Which is true score

[MeCasa]

I get different credit cards on everything IO check. I get scores from credit cards, credit karma and experion .....why are they so much different and which do I trust

[CYBERSAM]

Is this a trick question? Your comparing Fico 8 to Vantage 3 score? 🤔🙄

[SouthJamaica]

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@MeCasa wrote:

I get different credit cards on everything IO check. I get scores from credit cards, credit karma and experion .....why are they so much different and which do I trust

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I would trust the FICO scores, because they are the important scores in the credit granting world. The scores you posted from Experian are FICO scores.

The Vantage scores, provided by Credit Karma and many other sites, are not useful, for a number of reasons.

The scores you get from credit cards vary. Some are FICO, some are Vantage, some give you both. Some are from one bureau, some from another.

[MeCasa]

Thank you

[FireMedic1]

Be thankful Vantage doesnt run the credit world. You can see the difference. Thats why they named it FICO Forums!

[KateInquires]

The picture you posted is sample scores- it's just part of an advertisement.  FYI 

[mgood]

Even within FICO scoring, you have three different agencies calculating and providing those scores, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. And they each use multiple algorithms to figure the scores, there's FICO 8, FICO 9, 5/4/2, Auto 8, Auto 9, Bankcard 8, Bankcard 9, FICO 10, FICO 10T, etc. Eq provides 13 different FICO scores, TU has 13, and Ex has 14. So there are 40 different FICO scores, and they're all "true scores."

Then you get into Vantagescore 3.0 provided by many free services such as CreditKarma and there's a Vantagescore 4.0. Many consider the VS scores irrelevant, or even refer to them as "fako" scores, but some lenders are starting to use them, so disregard them at your own risk.

So there are lots of credit scores. When someone asks my credit score, I'm like "Um, which one?" FICO 8 and FICO 9 seem to be the most commonly used. But a lender my pull your F8 score from one, two, or all three bureaus and they are probably three different numbers. The 5/4/2 scores are the standard for mortgages and of course the Auto scores are often used for financing cars and the Bankcard scores are frequently used for credit card applications. So which scores you pay the most attention to may depend on what type of credit you are seeking, and with whom. A little bit of research can tell you which scores are (usually) used by which lender.

[Anonymalous]

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@mgood wrote:

Even within FICO scoring, you have three different agencies calculating and providing those scores, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian. And they each use multiple algorithms to figure the scores, there's FICO 8, FICO 9, 5/4/2, Auto 8, Auto 9, Bankcard 8, Bankcard 9, FICO 10, FICO 10T, etc. Eq provides 13 different FICO scores, TU has 13, and Ex has 14. So there are 40 different FICO scores, and they're all "true scores."

Then you get into Vantagescore 3.0 provided by many free services such as CreditKarma and there's a Vantagescore 4.0. Many consider the VS scores irrelevant, or even refer to them as "fako" scores, but some lenders are starting to use them, so disregard them at your own risk.

So there are lots of credit scores. When someone asks my credit score, I'm like "Um, which one?" FICO 8 and FICO 9 seem to be the most commonly used. But a lender my pull your F8 score from one, two, or all three bureaus and they are probably three different numbers. The 5/4/2 scores are the standard for mortgages and of course the Auto scores are often used for financing cars and the Bankcard scores are frequently used for credit card applications. So which scores you pay the most attention to may depend on what type of credit you are seeking, and with whom. A little bit of research can tell you which scores are (usually) used by which lender.

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This. There is no one true score. It entirely depends on the lender, and it typically varies by state as well. There are exceptions, but most credit cards use FICO 8 and 9. Sometimes this is the core version, sometimes it's the bankcard version. This thread is useful for figuring out what a lender will pull:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Which-Report-Will-They-Pull-Part-2/td-p/63797...

The biggest thing on the horizon with Vantage Score is Fannie Mae is the process of switching from the old mortgage scores to FICO 10T and VS 4.0. It's a couple years out, but once it's in place, those two scores will become the mortgage industry standard.

FAKO scores like those provided by CreditKarma may not be the scores used by lenders, but they're easy to access and they're still useful for monitoring changes to your credit report.

@MeCasa, it can be confusing and frustrating. There's a crazy number of scores, sometimes they go up and down seemingly at random, alerts and denial reasons are often very inaccurate, and the methodology is kept a deep, dark secret. If you want to get into the details you can, but the basics are pretty simple: Have at least a credit card or two, and pay off all your debts on time (failing even once is bad), and you'll have a good score. Of the three FICO scores you posted, your Experian and Equifax scores are good enough to get you the best terms for nearly anything. Your Transunion score is lower, but still perfectly fine for most purposes. If you want, you could compare your reports and see if there's a significant difference that explains their divergence. Your Vantage Scores are good enough to get credit, but not the best terms. Fortunately, they're not used as often. But if you want a mortgage in a few years, you might want to figure out why they're lower.

[Thomas_Thumb]

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@MeCasa wrote:

I get different credit cards on everything IO check. I get scores from credit cards, credit karma and experion .....why are they so much different and which do I trust

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The one the lender uses. If you are looking for a mortgage, ALL the above scores are useless.