For many, credit cards are the first step in the journey of building up a credit history. Then come loans, and credit limits, and payment schedules, and credit requests – in short, a credit score roller coaster.
To help with the confusion, JPMorgan Chase’s card services division launched a new service today called Credit Journey, which provides consumers with free credit reports, and shows tailored insights into factors behind a credit score, as well as a summary of total credit balance, credit utilization rate and late payments across credit accounts.
The website can also alert customers “to changes to your credit report that could indicate potential signs of identity theft, fraud or inaccuracies that could damage your score. We will be monitoring for any critical changes such as new account, inquiries or address changes,” according to the website.
Credit Journey is available for free to Chase customers and non-customers alike across the U.S., and the data is powered by TransUnion. The goal of the service is to help consumers achieve their financial goals, and tracking credit scores is the first step, according to Pam Codispoti, president of the Chase-branded cards unit.
Among other features, the site offers a Score Simulator, which shows how certain actions, such as getting a loan, increasing card limits, or paying on time, can affect a consumer’s overall score.