Understanding your FICO and CreditWise Credit Scores (2024)

FAQs

Understanding your FICO and CreditWise Credit Scores? ›

740-799 is considered Very Good. 670-739 is considered Good. 580-669 is considered Fair. 250-579 is considered Risky.

There isn't one credit score that's necessarily more accurate than another. Your credit scores depend on the information from lenders and creditors in your credit reports. But different credit-scoring models may take different factors into account or weigh certain factors more heavily than others.

The score provided in the CreditWise tool is calculated using the TransUnion® VantageScore® 3.0 model, which is one of many scoring models. Your CreditWise score is a good measure of your overall credit health, but it is not likely to be the same score used by creditors.

"For years, there has been a lot of confusion among consumers over which credit scores matter. 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."

FICO® Scores generally range from 300 to 850, though industry-specific FICO Scores have a slightly broader 250 to 900 score range (more on the different FICO Score versions on page 8). Higher FICO Scores demonstrate lower credit risk, and lower FICO Scores demonstrate higher credit risk.

Both FICO and CreditWise use one of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian, TransUnion. FICO uses Equifax, whereas CreditWise uses TransUnion. Checking your score on different platforms can result in differing scores.

Your FICO Score is a credit score. But if your FICO score is different from another of your credit scores, it may be that the score you're viewing was calculated using one of the other scoring models that exist.

The CreditWise score is calculated using the TransUnion® VantageScore® 3.0 model. So, it will be pretty close to your VantageScore credit score through TransUnion. However, the score reflected on CreditWise may not be the same as what you get from your TransUnion credit report.

FICO considers anything between 670 and 739 a good credit score. And VantageScore says good credit scores fall between 661 and 780. Scores above those might be considered very good, excellent or exceptional.

What are the three C's of credit? ›

Examining the C's of Credit

For example, when it comes to actually applying for credit, the “three C's” of credit – capital, capacity, and character – are crucial.

While income doesn't have a direct impact on your credit score, it can have an indirect impact since you need to have sufficient income to pay your bills. And if you don't make enough money to cover your bills, you can rack up debt or miss payments, which can negatively impact your credit score.

The primary credit scoring models are FICO® and VantageScore®, and both are equally accurate. Although both are accurate, most lenders are looking at your FICO score when you apply for a loan.

Checking your credit reports or credit scores will not impact credit scores. Regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is a good way to ensure information is accurate. Hard inquiries in response to a credit application do impact credit scores.

Credit monitoring can help you detect fraud and track your credit scores. One way to do this is by using a free credit tool like CreditWise from Capital One, which lets you access your TransUnion credit report and VantageScore 3.0 credit score. Using CreditWise won't hurt your credit scores.