What is Credit Sense?
Credit Sense is a free, comprehensive Credit Score program offered by the Credit Union that helps you stay on top of your credit. You get your latest credit score and report, an understanding of key factors that impact the score, and practical tips of how to increase your score. Credit Sense also monitors your credit report daily and informs you by email if there are any big changes detected such as: a new account being opened, change in address or employment, a delinquency has been reported or an inquiry has been made. Monitoring helps users keep an eye out for identity theft.
Credit Sense is available in our Mobile App!
Your credit score affects every aspect of your financial life - from loan rates to cost of insurance. The better your score, the more you save. That’s why we’ve made it easier to monitor your credit score by offering 24/7 access to it for FREE in our Mobile Banking App.
- FREE Unlimited access to your credit score
- FREE Monthly credit reports
- FREE Daily credit alerts to help you monitor for fraud
- FREE Tips for improving your score
- FREE Opportunities to save
- See the average credit score within in your zip code
- Review how your credit score has changed over time
- Initiate credit report disputes from the app
Mobile Banking with Free 24/7 Credit Score
Monitoring Your Credit Score
Monitor your credit score for free from the mobile app!
Getting Started:
- Once you’ve logged into the Mobile App, tap My Credit Score
- Click Get Started
- Complete your credit profile and accept the terms and conditions to enroll in Credit Sense.
- After you’ve registered, you’ll be able to view your credit score, learn about factors to help improve your score, explore savings opportunities, and sign up for credit monitoring alerts-all from the convenience of the Mobile App!
Monitor your credit score for free from online banking!
You will find Credit Sense under Self Service.
Fill in the required information.
You will be required to answer 3-4 questions to verify your identity. These questions are from your credit report and are answers only you should know. Once your identity has been verified you will see your credit score overview page.
Here you will be able to view your score and Credit Report. You can also find information on what makes up your score, tips to improve your score, offers available at the credit union and the rate you may qualify for. Under the Your Money tab, you can find articles on different financial topics.
How often is my credit score updated?
As long as you are a regular user, your credit score will be updated every month. You can click “refresh score” as frequently as every day.
Will accessing Credit Sense hurt my credit and potentially lower my credit score?
No. Checking Credit Sense is a “soft inquiry”, which does not affect your credit score. Lenders use “hard inquiries” to make decisions about your credit worthiness when you apply for loans.
How does the Credit Sense credit score differ from other credit scoring offerings?
Credit Sense pulls your credit profile from TransUnion, one of the three major credit reporting bureaus, and uses VantageScore 3.0, a credit scoring model developed collaboratively by the three major bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This model seeks to make score information more uniform between the three bureaus to provide consumers a better picture of their credit health.
Why do credit scores differ?
There are the three credit bureaus listed above and two scoring models- FICO or VantageScore- that determine credit scores. Financial Institutions use different bureaus, as well as their own scoring models. Over 200 factors of a credit report may be taken into account when calculating a score and each model may weigh credit factors differently, so no scoring model is completely identical. No matter what credit bureau or credit scoring model is used, consumers do fall into a specific credit range. Excellent: 780-850, Good 661-780, Fair 601-660, Unfavorable 501-600, Bad Below 500.
Credit score makeup
The charts below illustrate the different credit scoring factors between the two different scoring models, and the weight of each factor.
Does the Credit Union use the Credit Sense credit score to make loan decisions?
No, the Credit Union uses its own lending criteria for making loan decisions. Your credit score may be slightly different when applying for a loan.
If the Credit Union doesn’t use Credit Sense to make loan decisions, why is it offered?
Credit Sense can help you manage and monitor your credit so when it comes time to borrow for big-ticket purchases, you have a clear picture of your credit health and can qualify for the lowest possible interest rate. You’ll also see offers on how you can save money with the Credit Union.
What if the information provided by Credit Sense appears to be wrong or inaccurate?
Credit Sense makes its best effort to show you the most relevant information from your credit report. If you think that some of the information is wrong or inaccurate, we encourage you to take advantage of obtaining free credit reports from www.annualcreditreport.com, and then pursing with each bureau individually. Each bureau has its own process for correcting inaccurate information, however every user can “File a Dispute” by clicking on the “Dispute” link within Credit Sense Credit Report. However, the Federal Trade Commission website offers step-by-step instructions on how to contact the bureaus and correct errors.
How does Credit Sense keep my financial information secure?
Credit Sense uses encryption and high security measures to keep your data safe and secure. Your personal information is never shared with or sold to a third party.