You might have seen the commercials on TV advertising that you can get your credit score for free from Chase Journey. This is a new tool that Chase launched called Credit Journey, which allows users (who don't even have to be Chase customers) to get their VantageScore for free.
While a VantageScore isn't your true credit score, it's close, and it's a great way to monitor your credit. Even better, Chase Journey allows you to not only see your score, but it monitors your credit on a daily basis. This can be a valuable tool if you're concerned about your identity being stolen.
Let's take a look at how Chase Credit Journey works, and if it's worth it.
Chase Journey Free Credit Score
Chase Credit Journey allows you to check your VantageScore 3.0 from TransUnion for free. You might have heard of your FICO score before - which is one of the major credit scores that banks and companies use to check your credit. VantageScore is another credit score which is slightly different, but does the same thing.
They are basically slight variations on the same thing - how credit worthy you are.
Chase Journey gives you access to this score for free, along with a 12 month history of your score. That way you can see changes of your score over time (which is super helpful if you're working to improve your credit score).
You can sign up for Chase Credit Journey here. It's not available on their mobile app.
Chase Journey Free Credit Alerts
In addition to your credit score, the Chase Credit Journey tool also provides free credit alerts to ensure that you're aware of any changes to your credit. This can really be helpful if you're concerned about identity theft.
You will get alerts on the following:
- New credit inquiries
- New accounts opened
- Any changes of address
- New public records reported on your credit report
- Changes in account status (either positive or negative)
- Delinquent account notices
- Fraud alerts
The Chase Journey tool also provides you with helpful actions you can take based on the alert. This is very helpful if you suspect any type of fraudulent activities.
How To Sign Up
It's incredibly easy to sign up for Chase Credit Journey. If you're an existing Chase customer, you can sign up by logging into your online banking account.
If you're not a customer (or are a customer without online banking), you can head over here: Chase Credit Journey.
When you sign up, you're going to have to complete an identity verification process to confirm your identity. If you're an existing Chase customer, this is easily done with a text message pin. If you're not a Chase customer, you'll be asked to verify information from your credit report.
The cool thing about Chase Journey is that this service is completely free. Some credit reporting and monitoring companies will charge you a monthly fee after your "free" trial. That isn't the case with Chase. However, don't be surprised if you do get a Chase upsell every now and then.
Important Things To Know
While Chase Credit Journey is an awesome free tool, it's still important to know the following.
First, your VantageScore provided by Chase Journey isn't your FICO score. If you're getting a mortgage or applying for credit, your lender may see a different score than you're seeing. This is normal. The VantageScore is a slightly different calculation. However, "good" is typically good across all scores, and "bad" is typically bad across all scores.
Second, you can't see your full credit report on Chase Journey. You can, however, access your credit report for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. You can pull your credit report for free once per year for each credit reporting agency. This is a great way to see every item impacting your credit score.
Alternatives To Chase Journey
Chase Credit Journey isn't the only way to get your free credit score. There are other tools that may be better to help you tackle your credit.
When it comes to credit monitoring and knowing your score, we recommend:
Credit Karma: Credit Karma allows you to see your credit score (also a VantageScore) as well as tools, tips, and tactics to help improve it. CreditKarma provides great alerts and has a great mobile app. Credit Karma even helps you file your taxes! Check out our Credit Karma review.
Credit Sesame: Credit Sesame is similar to Credit Karma in that it allows you to see a credit score, your credit history, and various factors impacting your score. It also gives you tips to improve your score. Check out our Credit Sesame review.
If you're looking for a great tool to help you improve your score, check out:
Self Financial: Self is an interesting company that allows you to build your credit by lending to yourself. They setup a loan and a savings account that work together to build your credit. Check out our Self Financial review for more information.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that Chase Credit Journey is a great way to monitor you credit and make improvements to your credit score. If you're an existing Chase customer, it's a no-brainer to take advantage of this free tool since you're likely already using Chase's website a few times per month.
If you're not an existing Chase customer, it might not make sense to jump on board. Free is great, but there are other great free tools that could be a better fit for you.
Chase Journey Free Credit Score
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Summary
Chase Credit Journey is a tool that allows you to get your credit score for free, even if you’re not a Chase customer or cardmember.
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared toward anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, ABC, NBC, Today, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
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