My Fico Forums (2024)

FAQs

Is myFICO com accurate? ›

The main benefit of using myFICO is that it's a one-stop shop that shows your scores and reports from all three bureaus. Also, as the official consumer division of FICO, myFICO uses the industry standard credit scores, which are the most accurate way of tracking your current credit status.

Your Credit Karma score should be the same or close to your FICO Score, which is what any prospective lender will probably check. The range of your credit score (such as “good” or “very good”) is more important than the precise number, which will vary by source and edge up or down often.

16% of all consumers have FICO^® Scores in the Very Poor range (300-579). Roughly 62% of consumers with credit scores under 579 are likely to become seriously delinquent (i.e., go more than 90 days past due on a debt payment) in the future.

Why is my FICO score higher than my other credit scores? Every credit-scoring model is different. And credit scores can change based on what credit report is used to inform the model. Those variances can make some scores higher or lower than others.

Simply put, there is no “more accurate” score when it comes down to receiving your score from the major credit bureaus.

Is "credit score" the same as "FICO^® score"? Basically, "credit score" and "FICO^® score" are all referring to the same thing. A FICO^® score is a type of credit scoring model. While different reporting agencies may weigh factors slightly differently, they are all essentially measuring the same thing.

Your FICO Score is a credit score. But if your FICO score is different from another of your credit scores, it may be that the score you're viewing was calculated using one of the other scoring models that exist.

There are several versions of VantageScore and FICO, and each uses a different scoring model. For example, a lender will likely use an older version of FICO for a mortgage application, while a consumer site might rely on the latest version of VantageScore.

And when it comes to credit, 850 is the highest the FICO^® Score^☉ scale goes. For more and more U.S. consumers, practice is making perfect. According to recent Experian data, 1.54% of consumers have a "perfect" FICO^® Score of 850. That's up from 1.31% two years earlier.

Not Paying Bills on Time

Your payment history is the most influential factor in your FICO^® Score, which means that missing even one payment by 30 days or more could wreak havoc on your credit.

What is the average American credit score? ›

What is the average credit score? The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024.

The company uses several different formulas to calculate credit scores—including VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0.

What credit score do auto lenders look at? The three major credit bureaus are Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. The two big credit scoring models used by auto lenders are FICO® Auto Score and Vantage.

The minimum credit score needed for most mortgages is typically around 620. However, government-backed mortgages like Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans typically have lower credit requirements than conventional fixed-rate loans and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs).

So why choose FICO Scores over other scores? Here are just a few reasons: You can be confident you're seeing a score many lenders actually use. Because FICO Scores are the most widely used scores, it is very likely the lender will check your FICO Scores when you apply for credit.

The primary credit scoring models are FICO® and VantageScore®, and both are equally accurate. Although both are accurate, most lenders are looking at your FICO score when you apply for a loan.

One credit bureau isn't more accurate than another, rather, they may simply have different methods of calculating your credit score. It's important to note that all three bureaus are used widely in the U.S. None of them are more “important” than the others.

Your FICO^® Score uses the information on your credit reports to calculate your FICO Score, so inaccurate or incorrect information on your credit report can hurt your score. All disputes with Equifax are handled online. All disputes with Experian are handled online.