Freeze your credit reports without derailing card applications

Reading Time: 3 min

My husband and I froze our credit reports after discovering that our Social Security numbers and other personal information had been exposed in multiple data breaches over the years. It's free, it takes about 15 minutes, and it’s one of the most effective ways to stop someone from opening an account in your name.

If you've never frozen your credit reports before, here's why and when it's worth considering — even if you're an avid credit card enthusiast.

A credit freeze restricts access to your credit report at whichever bureau you place it with — which is why you need one at each of the three majors: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Since most lenders review your credit report before approving a new credit card, loan, or line of credit, a freeze makes it much harder for identity thieves to open accounts in your name.

Federal law requires the major credit bureaus to offer credit freezes at no cost. There are no setup fees, monthly fees, or charges to temporarily lift or remove a freeze.

Creating an online account with each credit bureau and placing a freeze should take less than 15 minutes total. Once your accounts are established, you can manage your freezes online whenever you need to.

One reason points and miles enthusiasts avoid freezing their credit reports is the concern that it will make applying for new credit cards more difficult. But this isn’t as much of a blocker as you might think, since you can temporarily lift a freeze whenever you plan to apply for a new card, loan, or other financial product.

All three credit bureaus let you schedule a temporary "thaw" online for a specific period of time. You can unfreeze your credit report for a few days, a week, or a month, then set it to automatically "refreeze" on any date of your choosing.

To fully protect yourself, you'll need to place freezes with all three major credit bureaus:

• Equifax
• Experian
• TransUnion

The process is similar with each bureau:

• Create an online account.
• Verify your identity.
• Select the option to freeze your credit report.
• Confirm that the freeze is active.

You'll typically receive confirmation within a few minutes of finishing the process. And remember, you can always set up a temporary "thaw" of your reports any time you plan to apply for new credit.

A freeze also has no effect on your credit score, and it doesn't touch the accounts you already have.

One caveat worth knowing: Issuers don't all pull from the same bureau, and some pull from more than one. Unless you know exactly which report your issuer will check, thaw all three for the same window. TransUnion also only lets you schedule a lift up to 15 days out, so plan that one closer to your application date.

Before you freeze your credit reports, you should look over them at all three credit bureaus. You can pull free copies every week via the website AnnualCreditReport.com. This move lets you see all accounts currently in your name, including authorized user accounts, amounts owed, credit limits, certain public records, and other sensitive information.

If you find errors on your credit reports or accounts you don't recognize, you should take formal steps to dispute this information immediately.