FICO vs FAKO – Understanding the difference

I am still surprised at the number of people I encounter that don’t understand that there are different credit scoring models out there and that this may lead to surprises (both positive and negative) when the time comes to use it.

Almost all banks, credit card, and car finance companies, etc. use the standard FICO score for your credit. Thus, you should always know what your true FICO score is. Many banks and credit unions now provide this for free and you can check your credit report and score here for free:

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

The other score (some refer to as the FAKO score) is the Vantagescore created by the three credit reporting agencies. This is the score used by sites such as CreditKarma, Credit Sesame, etc. The problem with the Vantagescore is that (as pointed out above) it isn’t widely used and therefore can mislead as to the true credit score.

Let’s use a real world example to show the differences in the scoring models:

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I have a rewards card with a $1500 limit. If I max this card with a purchase just to get the rewards, my total credit utilization will be about 3%. My FICO score will remain largely unchanged by this event. However, my FAKO score will drop -30- points in a single day because I have 100% utilization on this one card. So now I have this huge disparity between the two scores as a result of a transaction that is insignificant to my overall financial situation. .

That isn’t to say the Vantagescore is useless. It does give a guideline as to your credit and it is commonly used by landlords, employers, and others to do a quick credit check.

Your credit is important. Thus, it is a good idea to know what is in your credit reports and your score under both models so there are no surprises when it comes to your credit.

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