Improve Your Credit Score With Amex’s New Tool
[Forbes, Getty Images]
If you want to improve your credit score but aren’t sure where to start, American Express now offers a free tool that acts like a blueprint to help you accomplish your objective. Called Score Goals, the program lets users enter the score they aspire to and then generates a personalized recommendation for how to get there.
The Score Goals site is a new addition to the issuer’s My Credit Guide, a free credit score and report site available to cardholders of any stripe, not just those with an American Express card. Credit scores, reports and Score Goals’ recommendations are based on data from Transunion’s Vantage Score 3.0 scoring model.
“We’re continuing to innovate our products to provide more personalized ways to help consumers manage their financial goals. With the launch of Score Goals, we’re really excited to be able to give more consumers a new way to manage and achieve their credit goals,” said Kunal Madhok, vice president and head of product and acquisition, U.S. Consumer Lending Cards, American Express in a statement to Forbes Advisor.
The ability to see your credit report and your score isn’t new. The site FreeAnnualCreditReport offers anyone a chance to see their full credit report—although not their score—on a weekly basis since April 2020 through April 2021, then back to once annually. Many card issuers offer a free FICO score if you log into your card account.
What makes the Score Goals concept unique is that it offers tailored recommendations based on an individual’s specific credit score aspirations. Users should choose a goal based on their unique financial circumstances and will be presented with achievement timeframe options of 6, 12, 18 or 24 months. The model offers different recommendations based on each timeframe.
Depending on how close or far you currently are from your credit goal it could take as little as a few months or up to a few years to achieve the score you’re seeking. Everytime you log into the program, you’ll see updated recommendations and information about your progress.
Aiming to improve your credit score is always a worthy financial goal. The better your score, the better the rates you’ll receive on all of your loans, like mortgages, auto loans and student loans. Although the Score Goals program can’t make you pay your bills on time or stop you from racking up debt on your credit cards, it can help nudge you towards better habits, at no cost to you.
By Robin Saks Frankel