PenFed HELOC - Which Equifax FICO version they use?

[DSTforlife]

I have been helping my sister with bringing up her mid-score to purchase a home. Of course, that has piqued my interest in HELOCs. I refinanced my mortgage with Penfed at the end of 2021, and have inquired about a HELOC with them. Does anyone know which FICO version they use for credit scores? i was told by them that they only pull Equifax, but I can't get a consensus of which version is used. I want to get beyond 720 score before I apply. I am there with my FICO 8, but not quite there for Beacon 5. I had one person at Penfed say they use Beacon 5 and someone else say they use FICO 8. I'd prefer not to waste a credit inquiry. Any insights you can provide is greatly appreciated.

[tortoise_credit]

In my experience for credit cards they pull EQ FICO 9, but I do not know if it is different for a HELOC.

[DSTforlife]

I searched the boards and it looks like they pull Beacon 5. I am using 720 as a personal score minimum, but i may just apply with my current score. DH and I have been talking about doing some home renovations.

[tortoise_credit]

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@DSTforlife wrote:
I searched the boards and it looks like they pull Beacon 5. I am using 720 as a personal score minimum, but i may just apply with my current score. DH and I have been talking about doing some home renovations.

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I think you're right regarding PenFed's HELOCs. I assume you've done all you can to get that score up with AZEO, etc. If you do apply, I hope you get approved!

[DSTforlife]

Using the advice of the great people here on the FICO boards, I helped my sister come up with a plan to pay down her cc debt to get the best mid-score for her. However, I haven't played the optimal credit score game in years. DH and I have some credit card debt, but it's all manageable. I haven't focused on AZEO and probably won't. DTI for us is very low (~26%) and our cc debt sits around 30%. I've paid down to 26%, but it won't reflect on credit reports until sometime in April. 720 is just a moral minimum score limit for me. thank you! i will update if we decide to apply now or wait.