In July of 2011 Walmart introduced a new feature to both their “Walmart Credit Card” & “Walmart Discover Card” and that was the ability for consumers to view their TransUnion FICO score for free.
The only catch is that users must be signed up to receive e-statements online (which is where the score is view-able). The score is updated monthly and based on the data found in consumers TransUnion credit reports.
Contents
Features Of The Free FICO Score Provided By Walmart Credit Cards
- See your updated TransUnion FICO score each month
- Understand what is helping and hurting your FICO score
- Take advantage of free education about establishing and keeping good credit
- Track the progress of your FICO Score history for up to 12 months
This is easy, first you’ll need to log into your account online and choose to your statements electronically online. Then click “Account Services” “View FICO Score”. When you click view report, it’ll redirect you to the myFICO website which means that walmart have made a deal with them and it’s an official FICO score.
Features
Conditions apply so please consult the Walmart website and disclosure forms before signing up.
Features Of The Walmart Credit Card
- Free monthly TransUnion FICO Score, when enrolled in electronic statements online
- 5¢ off per gallon at participating stores in the US
- Cash advances at the time of purchase
- No annual fee
- 0$ fraud liability
Features Of The Walmart Discover Card
- Earn up to 1% cash back on all purchases
- Accepted whereever you see the Discover Network accepted mark
- Free monthly TransUnion FICO Score, when enrolled in electronic statements online
- 5¢ off per gallon at participating stores in the US
- Cash advances at the time of purchase
- No annual fee
- 0$ fraud liability
F.A.Q’s About Walmart’s Free FICO Score
Question: Is it worth signing up for a Walmart credit card purely to get access to my free FICO score?
Answer: Applying for new credit will hurt your credit score, as well as lowering the average age of your accounts (which will also lower your score). If you’re applying purely for the free score, we’d advise against it. We also think that there are plenty of other cards out there that offer better rewards programs (which we will be posting about in the coming weeks).
There are plenty of other ways to get access to your FICO score for free.
Question: I looked at my FICO score on the Walmart website and it said my score was 700, I then looked at it on myFICO website and it claimed my score was 712. Why is there a difference?
Answer: There a different FICO scores, these are usually referred to by the year they were developed. For example myFICO uses TU 98, the first two letters stand for the credit bureau used (in this case TransUnion) and the second two numbers are the year that scoring algorithm was implemented (in this case 1998, yes you read that correctly, 1998).
Whereas the Walmart website is using TU 08 (TransUnion 2008). Most lenders who are using TU as their primary bureau are currently using TU 04.
This can be confusing, but it’s important not to stress about these small differences (usually there will be as little as a 10 point difference between 1998 scores and 2008 scores) as it’s unlikely to effect whether you are approved or denied for a loan as they will fall within the same FICO score ranges.
View Comments (3)
Good article to help those in the rebuilding phase. This might be the card that helps most as well as practical since Walmart is now on every corner.
I tried to get credit cards and all but do not qualify for them. How can i raise my credit score?
I'd suggest reading this post if you're struggling to improve your credit score: https://www.doctorofcredit.com/improve-credit-score-six-steps/