Home » Credit Sesame Review: Free Credit Score, Credit Reports, and ID Protection

Credit Sesame Review: Free Credit Score, Credit Reports, and ID Protection

Managing finances is challenging, and so you need to take the help of any tool possible. It’s vital that you have a clear understanding of your net worth, retirement accounts, and maintain budgets according to your plans. A big part of this keeping a good financial profile is having a good credit score. You can do so by monitoring your credit reports and fixing anything that may be affecting you adversely. 

Excellent credit scores can help you receive the best possible interest rates for auto loans, home loans, and lower annual charges on credit cards. Keeping track of your credit profile can also help in preventing fraud and ID theft fraud.

This is where Credit Sesame comes in, they’ve been helping users keep track of their credit profile with ease. In this “Credit Sesame review“, we’ll go through everything the brand has to offer. 

History of Credit Sesame

Credit Sesame came into existence in 2010. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Credit Sesame offers free credit scoring and credit reporting by using monthly credit score updates. They offer all these features by partnering with TransUnion, which is one of the 3 credit bureaus that manage your credit data. 

How Does Credit Sesame Work?

To get their free service, you’ll need to create an account on the Credit Sesame website. The sign-up process requires you to provide detailed information as they want to offer you complete credit information. If you have any questions, the website offers great explanations for that as well. Here’s how the sign-in page looks:

Screenshot 2022-01-26 233954

You won’t need to provide your social security number, they just need the last 4 digits of the SSN. You will, however, have to answer a series of questions that will help in confirming your background. Basic questions include student loan payments, employer, and state where your social security card was issued. 

Once you enter all the necessary information, Credit Sesame will ask to try to enroll you into its bank. We’ll discuss that later on in this review.

As soon as you sign up, you’ll be able to see your credit score and your potential score and tips on how you can reach that score. Your most prominent credit hurting areas will be shown and what steps you need to take to improve your credit score. You’ll have to sign up for the advance and premium accounts to get access to detailed reports, and they cost you money. 

Cost of Credit Sesame

PlanCost
BasicFree 
Advanced$9.95
Platinum$19.95

Credit Sesame is completely free, and you can use most features for free. There are no hidden costs to get a free credit report, free membership is a great feature for those who need limited features. 

The “Credit Sesame Advanced Plan” offers a daily credit score update, monthly 3-bureau (TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian) credit score update, and monthly 3 bureau credit report. 

The “Credit Score Platinum Plan” offers multiple features worth the cost. You get 24/7 live experts in case your wallet was lost or stolen. The premium service also offers black market monitoring, public records monitoring, social security number monitoring, and others. The Platinum plan also comes with up to $1 million ID theft insurance. 

Features of Credit Sesame

1. Free Credit Score

The most prominent feature of Credit Sesame is that it pulls your information using TransUnion to check your credit score. You can use this free service to gain a deeper understanding of what’s affecting your credit score. Credit Sesame also offers steps that you can follow to improve your credit score. 

2. Free Credit Monitoring

Credit monitoring offers you real-time alerts that are hurting your credit score. Every small change is updated for you.

3. Free ID Theft Protection

Another great feature offered by Credit Sesame is the free ID theft protection. They offer free Identity theft insurance that covers you for up to $50,000. Let’s say someone steals your identity, you’ll be protected and you will have Credit Sesame’s support team restoring your credit score. 

4. Savings Recommendations

Credit Sesame helps you in making smart credit decisions and helps you save a lot of money. Renewing your credit and debt will customize credit cards based on your financial health and credit habits. 

5. Sesame Cash

Credit Sesame also works as a financial institution, and they offer a digital checking account that will offer you rewards for improving your credit score. This is the bank that we mentioned above in the Credit Sesame Review. Transfer funds into your account and your online score will take a huge jump. You may even receive $10-$99 into your bank account. 

There is no monthly fee, no need to maintain a minimum balance, and no international transaction fees. You can also access over 55,000 ATMs worldwide without incurring any fees. 

To make sure that their users are protected, Credit Sesame bank is FDIC insured via Community Federal Savings Bank.

If you start receiving your paycheck into Sesame bank, you can get your paycheck two days early from the bank itself. 

6. One-Stop Solution for Managing Finances

As you get daily, and monthly reports from credit bureaus, and as all your debts are connected, it becomes a one-stop solution to view and manage your finances. You can use your linked bank account to set up monthly credit card payments and other necessary bills. This is a great reason to store your credit information on Credit Sesame. 

7. Exciting Cash Back Offers

By using your Sesame cash debit MasterCard, you can get great cashback when you shop online or offline at selected stores. This can help you save more money as you shop. Some of their most famous deals are 10% cashback at Nike or 5% cash back at Circle K.

To avail the cashback, you can use your debit card on mobile or integrate it with Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. 

Bottom Line: Credit Sesame Review

Knowing your credit score and understanding how to fix k your credit score is a basic need in today’s time. Any time you try to get a credit score, you have to sign up or login into a platform that is cumbersome and time-consuming. With Credit Sesame, you can easily access your credit reports and other information in almost an instant. As the most basic services are free, it doesn’t hurt to give them a try. 

Back to top