Credit Karma Beta: Free Credit Credit Monitoring + Linking of your Credit Card Accounts

I'm trying it out now, but I think I've already decided that like my custom system better - I have a separate google calendar with repeating monthly events for each one of my bills, with the URL (if paying online) in the comments, and set to send me an email reminder 5 days ahead. I try to schedule payments more than 5 days before the due date, and when I want to see what upcoming bills I haven't dealt yet, I just look at that calendar. When I take care of each bill, I just delete the current instance of that reminder (making sure to leave all future ones still there). In this way, if I forget, let things slip, whatever, I get an email informing me that I haven't done it yet, & only have 5 more days.

That, in combination with the online quicken I get for free from my bank, looks like it may (?) do everything this beta system does (& more, better) for me already. The only thing it looks like I get from this beta that I don't get elsewhere is the stuff that I was already getting from regular credit karma: credit monitoring. In addition, my current method allows me to manage my & my wife's accounts together, plus some business account, where it looks like this credit karma system is individual (SSN) based? Annoying limitation if so. But I'll play with it more later, to see if there is functionality I missed the first quick pass through.

Mint.com is excellent and includes apps for android, iphone and ipad.... and is owned by the owners of Turbotax. If millions of people trust turbotax, I would be more comfortable with Mint.com.
Having said that I have an account with CreditKarma, but only for credit monitoring and not for the offer mentioned in the OP

Quote from cbtexan04 : A bit scared that a third party site (no matter how reputable) has ALL my CC logins... especially after seeing that Twitter is so unsecured, what happens if Credit Karma is compromised?

I'm not sure Twitter is a role model for security.

i was already a credit karma member now after upgrading to this beta i lost my ability to update my credit score on demand, i cannot go back to the regular site to update my credit score? i lost my ability to update my credit score in this new beta?

Quote from variance75x : I'm not sure Twitter is a role model for security.

Neither are most banks, since I'm pretty sure everyone has been hacked at one point or another.

Quote from fastcar22 : i was already a credit karma member now after upgrading to this beta i lost my ability to update my credit score on demand, i cannot go back to the regular site to update my credit score? i lost my ability to update my credit score in this new beta?

It actually auto updates now on Login like the mobile app.

Quote from Requies : So, basically this is like Mint.com? I'm not really seeing the value-added in doing this. I don't really like the idea of doing this with a Mint or CreditKarma. If it were like AMEX, I'd be a little more likely to do this.

This is dramatically different. It correlates accounts to actual credit bureau data, and no other provider like Mint.com or Yodlee.com has done this.

Quote from CKFounder : It actually auto updates now on Login like the mobile app.

No it didn't update, i see my last score update was done in January, i was trying to update my credit score for today i don't see a option. it shows my last month score and the last updated date on the score.

Quote from BostonGirl : I have never used Mint.com, but I have had an account with CreditKarma for years. This is awesome for me since I am always forgetting my CC logins...I can't count how many times I have been locked out of my accounts..

Use 123456 for CC and bank accounts
use your user name as password for forums ex Bostongirl pass Bostongirl
use abcdef for non-financial institutions...
this way you'll never forget them.... problem solved

hackers are an urban legend

Quote from amax : This is dramatically different. It correlates accounts to actual credit bureau data, and no other provider like Mint.com or Yodlee.com has done this.

This is a good point. We will actually build in features to make sure what the bank reports to the bureau is consistent with what you see automatically.

Quote from amax : This is dramatically different. It correlates accounts to actual credit bureau data, and no other provider like Mint.com or Yodlee.com has done this.

I saw that, but again I question the need for that in exchange for the heightened security risk.

I'd rather just do the yearly credit check (or pay for a credit report before a credit related inquiry) than to risk it if Creditkarma gets hacked.

But again as I said to each their own...

Quote from Binar : Use 123456 for CC and bank accounts use your user name as password for forums ex Bostongirl pass Bostongirl use abcdef for non-financial institutions... this way you'll never forget them.... problem solved

I try to simplify the number of passwords I use and what patterns to employ, but I'm routinely screwed by sites that:

a) require a 10 digit password...I have two of those, and others that limit you to 6 or 8
b) sites that require a special character in the PW, while I have others that will not allow one
c) sites like my bank that generate a user name I could never possibly remember..its like first initial, part of my last name, and then about 9 mixed case letters and numbers

So with such fine and varied security, I'm reduced to an 8.5x11 sheet of paper loaded with usernames and passwords, which I keep under my keyboard. Real secure.

Would it really be too much to ask to be able to pick my own usernames and passwords, even if they suck? Then I could get away with a handful, and be able to memorize them. A tad more secure than leaving a list of them where they're easily stolen along with the computer.

By the way, my bank offers similar services from my bank login. I don't think the cheap credit unions I used to use offered it though.

Quote from sklar : I try to simplify the number of passwords I use and what patterns to employ, but I'm routinely screwed by sites that: a) require a 10 digit password...I have two of those, and others that limit you to 6 or 8 b) sites that require a special character in the PW, while I have others that will not allow one c) sites like my bank that generate a user name I could never possibly remember..its like first initial, part of my last name, and then about 9 mixed case letters and numbers So with such fine and varied security, I'm reduced to an 8.5x11 sheet of paper loaded with usernames and passwords, which I keep under my keyboard. Real secure. Would it really be too much to ask to be able to pick my own usernames and passwords, even if they suck? Then I could get away with a handful, and be able to memorize them. A tad more secure than leaving a list of them where they're easily stolen along with the computer. By the way, my bank offers similar services from my bank login. I don't think the cheap credit unions I used to use offered it though.

a) Hmmm, interesting. I've never run into a site with the 10 character minimum password and 1 that limited it to 6 to 8 characters (credit union with crappy software. I mean seriously why limit the password to 8 characters MAX. That's just asking to be hacked....)
b) Just have a set of passwords that include symbol and another set without. Not too hard if you're already using sets of passwords.
c) I'd probably just keep a list of usernames as I agree those are hard to remember if auto-generated.

Quote from Requies : a) Hmmm, interesting. I've never run into a site with the 10 character minimum password and 1 that limited it to 6 to 8 characters (credit union with crappy software. I mean seriously why limit the password to 8 characters MAX. That's just asking to be hacked....)

My trash company and my water utility both require ten character passwords. I just used my regular one repeated twice.

Of course, I'm quite certain that *I* could hack their sites in six minutes. They both look like they were done by a pair of nine year olds back in 1993.