MyFICO Review: Comprehensive Credit Monitoring, but at a Cost
MyFICO offers a deep dive into your credit profile, focusing on the actual FICO scores used by lenders. While it excels in credit monitoring and providing valuable insights into your financial health, its high price tag and limitations in identity protection features may give potential subscribers pause.
What MyFICO Offers
MyFICO provides credit monitoring services with a particular emphasis on FICO scores. Unlike some competitors that offer VantageScore substitutes, MyFICO provides the scores most commonly used by banks, loan companies, and credit card issuers. This includes access to a range of FICO scores, providing a comprehensive 360-degree view of your credit data and history. The service also includes:
- Monthly credit reports.
- Detailed insights into the factors influencing your FICO scores.
- Credit simulators to help you understand how different financial actions might affect your scores.
- Two-factor authentication.
- $1 million in identity theft insurance.
- Alerts for changes in your credit profile, sent via web interface, mobile app, and email.
MyFICO Plans and Pricing
MyFICO offers three tiers of service, each with different features and price points:
- Basic ($20/month): Includes Experian credit scores and reports, along with your primary FICO score.
- Advanced ($30/month): Adds quarterly access to scores and reports from all three credit bureaus and 12 of the most-used FICO scores. Dark web identity monitoring is also included.
- Premier ($40/month): Offers monthly credit scores and reports from all three credit agencies. This plan, evaluated in this review, is one of the most expensive identity protection services available.
Unfortunately, MyFICO doesn’t offer a family plan or an annual payment option, adding to the overall cost. While the Premier plan does provide comprehensive credit monitoring, it lacks several features found in competing services, such as a credit freeze button, investment account monitoring, and alerts for home title changes.
How MyFICO Works
The MyFICO service is geared towards individuals who want in-depth credit monitoring and an understanding of their FICO scores. During testing in 2022, the reviewer began by subscribing to the Premier plan and documented the setup, usage, and features provided.
Setting up the service is relatively straightforward, requiring users to provide personal information and answer security questions. The MyFICO website and mobile app are user-friendly, with quick logins and a responsive interface.
Notifications and Alerts
MyFICO provides detailed alerts regarding changes to your credit profile. Notifications can be viewed on the web interface, the mobile app, and via email.
During testing, the reviewer received frequent alerts, often repeated across the three credit agencies, that were clear and fact-based. However, some users may find the volume of alerts overwhelming.
Limitations and Drawbacks
While MyFICO offers valuable credit monitoring features, there are some significant limitations.
- High Cost: The Premier plan is one of the more expensive services on the market.
- Lack of Identity Protection Features: The service lacks several important identity protection features. This includes a credit freeze button, investment account monitoring, data breach alerts, and alerts for home title changes.
- No Family Plan: The absence of a family plan can make it difficult to protect the credit of multiple family members.
- Limited Security Features: MyFICO doesn’t offer a VPN, password manager, or malware protection, which are standard features for many identity theft protection services.
Customer Support
The company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, indicating a good reputation with its customers. Support staff are available by phone during standard business hours and 24/7 in the event of an identity crisis. The service also provides links to support technicians directly from the browser interface.
Cancellation
Canceling a MyFICO subscription can be done through the website. The cancellation process requires several steps to complete.
MyFICO: The Verdict
MyFICO is a robust service for those prioritizing credit monitoring and detailed FICO scores. Its credit simulators and educational resources are valuable tools that will help you understand the factors affecting your credit standing.
However, its high cost, the lack of key identity protection features, and the absence of family plans make it a less attractive option than some competitors. MyFICO may be a good choice if you are primarily focused on your credit scores and credit reports, and are willing to pay a premium price for its services. However, consider other options if identity protection is your primary concern or you are looking for a more budget-friendly service.
