Credit Score and Identity Monitoring Services

Credit scores are decision-making tools that lenders use to help them anticipate how likely you are to repay your loan on time. Credit scores are also sometimes called risk scores, because they help lenders assess the risk that you won’t be able to repay the debt as agreed.

One of the most common myths about credit scores is that there is only one credit score. Websites or financial advisers who claim there is only one “real” credit score are either misinformed or are being misleading. In fact, there are many different credit scores used by lenders (according to some estimates, more than 1,000), although some scores are used more than others.

Your credit utilization rate, sometimes called your credit utilization ratio, is the amount of revolving credit that you’re currently using divided by the total amount of revolving credit you have available. In other words, it’s how much you currently owe divided by your credit limit. It is generally expressed as a percent.

For a score with a range of 300-850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good. A score of 800 or above on the same range is considered excellent. Most credit scores fall between 600 and 750. Higher scores represent better credit decisions and can make creditors more confident that you will repay your future debts as agreed. FICO® scores and scores by VantageScore® are two of the most common types of credit scores, but industry-specific scores also exist.

Every reported item on your credit report is used to calculate your credit score. If your score has changed significantly since the last month, it may be due to the fact that an account was not reported for the month or that an item has been added to or removed from your report. Drastic changes in account balances and opening new lines of credit could also significantly impact your score.

The credit score history will begin to track your scores when you first log in. During the initial months of service, you will only see scores for the months you have been enrolled. Following one year of enrollment, it will show you 12 consecutive months of past scores.

VantageScore® was developed and is administered by the three major consumer credit reporting bureaus to create a more predictive scoring model that is easier to understand. Your VantageScore® is solely intended to provide you with your credit score information. Huntington does not factor your VantageScore® when making lending decisions.

The VantageScore® simulator shows you how certain actions could potentially affect your credit score. The factors and potential results are only estimates and are designed to help you make smart credit decisions.

Credit report monitoring assesses changes on your Experian® credit report. Monitoring includes, but is not limited to, changes in personal information, public records, inquiries, new account openings and existing accounts reported past due.

Credit bureau alerts are generated through consistent monitoring and are distributed throughout the day as a result of new inquiries or adjustments made to your credit file.

These alerts are triggered by sizable increases or decreases to your credit cards’ credit limit, credit utilization (the amount of available credit used), and credit balance as reported by Experian. Although these alerts don’t necessarily indicate suspicious activity, they do help you stay connected to your credit card spending patterns and stay in the know regarding any major changes to your credit.

This service monitors your personal information against transactions from hundreds of financial institutions across all 50 states, including:

• Broad monitoring network, including the top 10 regional banks and credit unions
• Bank of America, Truist, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo
• 1.4 million financial account takeover alerts annually

This service monitors your name and social security number, and will notify you daily if unusual or high-risk activity is detected. If detected, you will receive the following alerts:

• New bank account opening alert: If your personal information has been used to open a new bank account
• Bank account takeover alert: If changes have been made to your existing bank account, including changes to account contact information or attempts to add new account holders

Your report includes any new data received in the time since you signed up for the service.

Alternative loan monitoring notifies you of any alternative lending activity associated with your monitored personal information. Alternative lending includes online or storefront activity such as installment loans, single payment loans, auto loans, rent-to-own, lines of credit, title loans, and credit cards.

Change of address monitoring only reports address changes that have been processed through the United States Postal Service (USPS). Change of address monitoring does not track UPS or FedEx-only addresses or private mailboxes.

The USPS can take up to two weeks after the "effective date" to publish the address change. We will alert you once the change has been published.