Fico vs Vantage Score:
If you’ve been trying to repair your credit for some time now or have ever worked with someone in attempt to raise your score, you’ve probably heard of at least one of these scoring modules used to calculate your credit score. And you probably are also dying to know the difference.
Well is that’s true for you, you’re in the right place because today we are going to tackle the major differences between the two as well as how, why & when they are used.
To start we'll cover the Vantage Scoring module. Which I like to refer to as the “little brother” if you will. Reason being is this scoring module typically takes the back seat to the more prestige and higher in age Fico Module. Fico is also more commonly used & favored by major lenders such as banks and car lots. This may make the lesser module of the two, (The Vantage Module)seem irrelevant or null & void. However the Vantage Module does serve its purpose.
Vantage 101:
Lets dive right in. To offer a little history, The Vantage Scoring Module is only 14 years old and was birthed by the 3 major credit bureaus Experian, Equifax & Transunion with the intent of competing with the better known FICO Scoring Module but also to create a more seamless and comprehensive experience for consumers. And just like the FICO scoring module it is used to determine your credibility or credit worthiness. And there are very well lenders, landlords and other financial institutions who do in fact use this module. Another major difference between the two is that the Vantage score is commonly offered for free where FICO scores are rarely free. Also the Vantage Scoring Module originally operated on a completely different scale from the FICO Module. Although recently changed to further compete with the FICO Module the original scale for the Vantage Module ranged from as low as 500 and as high as 990. This was the major difference between the two. The newest version of the Vantage Scoring Module now uses the same scale as FICO and can calculate a score with as little as one month of history opposed to the 3 months required in its older module. Although the range in which the score is calculated is the same as FICO the categories used to determine the number are slightly different.
FICO to go:
The FICO score on the other hand has been around for a little while longer coming into existence in 1989, created by a well known tech company named Fair, Isaac, & Company. Better known as FICO. The module is 31 years old. Which makes the FICO score 17 years older than the Vantage Score. The age of the FICO Score could also very well be the reason it is most popular and used by roughly 90% of top lenders. Another major difference is that FICO generates separate scores for different types of loans. Meaning when applying for credit whether it be Mortgages, Auto Loans or Credit Cards each can have a different score. As mentioned earlier these scores are also typically not free. The range for the FICO Scoring Module are 300 to 850 and has uses 5 different categories to calculate the score. FICO has at least 9 different modules to date.
How the scores are calculated:
Vantage Score 3.0 categories used to determine score and the weight of each category.
40% payment history
21% age and type of credit
20% percent of credit used
11% total balances/debt
5% recent credit behavior and inquiries
3% available credit
FICO Score categories used to determine score and the weight of each category.
35% payment history
30% level of debt/amounts owed
15% age/length of credit history
10% types of credit/credit mix
10% credit inquiries/new credit
Although the two have had several major differences in the past, the Vantage Scoring Modules new updates have proven to be quite comparable to that of the FICO Scoring Module and has gotten much closer in range than before and is even starting to make headway in the financial industry being used more frequently than previously reported. The major difference between the FICO and Vantages most recent module however are that the percentages are no longer offered or calculated exactly in the Vantage 4.0 Scoring Module.
It is these differences that it make that much harder to get an accurate score because not all lenders will use the same score. So with that said, they're all right! The only wrong score is the score with inaccuracies and well, we can help with that. If you are looking to determine which module better fits your needs try referring back to lender in which you are interested in receiving credit from.