FICO 8 vs Auto 8 & 5, Bankcard 8 & 5, etc.

[tigif]

Hey Everyone, I don't post very often but I've found the forums to be extremely helpful. One thing that has been bothering me though, and I'm hoping you can shed some light on this, is what is the point of the FICO 8 score if every single sub-score (auto, bankard, FICO 5, etc) is totally different? The description for FICO 8 seems to be misleading.

FICO 8 - Most widely used version (My Score: 706)

However the same page that states FICO 8 is the most widely used, it also lists:

FICO 5 - Previous version, most widely used for mortgage lending (My Score: 648)

FICO Auto 8 - Version for auto lending (My Score: 642)

FICO Auto 5 - Previous version for auto lending (My Score: 663)

FICO Bankcard 8 - Version for credit card lending (My Score: 655)

FICO Bankcard 5 - Previous version for credit card lending (My Score: 638)

What does that leave FICO 8 for despite the claim of "most widely used version"? If all the others cover auto, home, revolving cc, etc. who actually uses 8 and should I even bother considering FICO 8 as my benchmark especially considering the other scores are all at least 40 points lower?

Thanks!

-Mike

[Thomas_Thumb]

Most credit card issuers use Fico 08 classic as opposed to Fico 08 bankcard. Quite a few installment loan lenders (except for mortgages) also use classic Fico 8 as well. The lenders that continue to use industry specific Fico models have generally migrated to Fico 08 (bankcard or Auto).

The older Fico scoring models (EQ Fico score 5, TU Fico score 4 and EX Fico score 2) are almost exclusively used by mortgage industry lenders.

[takeshi74]

The point of any scoring model is for a given creditor to determine.  Creditors will select a scoring model that best suits the given creditor's underwriting requirements.  You can use whatever score you want to use for monitoring trends with your credit if that's what you mean by "benchmark".  However, if you want to know what number a creditor will pull for you then you will need to know the specific scoring model and CRA used by the creditor and pull that score.  You cannot rely on your "benchmark" score to tell you where you stand with every creditor out there.

Instead of worrying over the numbers I recommend learning to assess your own reports.  You won't know what scores will be generated but good reports will lead to good scores.

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@tigif wrote:

What does that leave FICO 8 for despite the claim of "most widely used version"? If all the others cover auto, home, revolving cc, etc.

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You're misreading.  FICO 8 is most widely used but other models are used in other situations by creditors.  Bankcard 8 and Bankcard 5 are used by some creditors for revolvers but most use the standard 8.

As metioned above, older models are mostly used by mortgage lenders.  I don't recall the details off the top of my head but they're slow to adapt to the newer models.

[tigif]

Gotcha, ok thanks a ton for the info!

[Revelate]

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

Most credit card issuers use Fico 08 classic as opposed to Fico 08 bankcard. Quite a few installment loan lenders (except for mortgages) also use classic Fico 8 as well. The lenders that continue to use industry specific Fico models have generally migrated to Fico 08 (bankcard or Auto).

The older Fico scoring models (EQ Fico score 5, TU Fico score 4 and EX Fico score 2) are almost exclusively used by mortgage industry lenders.

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To be fair I can name a number of CU's which aren't on FICO 8, and some lending institutions (JCB America) which use a mix of FICO 8 and 98 of all things.  Those are indeed the standard mortgage industry pulls, but it's not exclusive to that product.  Actually I'm struggling a little bit to recall any CU which uses FICO 8, I'm sure some exist but the ones I'm aware of don't. 

@OP: FICO gets it's numbers from the fact that the major bank card applications dwarf the rest of the applications, and as such it's legitimate to say it's the most popular model pulled.

[Anonymous]

sorry see below

[Anonymous]

If anyone has a list of, or knows for sure any Credit Uions Or Institutions  that use Fico Bankcard Score 5... I would sure appriciate having that knowledge.

Thanks J

[Anonymous]

If anyone has a list of, or knows for sure any Credit Uions Or Institutions  that use Fico Bankcard Score 5... I would sure appriciate having that knowledge.

Thanks J

[Anonymous]

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@Revelate wrote:

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@Thomas_Thumb wrote:

Most credit card issuers use Fico 08 classic as opposed to Fico 08 bankcard. Quite a few installment loan lenders (except for mortgages) also use classic Fico 8 as well. The lenders that continue to use industry specific Fico models have generally migrated to Fico 08 (bankcard or Auto).

The older Fico scoring models (EQ Fico score 5, TU Fico score 4 and EX Fico score 2) are almost exclusively used by mortgage industry lenders.

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To be fair I can name a number of CU's which aren't on FICO 8, and some lending institutions (JCB America) which use a mix of FICO 8 and 98 of all things.  Those are indeed the standard mortgage industry pulls, but it's not exclusive to that product.  Actually I'm struggling a little bit to recall any CU which uses FICO 8, I'm sure some exist but the ones I'm aware of don't. 

@OP: FICO gets it's numbers from the fact that the major bank card applications dwarf the rest of the applications, and as such it's legitimate to say it's the most popular model pulled.

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BECU does.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Good point regarding CUs - they typically use older Fico models.

I have a tendency toward overlooking CUs because I have never belonged to one. An error on my part.