No credit score from any one of the credit bureaus is more valuable or more accurate than another. It's possible that a lender may gravitate toward one score over another, but that doesn't necessarily mean that score is better.
The middle credit score is most significant when buying a house because mortgage companies ignore the highest and lowest number provided by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
A: As a general matter, no one credit bureau report is “more important” than the others. In today's economic environment, they are all vitally critical to your personal finances.
An Equifax credit score isn't used by lenders or creditors to assess a consumers' creditworthiness. Instead, many lenders use FICO Scores® to help determine a potential borrower's creditworthiness. FICO uses credit scores from the three reporting agencies, including Equifax and Transunion, to determine their score.
Because there are varied scoring models, you'll likely have different scores from different providers. Lenders use many different types of credit scores to make lending decisions. The score you see when you check it may not be the same as the one used by your lender.
Equifax and TransUnion have different scores because slightly different information is reported to each credit reporting agency. In addition, TransUnion reports your employment history and personal information. Equifax's different credit scoring model results in lower scores.
In conclusion, auto lenders use Equifax and Experian the most, while TransUnion is less used for auto loan credit checks, at least in some parts of the US.
A good score with TransUnion and VantageScore® 3.0 is between 720 and 780. As your score climbs through and above this range, you can benefit from the increased freedom and flexibility healthy credit brings. Some people want to achieve a score of 850, the highest credit score possible.
The scoring model used in mortgage applications
While the FICO® 8 model is the most widely used scoring model for general lending decisions, banks use the following FICO scores when you apply for a mortgage: FICO® Score 2 (Experian) FICO® Score 5 (Equifax)
Although ranges vary depending on the credit scoring model, generally credit scores from 580 to 669 are considered fair; 670 to 739 are considered good; 740 to 799 are considered very good; and 800 and up are considered excellent.
Your payment history on loan and credit accounts can play a prominent role in calculating credit scores; depending on the scoring model used, even one late payment on a credit card account or loan can result in a decrease. In addition, late payments remain on your Equifax credit report for seven years.
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.
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.
The credit scores and reports you see on Credit Karma should accurately reflect your credit information as reported by those bureaus. This means a couple of things: The scores we provide are actual credit scores pulled from two of the major consumer credit bureaus, not just estimates of your credit rating.
And if you're hoping to score a 0% APR car loan, you'll likely need a very good or exceptional FICO® Score☉ , which means a score of 740 or above. Before you start shopping for a new vehicle, take some time to check your credit score to see where you stand.
In general, lenders look for borrowers in the prime range or better, so you will need a score of 661 or higher to qualify for most conventional car loans.
Neither score is more or less accurate than the other; they're only being calculated from slightly differing sources. Your Equifax credit score is more likely to appear lower than your TransUnion one because of the reporting differences, but a “fair” score from TransUnion is typically “fair” across the board.
While both TransUnion and Experian have some similarities, Experian offers a more robust suite of consumer services. It also reveals your FICO Score 8—the score most lenders use—which can give you a better idea of what lenders see than the VantageScore that TransUnion provides.
They are Experian, Equifax and CIBIL. CIBIL is quite popular as it has been in the business for a long time. Non-Banking Financial Companies and banks use the credit score provided by CIBIL, Experian and Equifax to determine the potential risk of lending to a customer.
Credit Karma touts that it will always be free to the consumers who use its website or mobile app. But how accurate is Credit Karma? In some cases, as seen in an example below, Credit Karma may be off by 20 to 25 points.
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.