What's Length of Credit History?
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How to Get Your FICO® Score for Free
4 min read
Last Updated: May 21, 2024
Key Takeaways
- With CreditWise from Capital One, you can get your FICO® Score 8 and important information behind it for free.1
- Your detailed and personalized credit summary from CreditWise helps you understand your score and build credit responsibly2.
- We’ll monitor your credit report every day and alert you when anyone pulls your credit, so you can recognize possible fraud3.
How to check your FICO® Score for free
Get your FICO® Credit Score for free on monthly statements, on the CreditWise mobile app and online.1
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Why should I check my FICO® Score?
Lenders will use your credit score to determine your credit risk and creditworthiness. You can use your score to help you prepare for the future, stay on top of your credit, or avoid surprises—so it’s a good idea to review your score regularly.
How is my FICO® Score calculated?
FICO® Scores consider the following five categories when determining your credit rating. The breakdown below shows the impact of these score factors, but your individual score may give some factors more importance based on the information in your credit report.
- Payment history: 35%
- Credit utilization: 30%
- Length of credit history: 15%
- New credit opened: 10%
- Types of credit you have: 10%
What if I don’t agree with my credit score or the factors affecting my score?
CreditWise shows your recent FICO Score 8 from TransUnion. Your score can change month to month if your creditors share new information with the credit bureau. If you believe there's an error, you can dispute any inaccurate information on the TransUnion website. You can also do the following:
- Request your free annual TransUnion credit report at annualcreditreport.com
- Call 1-877-322-8228
- Mail your request to:
Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 105281
Atlanta, Georgia 30348-5281
Request free credit reports once per year
You can also get your free credit reports from the other two major credit bureaus, Experian® and Equifax®.
Federal law allows you to receive one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. The Federal Trade Commission reports that the three credit bureaus have permanently extended the program to include one free report per week.
You can request your free credit report at AnnualCreditReport.com (the only website authorized by the federal government). Additionally, you can ask for a free credit report within 60 days of being denied credit.
How can I get a good credit score?
Good financial habits (like consistently paying bills on time, keeping balances low, and only opening new cards when necessary) can all have a positive effect on your FICO® Score. Similarly, hard inquiries, delinquent payments, and past due accounts may negatively impact your score.
Many credit card companies report your activity to one or all three major credit bureaus, so it's important to practice responsible credit habits.
Why is the score in my CreditWise report different from my other credit scores?
The score provided by CreditWise may be different than other scores you see for several reasons:
- CreditWise provides your FICO® Score 81, which is one of the company’s most widely used scoring models, according to myFICO. Lenders use several different kinds of FICO® Scores, depending on the type of loan they provide.
- CreditWise provides your score from data on your TransUnion® credit report. Scores may vary when using data from a different credit reporting agency, because each scoring model takes different factors into account to determine a credit score.
- The CFPB says that, “the scoring model (which itself may depend on the type of loan product the score will be used for), the source of the data used, and even the day when [your credit score] was calculated” can affect your score.
- Different lenders may also use other credit scoring models. Credit scores that aren't FICO® Scores may show other results.
Will checking my FICO® Score hurt my credit?
With CreditWise, you can get your FICO® Credit Score and more for free.1
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See if you’re pre-approved
Check for pre-approval offers with no impact to your credit score.
Will my FICO® Credit Score ever be unavailable?
You may not see your FICO® Score if:
- You have mismatched or missing information, like an address change that hasn’t been sent to either Discover or TransUnion®.
- Your account status is abandoned, bankrupt, fraud, lost or stolen, closed, revoked, or charged off.
- You have a foreign address.
- Your credit history is too new.
- You put a security freeze on your credit report.
- You have opted not to receive your FICO® Credit Score.
- You’ve had no account activity for 180 days; in which case the score will also be unavailable online or on our mobile app.
Do joint account holders receive FICO® Scores from Discover?
Joint account holders and authorized buyers do not receive FICO® Scores from Discover.
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The credit score provided in CreditWise is a FICO® Score 8 based on TransUnion data. The FICO Score 8 gives you a good sense of your credit health but it may not be the same score model used by your lender or creditor. The availability of the CreditWise tool and certain features in the tool depends on our ability to obtain your credit history from TransUnion and whether you have sufficient credit history to generate a FICO Score 8. In order to enroll in CreditWise, you need to be a US resident, 18 or older, and have a valid social security number that can be matched to a credit profile from the TransUnion® credit bureau. Some monitoring and alerts may not be available to you if the information you enter at enrollment does not match the information in your credit file at (or you do not have a file at) one or more consumer reporting agencies. You do not need to be a Capital One account holder (which includes Discover card accounts) to sign up for CreditWise.
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Alerts are based on select changes to your TransUnion® and Experian® credit reports and information we find on the dark web.
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