Intuit Credit Karma
"New fees have emerged as a way to make up revenue, including foreign transaction fees, inactivity fees and minimum finance charges," says Ken Lin, CEO of Credit Karma, which offers free credit scores.
You can get free scores, including your VantageScore, based on the data in your TransUnion file, at CreditKarma.com.
If old late payments are putting a dent in your score, you may be able to persuade creditors to remove them from your credit history, according to Ken Lin of the personal finance site CreditKarma.com.
We've found that AnnualCreditReport is a truly free option for getting your annual report. For monthly score updates, try CreditKarma.
"Think of prepaid credit cards as training wheels in the world of credit. They are best for teaching teens to control spending and the conveniences of how and where to use a credit card, without the risk of falling into debt," says Nicole Mustard, senior vice president of strategy at Credit Karma.
Normally, when you check your credit report for free, you don't get your score. You usually have to pay for it, unless you use a service like Credit Karma.
In its report this week, CreditKarma says consumers in six metropolitan statistical areas had a credit score decrease greater than the national average, including Chicago, Houston and Seattle, down three points; New York, down four points; and Los Angeles and Philadelphia, down five points.
Auto, mortgage and student loan balances all increased over the year among Nebraska clients of CreditKarma.com, a nonprofit group that provides credit information and counseling.
According to Credit Karma Inc., a provider of credit research and related services, Massachusetts' average consumer credit score was 685 in January, versus 686 a month earlier and 688 in January 2010.
You can also use a site like www.creditkarma.com to get your free credit score and see how various actions like paying down debt or closing an account would affect it.