VantageScore counts multiple inquiries, even for different types of loans, within a 14-day period as a single inquiry. Multiple inquiries on your reports for the same type of loan or credit, spanning more than a 14-day period, may have a greater impact to your VantageScore® credit scores than to your FICO® scores.
A good FICO® Score is considered anything above 670. On the VantageScore®side, anything above 700 is considered good credit. FICO® has special, industry-specific scoring ranges for credit cards and auto loans with scores ranging from 250 – 900.
FICO Score Conversion. There is no official method of converting a VantageScore to a FICO score. Because each scoring uses different criteria and methods of pulling data, it's nearly impossible to convert. However, keeping both scores in mind can give you a much more well-rounded understanding of your credit health.
While VantageScore and FICO now use the same 300-850 range, VantageScore tiers run about 50 points lower than FICO tiers.
A 2019 third-party market study found that VantageScores are widely used by credit card issuers, and secondly by both installment loan and fintech lenders. According to the study, nine of the 10 largest banks and 29 of the 100 largest credit unions used VantageScore credit scores in one or more lines of business.
Credit Score Range
FICO Scores range from 300 to 850. At first, VantageScore credit scores featured a different numerical scale (501 to 990). However, VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 adopted the same 300 to 850 scale that FICO uses. With both FICO and VantageScore models, higher scores are better.
TransUnion will provide you with your VantageScore 3.0 credit score when you sign up for its credit monitoring service. VantageScore was created in partnership among all three credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Your TransUnion VantageScore is, in fact, accurate — based on the VantageScore model.
Credit score and mortgages
The minimum credit score needed for most mortgages is typically around 620.
Though Credit Karma does not currently offer FICO® scores, the scores you see on Credit Karma (VantageScore 3.0 credit scores from TransUnion and Equifax) provide valuable insight into your financial health. It's important to keep in mind that no one credit score is the end-all, be-all.
A score from 750 to 850 is considered to be excellent or super prime, while scores between 700 to 749 are considered to be good. Scores between 650 and 699 are viewed as fair, scores in the 550 to 649 range are poor, and 300-549 are very poor scores.
Length of credit history required
VantageScore can use data of just one month's history and one account reported within the previous 24 months. So if you're new to credit or you haven't used credit in a while, you may not have FICO® credit scores, but you might have VantageScore® credit scores.
Like FICO Scores, VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0 credit scores range from 300 to 850. That said, good credit for FICO is at least 670, while a credit score of 700 or higher is required to be deemed good under the VantageScore model.
Which credit scores does Credit Karma offer? The model used for credit scores on Credit Karma is VantageScore® 3.0. While VantageScore® credit scores aren't used as widely as FICO® scores for credit decisions, they can still give you a good idea of where your credit stands.
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.
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. It is important to check a reputable, accurate credit score because there are more than 1,000 different types of credit scores floating around.
FICO gives more weight to payment history, while VantageScore's latest version emphasizes total credit usage and balances. The FICO score's credit scoring formula is based on five categories of information, while VantageScore 3.0 uses six. VantageScore 4.0 uses five categories.
700 is a good score — and with a little effort, you should be able to find a mortgage lender who will give you a competitive rate and get you into the home you want.
It's recommended you have a credit score of 620 or higher when you apply for a conventional loan. If your score is below 620, lenders either won't be able to approve your loan or may be required to offer you a higher interest rate, which can result in higher monthly payments.
Minimum FHA loan credit score requirement
The minimum credit score to qualify for an FHA loan is 580 with a down payment of 3.5 percent. If you can bump up your down payment to at least 10 percent, you can have a credit score as low as 500 and still qualify.
The FICO® Score versions used in mortgage lending and the more recently released versions, such as FICO® Score 9 and 10, have the same 300 to 850 range. VantageScore, a competing maker of credit scores, also uses that range for its latest VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 model credit scores.
Capital One, Chase, OneMain Financial and U.S. Bank provide VantageScore 3.0 to customers, visible when you log in to your account.
As many people discovered, Credit Karma does not use the same scoring system as major lenders. It's not so much that Credit Karma's score is wrong, it's just that they use a different measurement system.
The VantageScore model can uniquely improve a mortgage lender's business while increasing responsible access to mortgage credit for consumers. By widening the window without lowering the bar in terms of credit risk standards or pricing standards, lenders can reach more qualified applicants.
A good VantageScore lies between 661 and 780, which the company calls a "prime" credit tier. VantageScores above 780 are considered "superprime" while those between 601 and 660 are "near prime." VantageScores below 600 are considered "subprime." The average VantageScore 3.0 in July 2021 was 693.
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.