I've read some of this board already but I still have a couple questions/concerns about FICO scoring. I recently looked at one of my free FICO scores from my CU, and it was nearly 100 points off my highest scorer. I'll display all the ones below that I have access to.
Chase Credit Journey: 823 - TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 - 12/17/2019
Bank of America: 788 - TransUnion FICO Score 8 - 11/19/2019
Discover: 791 - TransUnion FICO Score 8 - 12/14/2019
PNC Bank: 778 - Experian FICO Score 9 - 12/7/2019
PSECU: 729 - Experian FICO ?? - 12/4/2019
Should I be worried about the 94 point discrepancy between my CU and Chase scores? I'm wondering if I should investigate my credit report or if that variation is acceptable between the different reports (I could not find any information on the type of Experian FICO model used by PSECU).
The Chase Journey score is of the Vantage 3 model (the same as Credit Karma) which responds differently to various aspects of, and changes to, your overall credit than FICO; it is common to see a drastic difference (higher / lower) between your FICO and Vantage scores (Vantage scores also tend to rebound from score drops fairly quickly). FICO is what the overwhelming majority of lenders use to evaluate your credit; while many lenders offer their customers a free monthly Vantage score, so far, we've only been able to definitively pinpoint a single lender using Vantage and that is Synchrony -- and, I believe, they are actually using the Vantage 4 model, not Vantage 3. Additionally, there are 28 different versions of your FICO score and lenders may choose which version they will use.
You should certainly monitor both Vantage and FICO - but you will need to research & understand their weighting differences in order to determine why the large gap between your scores exists; that said, I'd e much more concerned with FICO than Vantage -- at least until (if) more lenders adopt the model.
PSECU: 729 - Experian FICO ?? - 12/4/2019
Should I be worried about the 94 point discrepancy between my CU and Chase scores?
That PSECU EX FICO may be an older FICO version -- like EX FICO 2 (which is a morgage score) or perhaps EX FICO Bankcard 3 -- the older versions are sometimes much lower than the newer 8/9 versions, often due to new accounts/inquiries, age of accounts, # of accounts with balances, high loan balance sensitivity. You would have to examine the reason codes associated with that score model/version to find out why it's so much lower. But - do not compare that score (or any of your FICO scores) to your Chase Journey Vantage 3 score -- apples to oranges.
Thanks for the input people, it is greatly appreciated!
PSECU historically has been EX FICO 2.
By historically I mean since I joined this forum, I haven't heard of it's changing recently but after they closed membership to the world honestly it's become something of a footnote on the forums.
I was trying to be good back in 2012 and didn't open the account when I had the chance when it was about the only EX FICO 2 provider on the planet, ah well.
