Confused. Where to buy REAL FICO?

[c3troop]

I know this has been touched on because I read some of the forums while searching but they just confused me. Where can I get my real FiCO score? I was wanting to apply for the Sapphire card but was advised by one of you on these forums not to do it until my score was really good and my debt settled. The only score I know I have is from creditkarma which is obviously not right. So where can I buy the FICO that chase will pull when I apply? Thanks and sorry for being that annoying n00b!

[cdtotten]

The easiest place to pull both your TU Fico and EQ Fico is here at myfico.com. Both are genuine, 100% FICO scores. Consumer's are no longer able to purchase their EX FICO score. Do a google search for myfico discount codes to save a little money.

[c3troop]

Thanks a lot for the response. I see myfico offers four packages which one do you guys recommend getting?

[GregB]

Without more info from you about your goals, I would just buy the single EQ FICO offered here. As long as the information in your reports from all three CRAs is similar, that shoud be closest to the FICO version that Chase is likely to use.

If you don't already know about how similar the information is for each CRA, I would suggest you go to annualcreditreport.com and pull your three free reports. DON'T buy any scores offered. You just want to know if there is any erroneous information and if there is anything different between the three CRAs.

Chase will probably pull a FICO score that is enhanced for a BankCard Score. As long as you have no negatives on BankCard information this will probably not be lower than your Classic FICO that you get here. They may use a later version based upon FICO 8. That could be better than the previous version if you have a single small collection on your report. It could be worse if you are an AU on anyone else's account and that person is not a spouse.

Chase could use one of the BankCard scores that are not FICO based. They also could use the Vantage Score that you can get a few places online. I know that it is available at CK in addition to their worthless TransRisk Score. I understand Chase is one of the very, very few using that score for their Kohl's card. I have heard nothing about them using that for other Chase cards.

You do have to understand that Chase will use a process to qualify potential customers that can include a credit score that is not available to you. They also may use a variety of different scores depending on what product you choose. Creditors continually look to qualify as many customers as possible while eliminating bad risks. They are continually trying to improve those business processes.

[c3troop]

So use the fico standard with the equifax?

[llecs]

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@c3troop wrote:

So use the fico standard with the equifax?

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If you want a one-time purchase of your EQ FICO and report, then FICO Standard is the way to go. If you find that you might purchase more than 2 reports per month for whatever reason, then subscribing to ScoreWatch would be more economical because you get 30% off all future EQ FICO purchases.

[c3troop]

thanks ilecs!

[thebanjoman]

@c3troop wrote:

I know this has been touched on because I read some of the forums while searching but they just confused me. Where can I get my real FiCO score? I was wanting to apply for the Sapphire card but was advised by one of you on these forums not to do it until my score was really good and my debt settled. The only score I know I have is from creditkarma which is obviously not right. So where can I buy the FICO that chase will pull when I apply? Thanks and sorry for being that annoying n00b!

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While using a real fico is far more probable to match, or be close, to the score used by lendors... there's a few problems with that last sentence of yours... Just as a warning, not as anything more.  Even if Chase uses a real FICO, there are dozens of flavors of FICOs.   TU98/TU04/TU08... Beacon's with EQ, Experian has a few vanilla grades... some are more common than others.  myFICO sells TU98 and Beacon 5.0 IIRC.  If Chase uses TU04, and you saw a TU98 score, there may be some variations between the two.  I believe one of the more notable differences tends to deal with how charge cards are treated in utilization calculations... but I digress.

The FICO used can vary depending on what you're applying for.  Chase Auto loans may use an auto-industry inhanced FICO, or their credit cards a bankcard enhanced form.  each tends to lend a little more emphasis on previous histor with certain types of credit.

Some lendors modify FICO with internal algorythms, or factor in other aspects, which may directly influence your approval odds vs someone else with identical scores... A few lendors (while rare) don't even use FICO but instead do use VantageScore, or some other proprietary model.  These are less common in the wild, but I have heard tale that Chase is a subscriber, in part, to the VantageScore variety.  My most recent application with their credit card division yielded an "Application Score"  on my original approval, and a real TU FICO (year/type/etc. not specified) when I called in to request a higher CL.

Buying/Seeing a FICO score is far more reliable than FAKOs like CreditKarma offers.  Its also likely a lot closer to the score you'll see (if you see any) coming back from a lendor, but there's nothing that garauntees the score you pull will be the score used to evaluate you. Even if it's a FICO.  I will agree, however, if you're considering a major purchase, or are just curious how lendors may see you, your best bet is to get a FICO score, at least compared to what else is out there.

[thebanjoman]

One more thing, to help your odds... check out a site like whogavemecredit to see who Chase tends to pull in your area.  Some banks (GEMB for example) almost always pull a specific CRA.  Others may pull different CRAs for different geographic areas

[c3troop]

Thanks for all the info I will look into that site.