Why my FICO score varies between different financial institutions

[Anonymous]

Hello

I have Bank of America and Citibank credit cards and incidentally both banks show me my FICO Score. But the scores are different why? And then why a specific lender is looking at my FICO score, which FICO ( I mean by which institution) score he generally refers to?

One info: my bank of america credit cards are much older than my citibank credit card.

Thanks in advance

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

I have Bank of America and Citibank credit cards and incidentally both banks show me my FICO Score. But the scores are different why? And then why a specific lender is looking at my FICO score, which FICO ( I mean by which institution) score he generally refers to?

One info: my bank of america credit cards are much older than my citibank credit card.

Thanks in advance

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Citibank uses the FICO Bankcard 8 score based on Equifax data.

Bank of America probably uses a different scoring model and/or bureau; if you read the fine print you can probably figure out what they pull.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello

I have Bank of America and Citibank credit cards and incidentally both banks show me my FICO Score. But the scores are different why? And then why a specific lender is looking at my FICO score, which FICO ( I mean by which institution) score he generally refers to?

One info: my bank of america credit cards are much older than my citibank credit card.

Thanks in advance

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Welcome to the forums!

You use the phrase my FICO score in your post.  That makes me suspect that you think there is only one FICO score out there.  THere are many more than that.  Partly because FICO makes many scoring models, and also because the data that goes into the model could come from three different places.

The key thing to understand is the difference between a credit bureau and a scoring model.  It's basically the difference between a report and a score.

There are three credit bureaus, right?  Equifax, TransUnion, Experian.  You can think of them as warehouses where information (data) about you and your credit accounts (credit cards, loans, etc.) is kept.  You see a list of all the data when you get a credit report from one of those three credit bureaus. 

The problem is that a big long report is hard to go through.  Potential lenders and creditors need something that will boil all that information down into a single number, which they can then use to help them make a decision about whether to grant you credit.  That number is a credit score and the computer program that converts the data in the report to that single number is called a scoring model or a scoring algorithm.

Different groups have created these scoring models.  FICO has created the most of them (and the ones that are most widely used).  Some of FICO's models are very old, some a bit newer, and some so new that no one is using them yet; also some of the models are general, some are aimed more toward auto lenders, some more towards home loans, etc.  The bottom line is that there are loads of these different models.

Now the big idea is to keep those two things separate in your mind.  The three credit bureaus (TU, EX, and EQ) are warehouses where the data are stored.  Scoring algorithms take the data and turn it into a score.

So right there that makes for a huge number of possible scores, depending on which model was used and which bureau the model got its data from.  Your Citi card, for example, uses Equifax data and the FICO 8 Bankcard Enhanced model.  Your other cards might use the FICO 8 Classic model and draw on TU or EX data.

Here are a couple links you can look at to further understand all the different varieties of FICO scores out there:

http://www.myfico.com/Products/FICOScore8Disclaimer.html

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Understanding-FICO-Scoring/The-many-flavors-of-FICO-Editions-versions-and-variations/td-p/1197617

Finally, let's suppose you had only one very specific model and one credit bureau it was pulling on.  If you pulled that score on Nov 10 and again on Nov 18, you might get very different results.  That's because the actual data on that report couuld have changed.  In fact that is common.  Your credit cards are pulling your FICO scores at different times during the month, so this is one more reason they would have different values.

[805orbust]

Because every lender has their own idea of what a FICO score should be. So they choose one of the hundreds that allows them to charge you the most while reasonably guaranteeing full payout. It's all bull really.  There are people here I  the 800's getting denials and people in the 670's with 40k limits. 

[Revelate]

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@805orbust wrote:

Because every lender has their own idea of what a FICO score should be. So they choose one of the hundreds that allows them to charge you the most

while reasonably guaranteeing full payout. It's all bull really.  There are people here I  the 800's getting denials and people in the 670's with 40k limits. 

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Because one's FICO score is only one part of the underwriting equation, and arguably a small one at that when it comes to credit limit extensions.  Also there are nowhere close to hundreds of FICO scores in use, something like 18 common ones probably make up 99% of the pulls.  I'll put my EX FICO 8 740 up against many people's 760+ when it come to getting something underwritten even with all the negatives on my file: thick file with solid history backed by decent income when I'm working and oh yes, the all important mortgage = assets they can come after if I flake... that's a far cry from a college student with 800 FICO's and 2 years of credit history (which is achievable on 2 years of history).

Anyway to the OP's question:

Citi - Equifax FICO 8 Bankcard industry option as stated previously

BOFA - Transunion FICO 8 Classic (no industry option)

Different bureau, different algorithm, and different scoring range too... not likely to be equal for anyone outside of sheer coincidence.