Experian Boost – There’s lots of misleading information about Experian Boost (Mostly from Experian) so let’s take a closer look at it. What is Experian Boost? According to Experian, “It absolutely works! Millions have already Boosted! Raise your credit scores instantly! The average user of Boost had an increase of 13 points in their FICO Score”. So, is 13 points really worth the potential downsides of Boost? Do you know there are 16 distinct versions FICO but Boost only works with FICO 8 & 9?

Even though FICO 8 is still used by many lenders, most use specific versions that are designed for their industry. For example, the most commonly used FICO Scores in the mortgage lending industry is FICO 2, 4 and 5. So what does Boost do for your chances of getting a mortage? Short answer, absolutly nothing. In fact, it will probably slow the process of you getting approved. When you’re applying for a Conventional, FHA, VA or USDA loan, the loan will most likely end up with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or HUD. When using Boost, all accounts linked to it will show as “self reported”. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and HUD all require these accounts be removed before approving you for a mortage. Getting these accounts deleted from your credit reports can easily take a few months delaying the mortage process. Is that 13 point increase worth it now?

So what advantages does Boost have when applying for credit such as an auto loan? Even though you may see an increase in your FICO 8 & 9 Scores when using Boost, what lenders see will probably be different even if they pull these scores. Why’s that you may ask? The scores you see are “consumer facing”. That means what lenders see will usually be diiferent than what you see becasue they can filter out vairables such as “self reported” accounts which most do so they won’t see your “Boosted” score. Boost only reports positive payments, so many lenders may not use these “self reported” accounts when they calculate your credit score. In fact, Boost may increase your Debt to Income (DTI) which could negatively affect your odds of qualifying for loans.

What does Boost do for your Transunion or Equifax scores? Again, absolutly nothing. Boost only works with Experian so even if you look at your FICO 8 or 9 Scores on Transunion or Equifax, your Boost accounts will not show up. When building credit, its essential to work on all 3 of your credit reports. According to FICO, the majority of lenders pull reports from all 3 reporting agencies so when you open any new accounts, it’s important they report to all 3 agentcies.

Are there any security issues with Boost? If none of the above concerns you, maybe this will. Did you know that Experian had 3 major security data breeches in the last 10 years. FTC records show an estimated 35 million people have been affedted by these breeches. The hackers were able to access information such as names, addresses, birth dates as well as information like Social Security numbers, ID numbers, driver’s license and passport numbers. Experian even tried to cover up these breeches. Boost requires that you link your bank account to your Experian credit report. Do you really want hackers to have access to your bank account now?

There are many ways to build credit that will have a much greater impact on your scores and by far out-way the disadvantages of Boost.