In a Nutshell
pros
- Convenient way of accessing Experian CreditWorks Premium
- Daily Experian credit score updates
- Lock/unlock your credit reports as needed
cons
- $1 for a ‘free’ trial
- Same service can be bought direct from Experian
A Brilliant Solution For:
- Anyone wanting to monitor their credit report before applying for a mortgage/loan
- Anyone with phone and utility bills (because Boost applies bill payments to your score)
How Does It Work?
Important Score gives you access to the Experian suite of credit monitoring and ID theft protection tools, known as CreditWorks Premium. The registration process begins on the Important Score website. After filling in your details, you’ll be redirected to the Experian website to enter your payment details and complete the sign-up process.
Once you’ve registered, you’ll be assigned login details which you can use to access your new Experian CreditWorks Premium account. There’s no need to download any software or jump through any hoops here. To access your account, simply log on from any desktop or mobile-based web browser.
What Does This Service Watch Out For?
Compared to the other bureaus, Experian’s CreditWorks Premium tool offers an impressive amount of credit monitoring tools. When you access the program via Important Score, you get access to all the same features as you would signing up directly through Experian.
Here’s a full breakdown:
- Credit report monitoring and alerts for: new credit inquiries, new accounts, account balance changes, credit utilization, and dormant accounts
- Additional monitoring for: Social Security Number, address change, financial account activity, identity validation, payday loans, court records, sex offender registry, file-sharing network monitoring, and social network monitoring
- Credit Report & FICO score monitoring (daily for Experian, monthly for TransUnion and Equifax)
- Monitoring of special FICO scores for auto loans, home loans, and bankcards
- FICO score alerts for all 3 bureaus
- FICO score simulator for all 3 bureaus
- Real-time alerts on attempted credit inquiries
- Dark web surveillance
Additionally, this plan includes Experian Boost—which immediately boosts your credit score when you pay your phone and utility bills on time.
Recovery Services - What Can Important Score Do If My Identity Is Stolen?
Although this service is primarily for credit monitoring, it also includes a number of recovery services. This is great if you want extra protection against identity theft and/or misuse of your identity to open credit accounts.
Here’s the full breakdown:
- Lock and unlock your Experian credit file
- Identity theft insurance (up to $1 million)
- Unlimited access to US-based fraud resolution specialists
- Lost wallet replacement assistance
How Easy Is Important Score to Use?
The Important Score website is a bit vague on how this works, so here it is again: Important Score is the seller, Experian CreditWorks Premium is the service. Once you have your login for Experian CreditWorks Premium, the rest is very simple. The platform itself is easy to use and navigate, with all your scores and tools laid out clearly on the dashboard.
Using Experian Boost to improve your credit score is also super easy. Simply log in to your account and connect the bank accounts that you use to pay your bills. Choose and verify the payment history you want added to your credit file and presto—you’ll see your score improve instantly.
Pricing
Important Score charges $1 for a 7-day trial of Experian CreditWorks Premium. Once the free trial expires, the cost is $24.99/month paid directly to Experian. The good news is there are no contracts, and you can cancel your subscription any time.
Help & Support
Important Score doesn’t offer much in the way of customer service aside from an email address (info@ImportantScore.com). If you have issues, we recommend contacting Experian directly to speak to a customer service representative or identity theft specialist. Experian customer service can be reached 7 days a week during daytime hours on (866) 617-1894. The service also includes round-the-clock access to ID theft specialists who you can reach through your CreditWorks Premium account.
Bottom Line
The Important Score website can be a bit misleading, in that it presents itself as a standalone service. The truth is this website exists mainly to provide an easy and convenient way of registering for Experian CreditWorks Premium. Once you register, you become a user of Experian’s credit monitoring and ID theft protection service and not of Important Score.
