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| The Basics | Should you hire a credit watchdog?
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The time you lose in dealing with ID theft hassles is valuable, of course, but often is not covered by these policies.
What you really need to decide is how much information you want, and the decision goes beyond whether to choose the one-bureau or three-bureaus monitoring. You also want to figure out how much access you want to the underlying credit reports. Most services provide you with a three-in-one report that merges information from all three bureaus, then updates that once a quarter. If it offers unlimited access to a report, it's typically that merged report or a report from a single credit bureau.
If you want unlimited access to all three bureau reports all the time, you might spring for the most expensive service listed here: TransUnion's 3 Bureau Credit Monitoring for $14.95 a month, plus a $24.95 setup fee.
If what you really want is just monitoring -- not access to the underlying reports -- save money by opting for a stripped-down product like Experian's Triple Alert. You don't get to see your actual credit reports, but Experian lets you know if there have been any changes at the three bureaus, and what those changes were, for just $4.95 a month.
The choices
Here are the details of some of the most popular services:
Identity Guard's CreditProtectX3 starts you off with a three-in-one credit report merging your credit information from all three bureaus, and then updates that merged report once a quarter. In the meantime, the service monitors your reports at the bureaus daily for any changes. You can get your alerts via e-mail, text message, phone or regular mail. The cost is $24.95 for the first three months and $12.99 a month thereafter and includes $20,000 insurance. Identity Guard's one-bureau product, CreditProtect, monitors your Equifax report daily for changes for $19.95 for the first three months and $9.99 a month thereafter; the insurance coverage is $2,500 with a $250 deductible.
Equifax Credit Watch Gold with 3-in-1 Monitoring also gives you a three-in-one report to start, with ongoing checks at all three bureaus. In addition, you can have unlimited access to your Equifax file. The cost is $12.95 a month, with a three-month minimum required, or $129.95 a year. Its one-bureau product, Credit Watch Gold, is free for the first 30 days, then $9.95 a month or $99.95 for 12 months. Both services offer wireless or e-mail alerts within 24 hours of any changes and come with $20,000 of insurance with no deductible. The Credit Watch Silver product offers e-mail alerts within one week of the change and a $2,500 policy with a $250 deductible. That costs $4.95 a month, or 12 months for $49.95.
Experian's Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring, which is typically offered through various partners, usually costs $12.95 a month for daily monitoring at all three bureaus with unlimited access to your Experian report and a $50,000 insurance policy. If you just want three-bureau monitoring, rather than access to your actual reports, consider Triple Alert, which alerts you via e-mail or cell phone within 24 hours of any changes for $4.95 a month and comes with a $10,000 policy. Finally, there's Experian's one-bureau monitoring service, Credit Manager, which checks your Experian report and score daily for $9.95 a month with a 30-day free trial; there's no insurance coverage.
TransUnion's 3 Bureau Credit Monitoring is the only service so far that allows you unlimited access to your reports at all three bureaus. (The others check those reports for you, but actually provide you with a new, updated report once a quarter, at best.) Alerts are provided by e-mail. TransUnion recently raised its prices, so the startup fee is now $24.95 and the monthly charge is $14.95 per month for three-bureau monitoring. Its one-bureau product, TransUnion Credit Monitoring, is $9.95 a month after a 30-day free trial.
MyFico.com doesn't offer three-bureau monitoring, but its one-bureau products offer something most others don't: access to your actual FICO scores. Its ID Theft Deluxe monitors changes in your TransUnion report, alerts you to potential problems via e-mail and provides quarterly access to a FICO score based on your TransUnion report. The cost for the service is $4.95 a month or $49.95 a year, which includes a $25,000 insurance policy. In addition, MyFico.com offers Score Watch, which gives you daily access to your Equifax report and its related FICO score for $7.
Liz Pulliam Weston's column appears every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions in the Your Money message board.
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