Estimate Your Credit Score Instantly

Check out Credit Score Compass on the credit.com website.  It is a free online tool to estimate your credit score instantly before you apply for credit.

The estimated score does not count as an inquiry on your credit record.  In fact, you can estimate your credit score without inputting your name or any identifying information.

You are asked six questions to estimate your credit score, which gives you some insight into the factors that go into credit scoring:

1. What is the age of your oldest open credit or loan account?
2. How many of the following accounts (open or closed) do you have listed on your credit report? a) mortgages, b) auto loans, c) student loans, d) other loans, e) credit cards, f) finance accounts.
3. Do you have any of the following listed on your credit report?  a) bankruptcy, b) judgment, c) tax lien, d) foreclosure, e) settlement, f) charge-off, g) serious late payment (90+ days late) or currently late payment (any account that is currently past due).
4. Add up all the credit limits on your open credit cards:
5. Add up all the most recent statement balances on your credit card accounts:
6. How many times have you applied for credit in the last 6 months?

It only takes a few moments to get your estimated credit score.  You can also toggle answers to see the effect different answers has on your estimated score.

You can get a free copy of your credit report from three credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and Transunion) once per year at www.annualcreditreport.com.  You can get the information from the reports to estimate your credit score and you can review your report for errors, which you should dispute and demand correction.