn’t actually use your FICO credit score when determining the score that it shows you. It uses a VantageScore. The reason that this is worth mentioning is that most lenders are not going to go by this score. This means that it will not give you the right information when you’re trying to apply for a credit card or a loan.
You also won’t have access to bank or credit account monitoring when making use of Credit Sesame plans. If you were hoping to keep a close eye on your accounts, then you might be better off using a different credit monitoring service. As inexpensive as it is, you will find that it is lacking in some areas such as this. Even so, the basic credit monitoring features do prove to be enough for many people.
Despite the identity theft insurance, Credit Sesame is not quite as good as its competitors when it comes to identity theft protection. Many of the alternatives to this site will be better at keeping you safe and will offer more options for protection. It doesn’t have as many identity theft protections in place for you so you might not feel as protected as you would like to be. If this is important to you and is one of your main reasons for monitoring your credit, then you’ll want to take this into consideration.
The customer service is somewhat lacking as well. If you try to contact customer service, then you will notice that there is no phone number or online chat option. This leaves you with no real live support options if you encounter any issues. For many people, this is going to be absolutely unacceptable.
- VantageScore instead of real FICO score
- No access to bank or credit account monitoring
- Identity theft protection department somewhat lacking
- Inadequate customer service
Basic Features of Credit Sesame Free Accounts
Since Credit Sesame has both a free plan and a paid membership option, there are going to be different features for both. We are going to go over the basic features in this section to give you a preview of what you can expect to have access to without spending any money. This is going to be a good option for those who want to casually monitor their credit without digging into too many advanced features.
Simple Credit Monitoring
You will be able to take advantage of basic credit monitoring when you sign up for the Credit Sesame free membership. This allows you to check your credit score and see how you’re doing overall. It will help you to understand what your credit situation is while also showing you what goes into determining your score. This is pretty good overall for a free credit monitoring program but it doesn’t have advanced features or anything.
Monthly TransUnion Credit Reports
Being able to take advantage of monthly TransUnion credit reports is a nice touch. This is going to help you to take a bit of a deeper look at where your credit is at. Those who want to monitor their progress on a monthly basis will like making use of this free feature. This isn’t too in-depth but it does give you the basic information that you need to know about how your score has changed each month.
Identity Theft Insurance
One of the interesting features that is offered by Credit Sesame is identity theft insurance. This site does its best to help users avoid identity theft and they’re very confident that you’ll be safe using their services. For this reason, they’re offering users $50,000 in identity theft insurance as part of their free plan. This insurance can really help users to fix things if they have their identities stolen at any point.
Paid Features
The paid features will offer you a little bit more. If you want to enjoy more reports and information about your credit score, then paying for the advanced credit plan may be worthwhile. You get everything that the free plan includes and then some.
Daily Credit Score Updates
One of the big reasons to pay for Credit Sesame is to gain access to daily credit score updates. This is going to give you the ability to keep track of changes on a daily basis. If you are really trying to make improvements to your credit score, then this will be very beneficial. The daily updates are very informative and allow users to have access to the most up-to-date information possible.
Monthly Credit Score Reports From All Three Major Bureaus
If you pay for the advanced credit plan, then you’ll have access to monthly credit score reports from all three major bureaus. This gives you all of the right information to truly make good credit decisions. Instead of being stuck with only the TransUnion report, you’ll be able to look at things from all angles. This is a great benefit for those who are willing to pay a little bit of money.
Improved Credit Score Monitoring
Your credit score monitoring is going to be a lot better with the advanced credit plan. You’ll have the ability to track things better and will be able to get all of the information from one bureau. When combined with the monthly credit score reports, it gives users a complete picture of their current credit situation. The basic monitoring from the free plan is much more simplified than this.
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Alternatives to Credit Sesame
One of the most famous and popular alternatives to Credit Sesame is Credit Karma. Credit Karma works very similarly to Credit Sesame. It also offers a free plan that is going to give you access to your credit score and monthly credit reports. The free plan may not be as robust as some other paid options but it is definitely aligned with what Credit Sesame is offering.
Credit Karma users will be able to take advantage of many recommendations for improving their credit scores as well. It often shows users credit cards that the site thinks would be a good fit for them. If you’re rebuilding your credit, then Credit Karma is a very good site to use. By linking to offers that will work well for users with specific credit scores, it makes it easier for them to start building their credit back up.
This site is also a good source of information. It offers free credit monitoring, free credit reports, and many useful tips for how to proceed. Credit Karma is going to be preferable to Credit Sesame for some users. It even has a section of the site dedicated to helping people with their taxes. Depending on your needs, you might find Credit Karma to be a good option.
Our Final Thoughts on Credit Sesame
Now that you’ve read our Credit Sesame review, you’ll be able to determine whether or not it is going to be a good fit for your situation. It is definitely among the most affordable credit monitoring sites around. If you just want to be able to take a look at your credit score for free, then Credit Sesame is an easy site to recommend. It can be useful for users who are looking for more robust credit monitoring options as well.
You’ll need to decide whether or not the free plan or the advanced credit plan will be the best fit. Even the advanced plan is going to be very cost-effective. If you want access to better credit monitoring services and more detailed credit reports from the three major bureaus, then it’s worthwhile to pay just a bit of money. Whether or not this site is more worthy than the multitude of other similar sites online is up to you to decide.
Some of the alternatives, such as Credit Karma, will offer many of the same features. You’ll be able to find what you’re looking for online so long as you take your time to weigh your options. Monitoring your credit can be an easy experience and it doesn’t have to cost much money. Credit Sesame is just one of the potentially useful options out there so sign up today if you like what you’ve read about them.
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