ALL CREDIT SCORES ARE NOT EQUAL

In the U.S. the FICO score is used by the majority of financial institutions.  It was created in the 1950s by the Fair Isaacs Corporation and ranges from 300 to 850.  Generally, the higher the score, the more financial options a consumer has.

FICO has specific formulas for different industries: mortgage, auto and consumer credit.  They have slight variations in the calculations but are all FICO scores. 

Additionally, each of the three credit bureaus has its own FICO version.

Equifax: Beacon, Beacon 5.0, Beacon 96, and Pinnacle

TransUnion: Empirica, Empirica Auto 95, Precision Score, and Precision 03

Experian: Fair Isaac Risk Score, FICO and FICO II

There are many other scoring formulas available, including the ones created by the three major credit bureaus to compete with the FICO formula.  However, they are NOT exactly the same.

NON FICO CREDIT SCORES

These consumer credit scores are not actual FICO scores:

CE – Community Empower

Credit Expert

Credit Secure from American Express 

National Risk Score

NextGen

Plus Score

Vantage Score

When you monitor your credit with your free credit reports from that you are entitled to under FACTA, the amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you will be given the opportunity to purchase a credit score at that time. The FCRA allows the credit bureaus to charge for a credit score and they certainly want to sell you one while you are getting your free report.  These are usually NOT a true FICO score.

HOW TO GET YOUR REAL FICO SCORES

The third link at top right side of this page takes you to the Fair Isaacs website, which offers all three FICO scores with the three credit reports for under $50 in the “Credit Complete Package”.  You can save 20% until January 31, 2009 by using the discount code “FICO 2009”.

Some credit card companies and banks offer their customers access to their own FICO scores.  Check with your financial institutions to see if they offer this free service and if so, use it.  

Finally, remember that checking your own scores does NOT count against your credit rating.  It makes sense to know your scores and grow them as much as possible before you need them.  Become credit-wise to help get better credit scores and give yourself as many financial advantages as possible.