What is Credit Sesame?
Sure, they are a credit monitoring service, like Credit Karma and many others, but that’s not all.
They offer more than the other credit monitoring services I’ve seen, while still keeping it free.
What do they offer, you ask? A free credit score, free credit monitoring and free identity theft protection.
Free identity theft protection? That’s right! And they actually offer even more than that.
Let me give you a quick breakdown, then I’ll let you go try it out. After all, it is free…
My Credit Sesame Story
You may remember my review on Credit Karma. You may also wonder why I’m reviewing both of these companies, if they are so similar. I’ll tell you why…
I found Credit Karma first. I signed up and we fell in love I liked the service.
A few months later, I found Credit Sesame. It was free, like Credit Karma, so I decided to try it out.
At first, it seemed to be about the same, other than free ID theft protection Credit Sesame offers, but a few months into it, I decided that I preferred Credit Sesame. Here’s why…
There was a fraudulent charge on my account. I’m still not sure exactly how my information was leaked, but it was and someone, who apparently really loves kitchen appliances, was using my credit card information.
How did I figure all of this out? You guessed it…Credit Sesame. They literally notified me the same day that the first fraudulent purchase was made.
You may be thinking “I didn’t really think credit monitoring services knew when fraudulent purchases are made” and to be honest they don’t, but Credit Sesame did notify me of a major balance change, which is what caught my attention and they notified me the same day it happened. My credit card company notified me a little later that day…
So, what about Credit Karma? They notified too…3 days later! If I would have been counting on them to save me from this criminal chef, I may still be paying off those kitchen appliances.
Enough about me, here’s what Credit Sesame can do for you…
Credit Sesame’s Services and How They Make Money
The credit updates are really nice, but they do more than that. Let me explain their services and how they make their money…
- Free monthly credit score. Each month, you will get an email to review your credit scorecard. The scorecard will include your updated credit score with an explanation of everything that has changed. You’ll also get free access to your Experian credit report.
- Free 1-bureau credit monitoring. They will monitor your Experian credit report and score. You get alerts for changes on your account, like I did for the balance change. They will also send you alerts when offers come available that are better for your credit. This is one way they make money, through affiliate offers and sales. Which is also why the service itself is free.
- Free Identity Theft Protection. You get $50,000 in identity theft insurance, plus fraud resolution assistance. Yes, that’s all free; however, they do have a premium identity theft protection service, which does cost money, but we’ll talk about that in a moment. Basically, if you don’t have any ID theft protection right now, this is a great free way to get some.
- Free credit and loan analysis. They will show you what’s affecting your credit and what you can do to improve it. This is also where thier offers come in (in a good way). They will offer you cards and loans that save you money (of course, they earn money when you go through them). It’s a win-win though, as long as you only choose cards and loans that are good for you.
If you didn’t notice a trend, I’m going to go ahead and just tell you: everything they offer is based off your Experian report. You can get a free report from all three bureaus (once per year) at annualcreditreport.com, but for month to month monitoring, one bureau is sufficient.
Anytime I see a free credit score service, my first question is always “how do they make their money?”. I showed you several ways above that they make money, but they also have “premium” services, which means “paid” services. They may be worth it for you. They are quite fairly priced…
Credit Sesame Premium Services
Here are the premium services Credit Sesame has to offer:
Advanced Credit
This service adds:
- Unlimited daily credit score updates (only available through Credit Sesame)
- A fully downloadable monthly credit report
- Credit dispute resolution via 24/7 live help
Identity Protection
This service adds:
- $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance
- Full service identity restoration
- Public records monitoring
- Black market website monitoring
- Social security number monitoring
- Stolen/lost wallet protection via 24/7 live help
Platinum Protection (Everything)
This service adds:
- Unlimited daily credit score updates
- A fully downloadable monthly credit report
- Credit dispute resolution via 24/7 live help
- $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance
- Full service identity restoration
- Public records monitoring
- Black market website monitoring
- Social security number monitoring
- Stolen/lost wallet protection via 24/7 live help
Now It’s Your Turn
I hope you have a better understanding of everything Credit Sesame can do for you.
Once again, it’s free, so you can always try it and make the decision yourself to keep it or not.
If the premium services are for you, you may want to try them too, but they may not be necessary for your needs. Start free and go from there.
I’ve rated Credit Sesame below. I’ve also given you the option to rate it, so let me know what you think!
Credit Sesame Rating
Summary
I prefer Credit Sesame to any other free credit monitoring service. The identity theft protection is a nice addition and their timeliness makes them a little more reliable than other companies. You can leave your rating as well!