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Credit monitoring is essential in today’s digital age with an increase in hacking and fraudulent activity. Chase Credit Journey is another fish in the pond with credit monitoring services. Is it worth it, or should you look elsewhere?
Check out my Chase Credit Journey Review below.
What Is Chase Credit Journey?
Chase Credit Journey is a program for Chase customers and non-Chase customers to check their credit scores for free. Chase Credit Journey users can check their credit score anytime for free, and the scores update weekly.
The score Chase Credit Journey provides is your TransUnion Vantage Score, which isn’t the same as the FICO score most lenders use, but it’s usually close enough to show you where your credit score stands.
How Does Chase Credit Journey Work?
Chase Credit Journey is free for anyone. To join, you must give Chase Credit Journey access to your credit report information, which involves providing some private information, unless you’ve already signed up for a Chase account. In that case, you opt into the program and automatically have access to your credit score.
Chase Credit Journey updates your score weekly, and it alerts you of any of the following:
- New activity such as inquiries or new accounts
- Changes in your account status
- Address changes
- Notification of suspicious activity
- New late payment notifications or public records
How Do You Sign Up for Chase Credit Journey?
Like I said earlier, it’s free to sign up for Chase Credit Journey. If you have a Chase account already, click on ‘your credit score’ on your dashboard, and you have instant access to your credit score.
If you aren’t a Chase customer, click hereto sign up and provide the following information:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Social Security number
- Contact information
Once completed, you’ll have instant access to your TransUnion Vantage score.
Chase Credit Journey Features and Benefits:
- Updated Credit Score: Each time you log into your dashboard, you’ll see your updated credit score instantly. Chase Credit Journey updates your score weekly, but you can check the dashboard as often as you want.
- Identity Protection: Chase is available 365 days a year and 24-hours a day to help you with any identity theft issues. Whether you have a lost/stolen wallet or you’ve been a victim of identity theft, Chase professionals will help you around the clock.
- Real-Time Alerts: Chase Credit Journey provides instant alerts should anything change on your credit report. This helps you stop fraudulent activity before it gets out of hand.
- Tailored Insights: Chase Credit Journey provides tailored suggestions based on your credit history to help improve your personal financial situation.
- Lost Wallet Services: Whether you’re at home or halfway around the world if your wallet is lost or stolen, Chase professionals will help you through the process.
- $1M Identity Theft Insurance: If your identity is stolen, Chase Credit Journey provides up to $1 million in identity theft insurance to cover the cost of lost wages and costs incurred to fix the issues caused.
Additional Services Offered By Chase Credit Journey:
Credit Score Simulator
If you’ve ever wondered how applying for a new loan or closing an existing credit card would affect your credit, the Chase Credit Score Simulator will tell you. Test the waters before making any credit decisions and protect your credit score from bad decisions.
Credit Alerts
Chase Credit Journey alerts you of any new activity on your credit report. If it’s you that made the changes, you have nothing to worry about. If it’s not something you did, though, you can react fast to protect your credit.
Prequalified Offers
Chase will provide you with prequalified offers for installment loans, credit cards, or mortgage loans based on your credit history and spending patterns.
Helpful Educational Resources
The Chase education center helps you learn about credit (building it, fixing it, and stopping the myths). It also teaches you how credit scores work and how you can maximize your credit score.
How Much Does Chase Credit Journey Cost?
Chase Credit Journey is 100% free for both Chase customers and non-Chase customers.
Chase Credit Journey Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Chase Credit Journey is free for everyone
- You can check your credit score as often as you want and get free weekly updates
- It’s user-friendly
- The credit score simulator stops you from making poor credit decisions
Cons:
- Most lenders use your FICO score, not your Vantage score
- You only have access to one score when you have three scores (lenders use all 3)
- The tailored offers may be limited
Alternatives to Chase Credit Journey
#1. Credit Sesame(A Much Better Choice)
Credit Sesame is also a free credit monitoring service. It provides access to your TransUnion FICO score, which is closer to what most lenders check.
Credit Sesame provides $50,000 in identity theft insurance, and they also offer tips and tricks to improve your credit score. Credit Sesame ‘coaches’ you through the process of fixing your credit score by showing you how close you are to improving your credit score and providing tips to get you there.
>> More: Credit Sesame Review
#2. Credit Karma
Credit Karma is also a free credit monitoring service, but it monitors two bureaus – TransUnion and Equifax.
Like Chase Credit Journey, Credit Karma advises improve your credit score, and they offer identity monitoring. They don’t, however, provide identity theft insurance. Credit Karma helps you improve your credit score by sending you to partner lenders offering loans or credit cards with better terms or interest rates.
They don’t provide the same level of ‘coaching’ as Credit Sesame or Chase Credit Journey.
>> More: Credit Karma Review
#3. Experian IdentityWorks
Experian IdentityWorks is a paid credit monitoring system that costs $9.99 – $19.99 per month. Both plans protect your identity, monitor yourcredit report, survey the dark web, and monitor your Social Security number.
If you pay for the higher plan, you’ll also get sex offender registry, court records, social media, and financial account monitoring. You get access to your credit score daily and get alerts with any credit changes, including inquiries, new accounts, or major balance changes.
>> More: Best Credit Monitoring Services
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chase Credit Journey Legit?
Chase is a well-known and well-established financial institution, so it’s no surprise that Chase Credit Journey is legit and effective in helping consumers monitor and fix their credit.
What Credit Does Chase Credit Journey Use?
Chase Credit Journey uses your TransUnion Vantage score, which isn’t the same as your FICO score but is a pretty good estimate.
Is Chase Credit Journey Free?
Yes! Chase Credit Journey is free for everyone.
Does Chase Credit Journey Hurt Your Credit Score?
No, Chase Credit Journey does a soft credit pull, which is the same thing as you pulling your own credit. It doesn’t hurt your credit score, and it doesn’t put an inquiry on your report.
Bottom Line: Chase Credit Journey Review
If you’re a Chase customer, using Chase Credit Journey is a no-brainer. It’s free, and it’s available. If you aren’t a Chase customer, you may want to look at other options, like Credit Sesame, for more intuitive credit monitoring, but Chase Credit Journey is an effective option too.
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