This is the ideal product for AAA members who care about tracking and protecting their identity.
No one wants to be the victim of identity fraud, but it’s one of the most common crimes people commit. If you’re concerned about a potential data breach or want to monitor your credit usage and bank account activity more closely, invest in an identity protection service.
These products provide monthly plans that offer single-, double-, or triple-bureau credit monitoring and various identity tracking features. The best protection services also send you real-time fraud and account activity alerts, 3-bureau credit reports, and dark web monitoring notifications.
We think there’s only one winner when it comes to the ProtectMyID vs. Identity Guard argument, but read on to see our rundown of each product and to decide whether you agree with us.
ProtectMyID vs. Identity Guard: Comparison
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Similarities
Differences
ProtectMyID Features and Services

AAA Premier Member Insurance
If you’re an AAA Premier member, you’ll love the $10,000 worth of ProtectMyID identity theft protection that you receive for free with the Essential plan. If you fall victim to identity fraud, this insurance reimburses you and allows you to reclaim your credit score and get legal help.

Lost Wallet Protection
You’ll find this handy feature with all of the ProtectMyID plans. You can log your credit cards and identification documents into the ProtectMyID dashboard, which you can access at any time. This means that if you ever lose your wallet, you’ll be able to contact the suitable businesses, banks, and creditors quickly and easily.

Dark Web Monitoring
Both the Deluxe and Platinum plans offer dark web monitoring. This is software that scans relatively inaccessible sites on the dark web to search for your missing details. You’ll receive an alert if this software finds anything useful.

3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
The Deluxe and Platinum plans also provide 3-bureau credit monitoring. The built-in software scans your credit reports at each of the 3 major bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian).
We think that 3-bureau tracking is much better than 1-bureau monitoring because you’re covering all your bases. TransUnion may not pick up a suspicious change in your credit scores, but Equifax might. You also don’t know which of the 3 bureaus a prospective lender might contact for your credit report.

Plans and Pricing

Essential Plan
This plan is free for all AAA members and provides 1-bureau credit monitoring, Lost Wallet Protection, and recovery and restoration support. If you’re an AAA Premier member, you’ll receive identity theft coverage of up to $10,000.

Deluxe Plan
The Deluxe plan costs $10.95 each month and includes more extensive, 3-bureau credit monitoring, SSN tracking, dark web scanning, and regular updates on your Experian VantageScore.

Platinum Plan
This plan offers comprehensive identity monitoring at a reasonable price. For $15.95 per month, you’ll get a sex offender tracking feature, credit file usage notifications, and social media scanning. You’ll also find built-in child identity insurance, which is the closest thing we could find to a ProtectMyID family plan.

Pros and Cons
PROS
CONS
Identity Guard Features and Services

Credit Protection
The Identity Guard identity theft protection services are second to none, with both the Total and Ultra packages offering credit protection. This service keeps track of your credit score and protects you against practices that can lower your report. This beneficial service uses credit protection laws to shield your credit rights and keep your score high.

Dark Web Monitoring
This form of tracking software scans file-sharing sites on the dark web in search of your stolen information. Often, identity criminals will pass around and trade your data on these types of sites. All of the Identity Guard plans include this tracking feature.

3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
If you buy the Total or Ultra plan, you’ll receive triple-bureau credit monitoring. This is a useful service that tracks activity and changes to your credit reports from all three of the leading credit bureaus.
Triple-bureau tracking is preferable to single- or double-bureau monitoring because it covers all your bases. If 2 of the 3 bureaus don’t pick up any changes to your file, but the other one does, you’ll still receive an alert.

Annual 3-Bureau Credit Report
The Ultra plan offers an annual 3-bureau credit report, providing you with an accurate and extensive credit breakdown that includes consumer statements, public records, and various bank accounts.

Watchlist
We love this feature because it’s a database where you can log all the information that’s being monitored. This allows you to keep track of precisely what the software is doing for you. We appreciated this user-friendly breakdown of a potentially complicated ID protection service.

Pricing and Plans

Value
The Identity Guard Value costs $7.50 per month and provides you with insurance coverage of up to $1,000,000, as well as access to a team of experts who can talk you through how to freeze your credit line and get legal support. You’ll also receive dark web monitoring, which alerts you if your stolen information is being passed across dark web file-sharing platforms.

Total
This plan will cost you $16.67 per month and contains all the features of the Value package, as well as some additional ones. You’ll have bank account monitoring, access to credit protection services, and 3-bureau credit coverage. You’ll also receive a monthly credit score from 1 of those three major bureaus.

Ultra
We love how many features this premium package offers you, but we still think it’s too expensive for what you get. For $29.99 per month, you’ll receive 3-bureau credit monitoring, credit protection, criminal and sex offender tracking, and a host of other features. Most importantly, you’ll get an annual triple-bureau credit report.

Pros and Cons
PROS
CONS
Conclusion
While we appreciate the extensive ID tracking that ProtectMyID offers, we think that Identity Guard provides more in the way of customer service, user experience, and credit monitoring.
We LOVE the online app, with its easy-to-follow desktop interface and innovative watchlist feature. We also appreciate that the affordable Value plan covers you for up to $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance.
All 3 paid Identity Guard plans offer beneficial dark web tracking functionality, while the mobile app allows you to receive real-time alerts when you’re away from your computer. The Total and Ultra packages both monitor your bank account and credit report activity, with the Ultra plan sending you an annual triple-bureau credit score.
We also love the credit protection included in the Total and Ultra plans. This service helps you maintain a decent credit score and prevents you from getting involved in practices that could destroy your credit file.
The Ultra package offers title monitoring, which protects you from home title fraud and allows you to retain your property ownership. We also love the safe browsing feature that comes with the premium plans. This plug-in heightens your computer’s cybersecurity by protecting you against phishing scams and data mining.
Whichever Identity Guard plan you choose, we think you’ll love the user-friendly desktop experience, the sizable insurance coverage, and the recovery and restoration resources.
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