Dear Experian,
With Experian Boost®ø, do you have to add all the payments it finds to your credit file, or can you choose certain cellphone, utility or streaming service payments?
- CSM
Dear CSM,
You can pick which monthly service payments you would like to include in your credit history with Experian Boost.
As you go through the sign-up process, you will be asked to confirm each account before it is added to your credit file. You can choose to include only your cellphone payments, only your cable bill, only your Netflix® bill, or a combination of the bills Experian asks you to confirm. Everything is permission-based, so if you change your mind, you can have Experian stop collecting the payment information and it will be removed from your credit history. Keep in mind, though, that you won't be penalized for late payments on the accounts you add—Experian Boost only considers on-time payments for these bills and doesn't factor late payments into your credit score.
What Is Experian Boost?
Previously, consumers did not get credit for on-time bill payments for things like electricity, cable, phone or streaming service subscriptions. Now, Experian Boost allows you to add those payments to your credit history and increase your credit scores instantly, for free.
When you sign up for Experian Boost, you agree to give Experian permission to access the bank account through which you pay your bills each month. You'll then be asked to confirm which accounts you'd like to add. In addition to phone, cable and utility payments, you can add streaming service payments including Netflix®, Disney+™, HBO™, HBO Max™ and Hulu™.
How Does Experian Boost Increase Your Scores?
Once you verify the information to be added is correct, Experian adds the payments from the service providers you specify—going back up to 24 months—to your credit history. Experian Boost is free and includes a FICO® Score☉ 8 at the start of the process and an updated FICO® Score 8 when you complete the process, so you can see how much your credit score powered by Experian was boosted. Consumers see an average score increase of 13 points when they add accounts to their credit report with Experian Boost.
Experian Boost can be especially beneficial for those who have scores below 680 or those who have what is considered a "thin file" of fewer than five credit accounts on their credit report. Consumers with "very poor" scores according to the FICO scoring model (579 or lower) have boosted their scores by an average of 22 points each.
The entire enrollment process is secure and takes only minutes to complete. Learn more about how Experian Boost works and how it is helping people increase their credit scores.
Thanks for asking.
Jennifer White, Consumer Education Specialist
This question came from a recent Periscope session we hosted.
