FICO vs Vantage Score

Did you know that FICO which is the older of the two uses a score range of 300 to 850, while Vantage- Score ranges from 501 to 990? Both credit scores consider borrowers with higher credit scores to be less risky than borrowers with low credit scores. From a consumer standpoint, the better credit score is the one your lender is using to approve or decline your application. Since more lenders use the FICO score you may be better off checking that score. Don't take it for granted though. Always ask your lender which credit score they'll be checking.

FICO Score bases its credit scoring formula on five categories of information, while Vantage-Score uses six.

FICO

35% payment history

30% level of debt

15% age of credit history

10% types of credit

10% credit inquires

VantageScore

32% payment history

23% utilization

15% balances

13% depth of credit

10% recent credit

7% available credit

VantageScore assigns a letter grade to its credit score depending on where it falls withing the range:

901 - 990 = A, Super Prime

801 - 900 = B, Prime Plus

701 - 800 = C, Prime

601 - 700 = D, Non-Prime

501 - 600 = F, High Risk