Money Tips: @CapitalOne Credit Tracker & Ways To Improve Your Credit

Have you ever wanted to get advice on housing tips for an HGTV expert?  Or budget friendly wedding ideas from a pro that has done hundreds of them? How about tricks and tips on your credit score? The other night I did just that! 

I was invited to a Capital One trivia night! The hosts were Emilia Lopez, VP of US Card at Capital One; Sabrina Soto, host of HGTV's “The High Low Project;” Lynette Khalfani-Cox, personal finance expert and author and David Tutera, celebrity wedding planner and host of WE’s “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera,”

We were split into teams #TEAMSOTO vs. #TEAMTUTERA to answer questions about credit and personal finance. I was on #TEAMSOTO and while I was impressed with our knowledge overall. there are still many things I learned.

Did you know that nearly 50% of consumers under 35 think that knowing their credit score is only important when buying a home? This is SO wrong! Did you know returning a library book late can even have an impact on your score! 

#TEAMSOTO won the trivia competition! We all learned so many 

Even more fun facts:  

When it comes to weddings while brides-to-be may have many concerns while planning for their wedding, 80 percent (80%) said they would be concerned if they discovered their fiancé had a bad credit rating according to a recent survey conducted by Capital One.

The Capital One survey of 1,021 Americans conducted online centered on attitudes and awareness today of credit scores and explored major milestone events such as preparing for a wedding, purchasing a home and paying for an automobile or education.

Other survey findings included:

-          66 percent (66%) of men would be concerned if they discovered their fiancé had a bad credit rating

-          Nearly half (46%) of younger consumers (under age 35) incorrectly think that knowing their credit score is only important when purchasing a home

-          81 percent (81%) of parents feel it’s likely their children will have better credit by the time they reach their parent’s age

-          Only 38 percent (38%) of those surveyed know their credit score which came last in a list of five key numbers

o   Know their weight (77%)

o   Know their parent’s birthday (73%)

o   Know their best friend’s phone number (45%)

o   Know their car’s mileage (39%)

-          Less than 1 in 3 Americans (30%) have requested their credit report in the past 12 months

Earlier this year, Capital One launched Credit Tracker, a free interactive tool that gives current Capital One customers easy access to their credit score, plus a credit bureau summary, a report card with letter grades on the key factors driving their score, a credit simulator that shows how a customer’s actions can impact their score and credit bureau monitoring that provides timely alerts that can help warn customers of potential fraud. Customers can use Credit Tracker as often as they like and run as many simulations as they wish without negatively impacting their credit report or score.

To learn more about Capital One Credit Tracker, visit http://www.capitalone.com/credit-cards/benefits/credit-tracker/.