Trial Offers

• The major credit bureaus offer a credit report that includes your FICO when you sign up for a credit report monitoring trial service. To make sure this is free, you must cancel the service before the trial period ends. Otherwise, you will incur the subscription charge, which can cost more than paying for your FICO score directly.
  
  

Tip

• Some banks allow their account holders to see their FICO score for free, according to Fox Business. These banks, however, choose to remain anonymous except for a few, such as Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union and Digital Federal Credit Union. Lenders, such as those that deal in auto loans and mortgages, may let you see your credit score during the application process.
  
  

Warning

• If you get an offer for a free credit score, make sure it is a FICO score. The national credit bureaus have proprietary scores, such as the VantageScore, but these are rarely used by lenders. It gets even more confusing. Only Equifax sells the FICO score developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation. Experian and Equifax sell credit scores based on the FICO model, according to The Motley Fool.
  
  

Alternative to Trial Offers

• Lenders care less about your credit score than the information in your credit report. You can use a free FICO score estimator to get an idea of how risky you are to lenders. In 2011, federal law may allow consumers to see their credit score for free if they receive a less-than-prime rate.