So many fraud alerts on everything, I would not give out my credit information on line.

It is hard to say which one of the credit bureaus is used most by the banks and credit card issuers to view credit scores. Every bank has its own preferences and one bank may pull different reports in different states. Some banks pull credit reports from all credit bureaus. Therefore, we recommend you to choose a credit card or a bank to apply with – you can use our card finder tool for it - and then find out which credit reports are usually pulled by this bank in your state.

The credit card companies and banks do not have an obligation to send a copy of a credit report to consumers. You can call the company and ask them to send you a copy of your credit report. The company may or may not send you a copy, depending on their policy and practice. You can get a free copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus - TransUnion, Experian and Equifax. Just contact any of the bureaus to get your credit report.

A FICO score is a type of credit score that is used to assess credit risk and determine whether to extend credit. FICO scores take into account various factors in five areas to determine credit worthiness: payment history, current level of indebtedness, types of credit used, length of credit history and new credit accounts. Here are FICO scores for each credit rating: - Excellent: 750-850± - Good: 700-749± - Fair: 640-699± - Bad: 350-639± The scoring model of different credit bureaus may slightly differ because each credit bureaus uses its own formula but the average numbers are as...