Author Topic: Free FICO score?  (Read 9734 times)

EconDiva

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Free FICO score?
« on: January 06, 2017, 09:57:43 AM »
Is there a place online where I can get my FICO score for free?


yachi

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2017, 10:01:38 AM »
Yes.  CreditKarma provides a credit score.  Also lots of credit cards are starting to provide them as perks.  Discover seems to have started this, but I've seen it on my CapitalOne card and others.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2017, 10:05:53 AM »
Yes.  CreditKarma provides a credit score.  Also lots of credit cards are starting to provide them as perks.  Discover seems to have started this, but I've seen it on my CapitalOne card and others.

So, here's the thing.  I do use CreditKarma.  It gives me 2 scores-one it states is my TransUnion score, and the other is my Equifax score. 

But these are different from a FICO score, right?  If so I am interested in seeing the difference.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2017, 10:07:36 AM »
I didn't want to post this as a separate thread so hopefully others will read this and chime in, but:

At what FICO score can I anticipate starting to get the best rates on loans?  700?  720?  800?

For instance, at what minimum FICO score could I expect to be easily approved, for say, 0% financing on auto loans, or the lowest rates on a mortgage?

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2017, 10:15:01 AM »
Original question: you can get an estimate from CreditKarma.
I usually check mine using my AmEx cards and my Citi card, who offer them for free to me.
Checking your credit REPORT is separate and should be done once per year for each of the three agencies- this is free and should be done through this site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Yes.  CreditKarma provides a credit score.  Also lots of credit cards are starting to provide them as perks.  Discover seems to have started this, but I've seen it on my CapitalOne card and others.

So, here's the thing.  I do use CreditKarma.  It gives me 2 scores-one it states is my TransUnion score, and the other is my Equifax score. 

But these are different from a FICO score, right?  If so I am interested in seeing the difference.

Here's a good explanation: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/comparing-credit-scores/  Basically, those are your FICO score.

"FICO and VantageScore each use a proprietary formula designed to predict how likely you are to repay a loan or credit card balance as agreed. They make money each time a lender uses their formulas to make a lending decision.

The formulas are applied to data in your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. That’s why the same credit scoring formula can generate three different results. (That’s six scores already, if you’re counting.)"

So essentially, your credit *report* is from each of those three big companies, and your FICO *score* is built using a formula based on that data.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2017, 10:16:39 AM by Bracken_Joy »

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2017, 10:23:54 AM »
Original question: you can get an estimate from CreditKarma.
I usually check mine using my AmEx cards and my Citi card, who offer them for free to me.
Checking your credit REPORT is separate and should be done once per year for each of the three agencies- this is free and should be done through this site: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/index.action

Yes.  CreditKarma provides a credit score.  Also lots of credit cards are starting to provide them as perks.  Discover seems to have started this, but I've seen it on my CapitalOne card and others.

So, here's the thing.  I do use CreditKarma.  It gives me 2 scores-one it states is my TransUnion score, and the other is my Equifax score. 

But these are different from a FICO score, right?  If so I am interested in seeing the difference.

Here's a good explanation: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/finance/comparing-credit-scores/  Basically, those are your FICO score.

"FICO and VantageScore each use a proprietary formula designed to predict how likely you are to repay a loan or credit card balance as agreed. They make money each time a lender uses their formulas to make a lending decision.

The formulas are applied to data in your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. That’s why the same credit scoring formula can generate three different results. (That’s six scores already, if you’re counting.)"

So essentially, your credit *report* is from each of those three big companies, and your FICO *score* is built using a formula based on that data.

Thank you for the information.  I do already also use the annualcreditreport.com link for my free report (usually every January but I may wait this year as I don't think I need to pull it right now). 

So the TU and EQ scores via CreditKarma 'are' FICO scores?  Then it seems I still need my Experian FICO....

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2017, 10:28:04 AM »
According to this article, CreditKarma does the vantage score and NOT the FICO, so slighty different formulas actually: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/103015/are-credit-karma-scores-real-and-accurate.asp

If all the agencies have the same accounts, etc, on your report, then putting the same formula on that data will yield the same results. So just compare reports then use one score. The type of formula applied- VantageScore 3.0 vs FICO 7 or 8 (or 9 when it comes out) will change the score, not the agency if they have the same data.

Nothlit

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #7 on: January 06, 2017, 11:06:44 AM »
So the TU and EQ scores via CreditKarma 'are' FICO scores?  Then it seems I still need my Experian FICO....

No, CreditKarma uses Vantage scores, not FICO scores. Basically, the input data (from your credit reports) is the same, but the scoring model (formula used to arrive at a final number) differs between Vantage and FICO.

But even with FICO, there's not just one formula, either. The bottom line is you can never precisely know exactly what score any particular lender might see, unless you know for sure which score type the lender is going to request.

Discover Credit Scorecard will give you a free FICO score (I don't know which one). You don't have to be a Discover cardholder.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2017, 11:09:08 AM by Nothlit »

Catbert

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #8 on: January 06, 2017, 11:18:28 AM »
Citi also recently started giving free credit scores for their creditcard holders.  So if you've got a doublecash or costco card you've got it free - both very popular on this forum.  Just login to your citicards account online and it's in the top right (you need to click to see it).

Be careful using the Citi FICO score.  While it is a real FICO score, but it based on a 900 rather than 850 max (for reasons which I forget).  I had to figure that out a few years ago when they started giving me my score and it was 859.

edited to fix typo.
« Last Edit: January 06, 2017, 03:39:01 PM by mary w »

economista

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #9 on: January 06, 2017, 11:30:58 AM »
Mint gives you a free FICO score as well once per quarter.  I have a discover card and the Mint FICO score and the Discover FICO score are usually quite close to one another.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #10 on: January 06, 2017, 11:39:30 AM »
Citi also recently started giving free credit scores for their creditcard holders.  So if you've got a doublecash or costco card you've got it free - both very popular on this forum.  Just login to your citicards account online and it's in the top right (you need to click to see it).

Be careful using the Citi FICO score.  While it is a real FICO score, but it based on a 900 rather than 850 max (or reasons which I forget).  I had to figure that out a few years ago when they started giving me my score and it was 859.

I don't have any Citi cards but I do have a Cap1 QuickSilver...Cap1 offers the score via Credit Wise.

On a side note I can still remember when I had a 508 (yes, 508) 6-7 years back (I feel I've come a lonnnnnng way recently).

Anyways, so here's the thing:

Via Credit Wise (from Cap1), my score today is 729.

Via Credit Karma today, my TU score is 714 and my EQ score is 722 (updates tomorrow).

I have 2 Chase cards (both 10K), 1 Cap1 card (2300), 1 student loan, that's it.  No mortgage (I rent) and never had a car payment.  At 1% utilization.

Considering a mortgage in a year or two (maybe).  Either way, I'd like to get my score up over 740ish or so and not sure how.  Currently have 4 hard inquiries via my TU score (got 2 new cards just last year and changed apartments).  Will likely have another hard pull soon as I'm moving and will have another apartment pull my credit. 


Bracken_Joy

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #11 on: January 06, 2017, 11:43:46 AM »
General rule of thumb is the categories are weighted like this for FICO:
Quote
These categories, with weight in brackets, are payment history (35%), amount owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and type of credit used (10%).

Read more: How is my credit score calculated? | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/creditscorecalculation.asp#ixzz4V0a2WHdc

So worry less about hard pulls, more about number of lines of credit and their age. If I were in your situation, I would probably open another CC or two and let them age in advance of the mortgage. Look into CC churning as a way to do this while also getting sign up bonuses. I don't churn much, but if you're wanting to increase your credit score you may as well at the same time.

Good job getting up from a 508 to a 720! That's pretty incredible =) Well done.

renata ricotta

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #12 on: January 06, 2017, 12:11:42 PM »
Chase has a newish thing called "credit journey" where they will give you a credit score (from TransUnion) for free, and it also has the handy benefit of including a "score simulator," in which you can add different factors, like increasing your credit limits, maintaining a history of on-time payments, or adding a loan, to see how it would impact your score.  I'm sure it's not definitive, but it might give you some ideas on how to increase your credit score to over 740.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #13 on: January 06, 2017, 12:11:59 PM »
General rule of thumb is the categories are weighted like this for FICO:
Quote
These categories, with weight in brackets, are payment history (35%), amount owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and type of credit used (10%).

Read more: How is my credit score calculated? | Investopedia http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/05/creditscorecalculation.asp#ixzz4V0a2WHdc

So worry less about hard pulls, more about number of lines of credit and their age. If I were in your situation, I would probably open another CC or two and let them age in advance of the mortgage. Look into CC churning as a way to do this while also getting sign up bonuses. I don't churn much, but if you're wanting to increase your credit score you may as well at the same time.

Good job getting up from a 508 to a 720! That's pretty incredible =) Well done.

Thank you!

I had a lot of growing to do over the past 5+ years and just a few months ago I passed the 700 mark.

And what you mentioned doing is kind of what I was thinking I might need to do-get 1 or 2 new cards.  I did get the Chase Sapphire Reserve last September.  So I just need to decide what next 2 cards would be worth doing for travel purposes as I do need the bonuses to pay for flights for 2017.

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #14 on: January 06, 2017, 12:41:00 PM »
Awesome! You travel. That means you are the prime person to benefit from this: http://www.milesdividendmd.com/ (the sign up button on the top)

I haven't done it, but it's highly recommended around here. I think the creator is a mustachian, actually.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #15 on: January 07, 2017, 07:39:26 AM »
Awesome! You travel. That means you are the prime person to benefit from this: http://www.milesdividendmd.com/ (the sign up button on the top)

I haven't done it, but it's highly recommended around here. I think the creator is a mustachian, actually.

Thanks!!  I've been meaning to check that course out.

EconDiva

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #16 on: January 07, 2017, 07:43:07 AM »
Chase has a newish thing called "credit journey" where they will give you a credit score (from TransUnion) for free, and it also has the handy benefit of including a "score simulator," in which you can add different factors, like increasing your credit limits, maintaining a history of on-time payments, or adding a loan, to see how it would impact your score.  I'm sure it's not definitive, but it might give you some ideas on how to increase your credit score to over 740.

Thank you...I hadn't heard of this before.

And not that I want to start obsessing over my scores or anything, but CreditKarma updated today and now they are:

TU-729
EQ-737

Rural

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2017, 11:12:53 AM »
Chase has a newish thing called "credit journey" where they will give you a credit score (from TransUnion) for free, and it also has the handy benefit of including a "score simulator," in which you can add different factors, like increasing your credit limits, maintaining a history of on-time payments, or adding a loan, to see how it would impact your score.  I'm sure it's not definitive, but it might give you some ideas on how to increase your credit score to over 740.

Thank you...I hadn't heard of this before.

And not that I want to start obsessing over my scores or anything, but CreditKarma updated today and now they are:

TU-729
EQ-737


 I'm a little wary of the Chase creditjourney option, though. I pulled mine recently, and I was told that one of the things improving my score was that age of my accounts and that one of the things decreasing my score was the age of my accounts.

JLee

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #18 on: January 07, 2017, 11:39:46 AM »
If you have a Chase Slate credit card, you can get a monthly FICO score for free.

For comparison, here are mine:

CreditKarma TransUnion: 814
CreditKarma Equifax: 807
FICO provided by Chase: 796

SpareChange

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #19 on: January 07, 2017, 01:42:00 PM »
If you have a Chase Slate credit card, you can get a monthly FICO score for free.

For comparison, here are mine:

CreditKarma TransUnion: 814
CreditKarma Equifax: 807
FICO provided by Chase: 796

Hmmmm. Does Chase tell you which agency their FICO is from?

SpareChange

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #20 on: January 07, 2017, 01:44:08 PM »
Chase has a newish thing called "credit journey" where they will give you a credit score (from TransUnion) for free, and it also has the handy benefit of including a "score simulator," in which you can add different factors, like increasing your credit limits, maintaining a history of on-time payments, or adding a loan, to see how it would impact your score.  I'm sure it's not definitive, but it might give you some ideas on how to increase your credit score to over 740.

Thank you...I hadn't heard of this before.

And not that I want to start obsessing over my scores or anything, but CreditKarma updated today and now they are:

TU-729
EQ-737

FYI, Econdiva, both credit karma and credit wise have similar simulators.

JLee

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #21 on: January 07, 2017, 02:11:08 PM »
If you have a Chase Slate credit card, you can get a monthly FICO score for free.

For comparison, here are mine:

CreditKarma TransUnion: 814
CreditKarma Equifax: 807
FICO provided by Chase: 796

Hmmmm. Does Chase tell you which agency their FICO is from?

Experian.

JLee

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Re: Free FICO score?
« Reply #22 on: January 15, 2017, 02:01:43 PM »
If you have a Chase Slate credit card, you can get a monthly FICO score for free.

For comparison, here are mine:

CreditKarma TransUnion: 814
CreditKarma Equifax: 807
FICO provided by Chase: 796

Hmmmm. Does Chase tell you which agency their FICO is from?

Chase has a new score for me. Here are my current numbers:

CreditKarma TransUnion: 815
CreditKarma Equifax: 807
FICO (Experian) provided by Chase: 822

They are all pretty close to each other, though I'm surprised Experian jumped that far in a month.