Hi all,
My FICO according to Wal-mart is 783. My FICO according to a report I received from American Express after being approved for a BCE is 761, which came from Experian. Anyone know why that would be? Does each credit reporting agency make their own FICO score? I thought there were the 3 credit agencies and then FICO. Is 761 still good?
Starting Score: 583 (CreditKarma, 2009)
Ok - which is more "accurate" when I apply for mortgages and stuff?
@BlueHusky wrote:Ok - which is more "accurate" when I apply for mortgages and stuff?
Hey BlueHusky!
There are so many facets to your question, I will be as exacting as possible. It is a little confusing. 
Each CRA has their own information about your credit file gathered from the different lenders that you have credit. How that information is processed determines your FICO credit scores with each different CRA. For example: you may have had an account with Amex several years ago. Experian may still be reporting this tradeline and Equifax may not. Thus the differences in scores by the 3 different CRAs (EX, TU, EQ). Not all the information on each file will always be the same. (wish they were- it'd be a whole lot easier)
The different credit card companies, auto loan companies and mortgage companies can purchase different types of FICO versions from Fair Isaacs to match the industry they are in and on top of that, there are newer versions of the different FICO algorithms out there provided by FICO. Different companies use different versions of FICO. For example, Walmart gives us the TU 08 Version of FICO and Amex uses a credit card enhanced version of FICO from Experian. The TU FICO score you get here from Transunion is the TU98 version of this score from Fair Isaacs. (this is an older version)
There are auto loan enhanced versions of FICO- Mortgage loan versions and Credit Card enhanced versions that the difference credit providers can purchase to determine a potential credit seekers ability and likelihood to pay.
When applying for a mortgage, the lender will pull all three CRs to determine your eligibility to pay. They will take the middle score as a bases for the interest rate you qualify.
This is why I love the FICO forums. The different info floating around here is unbelievable. I found out so mush information pertinent to the credit I'm seeking for example: which companies pull from which CRAs. What my likely credit limit will be...ect... ect... I hope this helps you and sheds a little light. Good luck on your credit journey!
@BlueHusky wrote:Hi all,
My FICO according to Wal-mart is 783. My FICO according to a report I received from American Express after being approved for a BCE is 761, which came from Experian. Anyone know why that would be? Does each credit reporting agency make their own FICO score? I thought there were the 3 credit agencies and then FICO. Is 761 still good?
Your Walmart FICO is a TU08 FICO not a EX FICO.
@BlueHusky wrote:Ok - which is more "accurate" when I apply for mortgages and stuff?
The simple answer is this: neither of those two scores are going to be used on your mortgage pull as I know Walmart is TU '08, and I believe Amex is now '08 Credit Enhanced these days. I don't remember the exact Experian nomenclature but as I understand it is one of the more recent models.
Right now virtually all mortgage pulls are still on the '04 models, the EQ Beacon 5.0 you can purchase here is exactly one of the scores that will be used, and unfortunately the only one we as consumers have access to until we pull the trigger on a mortgage application.
Yes 761 is still excellent I suspect you're going to be fine regardless, you have an outstanding credit profile from those scores.
