While there's no exact answer to which credit score matters most, lenders have a clear favorite: FICO® Scores are used in over 90% of lending decisions. While that can help you narrow down which credit score to check, you'll still have to consider the reason why you're checking your credit score.
Is Credit Wise accurate? Capital One Credit Wise does NOT provide you with a FICO score. Instead, it provides you with a TransUnion Vantage 3.0 score. So Credit Wise is accurate; it's just that it won't necessarily give you an accurate idea of where your FICO score stands since it's a different model.
Building and Maintaining Good Credit
Your CreditWise score is calculated using the TransUnion® VantageScore® 3.0 model, which is one of many credit scoring models. It may not be the same model your lender uses, but it can be one accurate measure of your credit health.
Yes, CreditWise is safe. Because the service is backed by Capital One, a major banking institution, the service has high-level safeguards in place.
The most accurate credit scores are the latest versions of the FICO Score and VantageScore credit-scoring models: FICO Score 8 and VantageScore 3.0.
FICO® is a different credit score model than the one we use for CreditWise, which is the TransUnion VantageScore 3.0 credit score. But both of these credit scoring models are based on similar key factors that lenders want to know about before offering you credit.
Your CreditWise score is calculated using the TransUnion® VantageScore® 3.0 model, which is one of many credit scoring models. It may not be the same model your lender uses, but it can be one accurate measure of your credit health.
This is due to a variety of factors, such as the many different credit score brands, score variations and score generations in commercial use at any given time. These factors are likely to yield different credit scores, even if your credit reports are identical across the three credit bureaus—which is also unusual.
When the scores are significantly different across bureaus, it is likely the underlying data in the credit bureaus is different and thus driving that observed score difference.
Lenders might not use the latest versions of credit scores and could still be assessing your creditworthiness through different credit scoring modules like FICO Models 2, 4, or 5. The credit score you usually get access to is considered an education score and may not reflect your exact credit figure.
Basically, "credit score" and "FICO® score" are all referring to the same thing. A FICO® score is a type of credit scoring model. While different reporting agencies may weigh factors slightly differently, they are all essentially measuring the same thing.
Using CreditWise Won't Affect Your Credit Score
You can sign in as often as you like—using CreditWise will never affect your credit score. That's because CreditWise uses what's known as a soft inquiry to check your credit.
Payment History Is the Most Important Factor of Your Credit Score. Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO® Score.
If you've used CreditWise in the past, you may notice that your credit score looks a little different now. This is because your CreditWise score was previously provided by Equifax, but is now provided by TransUnion.
Although VantageScore credit scores have been around for about 15 years, the FICO Score is still the preferred choice of most lenders. In the U.S., lenders use FICO Scores in 90% of lending decisions.
Consequently, when lenders check your FICO credit score, whether based on credit report data from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion, they will likely use the FICO 8 scoring model. FICO 8 scores range between 300 and 850. A FICO score of at least 700 is considered a good score.
The Score Ranges
The base FICO® Scores range from 300 to 850, while FICO's industry-specific scores range from 250 to 900. The first two versions of the VantageScore ranged from 501 to 990, but the latest VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 use the same 300-to-850 range as base FICO® scores.
Some lenders report to all three major credit bureaus, but others report to only one or two. Because of this difference in reporting, each of the three credit bureaus may have slightly different credit report information for you and you may see different scores as a result.
Your 810 FICO® Score falls in the range of scores, from 800 to 850, that is categorized as Exceptional. Your FICO® Score is well above the average credit score, and you are likely to receive easy approvals when applying for new credit. 21% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Exceptional range.
While there are many types of credit scores, FICO Scores matter the most because the majority of lenders use these scores to decide whether to approve loan applicants and at what interest rates."
A FICO score of 650 is considered fair—better than poor, but less than good. It falls below the national average FICO® Score of 710, and solidly within the fair score range of 580 to 669.
If your bank, credit card issuer, auto lender or mortgage servicer participates in FICO ® Score Open Access, you can see your FICO ® Scores, along with the top factors affecting your scores, for free. Below is a list of some lenders participating in FICO ® Score Open Access. Look to see if your lender is listed.
You can get your FICO® Score for free from hundreds of financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, credit card issuers and credit counselors that participate in the FICO® Score Open Access program and offer free scores to customers.
Your score can then differ based on what bureau your credit report is pulled from since they don't all receive the same information about your credit accounts. Secondly, different credit score models (and versions) exist across the board. As it states on its website, Credit Karma uses the VantageScore® 3.0 model.