Official FICO Credit Score
There are three major credit bureaus: Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. And each of these credit bureaus calculates a consumer's FICO credit score, which can be and usually is different for each credit bureau. In other words, you likely have three different FICO credit scores from each of the three major credit bureaus. And to add to the confusion, each of the credit bureaus calls its version of the FICO credit score by a different name.
So let's quickly sort all this out:
- FICO Credit Score: FICO stands for the Fair Isaac Corporation, the company that created the formula for the FICO credit score. The Fair Isaac Corporation was found in 1956 by engineer Bill Fair and mathematician Earl Isaac.
- Fair Isaac Does NOT Calculate Credit Scores: While Fair Isaac created the FICO formula, it does not actually use it to calculate a consmer's FICO credit score. To use the formula, one needs credit information about the consumer, and that's where the credit bureaus come in.
- Three Credit Bureaus: The three major credit bureaus in the United States use the FICO credit score formula to calculate a consumer's FICO credit score.
- Three Different Scores: Because each of the three major credit bureaus have slightly different information on each consumer, the FICO credit score they calculate is usually different from one another. As a result, most consumers have three different FICO credit scores, each reported from the three major credit bureaus.
- Three Scores and Three Names: Each of the three credit bureaus have branded their FICO credit score with different names. Equifax calls its score the BEACON score; Experian calls its score the Experian/Fair Isaac Risk Model or Score Power; and TransUnion calls its version of the FICO credit score EMPIRICA.
- VantageScore: You may have heard of VantageScore, which is a credit score formulation created in 2006 by the three credit bureaus in an effort to compete with the official FICO credit score. VantageScore has not been widely adopted by lenders and creditors.
Clear as mud, right? Now to actually get your credit scores. As you may know, consumers can get a free copy of their credit report from annualcreditreport.com. But if you want your FICO credit score, myFICO.com is the place to go, while freecreditreport.com offers its own version of a credit score. Here are the details:
- myFICO.com: myFICO.com is run by the Fair Isaac Corporation and offers consumers a credit monitoring services called Score Watch. When you sign-up for a free 30-day trial of Score Watch, myFICO.com gives you a free copy of your credit report and FICO credit score as reported by Equifax. You can also purchase from myFICO.com your credit report and FICO credit score as reported by TransUnion for $15.95. For more information, visit www.myfico.com.
- Freecreditreport.com: Known for its snappy commericals, freecreditreport.com is run by Experian. It offers a credit monitoring service called Triple Advantage Credit Monitoring. In exchange for signing up for a 7-day free trial, you'll receive a copy of your Experian credit report and what freecreditreport.com calls the Experian credit score. For more information, visit freecreditreport.com.
A reader recently e-mailed me noting what a hassle it is to sign-up for these services to get your free FICO credit score. The truth is it is a bit of hassle, but the only way to get your FICO credit scores for free.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I should add that I’ve used both freecreditreport.com and myfico.com. Currently, I’m using myfico.com and prefer it over freecreditreport.com. It gives you a 30-day trial (not just 7-day), you can cancel via the internent (you must call freecreditreport.com to cancel) and myfico.com less expensive if you do decide to keep its credit monitoring service.
Unless you’re an AmEx card holder, in which case you can just go here: www .americanexpress.com/creditreport and avoid the hassle of signing up for anything.
John, my review of the Amex offer is that they do sign you up for credit monitoring service.
The company was never known as “Fair Isaacs.” It used to be called “Fair isaac” but is now known simply as FICO. A quick google search would have told you that. Too many blogs give out inaccurate information. While this particular example is a small thing, it makes you questio the validity of the entire post.
claudia, good catch on Fair Isaacs versus Fair Isaac. However, the company is still known as the Fair Isaac Corporation. A quick review of the company’s SEC filings will confirm this.
hello, I just spoke with a rep who denined me a line of credit for a business venture, I am self employed and have had lines before, I have excellent credit, accroding to free credit report dot com I have scores of 779, 781 and 777 respectively. The rep told me that my scores were not that high and the line I was requested required a score of a min of 750, I told her I monitor FCR.com weekly and my score is above 750 and has been for years, she state that is not what she is seeing, I went back to FRC and checked all 3, 779, 781, 771/ so why do lenders see a different score? Is there a scam going, this is the second time in my life this happened, 5 years ago when applying for a new home loan, I checked my credit score, my score then was 730 on one of those sites, not sure which one, but my mort. broker said it was 690 and said those sites are not accurate,….how do I get and know my real scores, seems like consumers are told one things, banks and lenders another, sounds like these sites want people to think their scores are better then they really are?
these sites are definitely BS I have a federal tax lien and I still manage to get a score of 796. meanwhile nobody will give me a loan, they just sell you something to make you happy, so you keep buying their baloney. probably the only way to know your true score is to apply for a loan and talk the loan rep into sharing the score with you
Chris & TB, your FICO credit score as reported by each credit bureau is what it is. That don’t give one score to consumers and another score to creditors. But keep in mind that lending decisions factor in a lot more than a FICO score. If your scores are in the high 700s and a creditor tells you that’s not high enough, I’d question the information the creditor is giving you.