Credit scores are an important part of a person’s financial health. Knowing your scores can help keep you on track toward your financial goals.

It’s a good idea to check your credit scores and credit reports from several sources since the same information is not necessarily reported to each of the three main credit bureaus.  

A common credit scoring model to check is FICO, provided by Free Isaac Corporation. FICO has dozens of different scoring versions, and you may be able to check your FICO score — typically FICO^® Score 8 — for free.

Credit Karma provides free VantageScore 3.0 credit scores from the credit bureaus TransUnion and Equifax. VantageScore is a different scoring model than FICO, but it’s still a good way to gauge your credit standing since it’s used by top banks and lenders.

• What is a FICO score?
• How to get your FICO scores for free
  • FICO
  • Discover 
  • American Express® credit cards
  • Citibank® credit cards
  • Bank of America
  • Capital One
  • Wells Fargo
  • Credit unions
• What’s the difference between VantageScore and FICO?
• FAQs about how to check your FICO scores

What is a FICO score?

Your FICO score is a type of credit score. Lenders may use your FICO scores to assess your risk as a borrower when you apply for a new loan or credit card. 

In addition to its base versions, FICO also offers industry-specific scoring models (and scores) for different credit products, such as auto loans, credit cards and mortgages.

Your FICO score is calculated based on a variety of factors, such as:

• Payment history
• Outstanding balances
• Length of credit history
• New credit
• Credit mix

How to get your FICO score for free

Here are some ways to check your FICO score for free. There’s no hard inquiry with any of these options, so checking your score won’t affect your credit.

1. FICO
2. Discover
3. American Express® credit cards
4. Citibank® credit cards
5. Bank of America
6. Capital One
7. Wells Fargo
8. Credit unions

1. FICO

You can sign up for a free account on myFICO.com to access your monthly FICO® Score 8 based on your Equifax credit report.

myFICO.com also offers two paid plans that allow you to access your FICO scores from all three credit bureaus every one to three months, depending on the plan. These paid plans also come with identity theft insurance, credit scores for mortgages and auto loans and identity monitoring.

2. Discover

You can use Discover to help track your FICO® Score 8 based on your TransUnion credit report.

In addition to having access to your free FICO credit score each month, you’ll be able to learn more about the factors that make up your scores. But you have to be a Discover cardmember to view your scores.

3. American Express® credit cards

American Express gives cardholders access to their free FICO® Score 8. The FICO score provided is based on your Experian credit report. 

Your FICO score is available through your online American Express account and gets updated periodically.

4. Citibank® credit cards

Another credit card issuer that will provide your FICO score for free (for select Citi cards) is Citibank. Scores are based on your Equifax® credit reports using the FICO® Bankcard Score 8 model, and they update on a monthly basis. Keep in mind that this FICO score model has a range of 250 to 900.

5. Bank of America

Bank of America offers eligible cardholders free access to their FICO® Score 8. The score provided is based on your TransUnion® credit report and updated each month. Plus, you will also have access to some useful insights.

The first insight tracks your recent scores over time, so you can see how you’ve been performing month to month. This can be helpful if you’ve been working to boost your credit. The second insight will show national FICO score averages. This allows you to compare your score against others.

6. Capital One

Unlike some of the other credit card issuers we’ve mentioned, Capital One allows anyone who signs up to access their FICO® Score 8 from TransUnion for free — you don’t have to be a Capital One customer. 

Plus, you can get personalized insights about your credit score and tips to improve your score. You’ll also get alerts for any important changes on your credit report along with dark web monitoring. 

7. Wells Fargo

Any eligible Wells Fargo account holders are able to access their FICO® Score 9 from Experian for free with monthly credit updates. 

You’ll also get credit monitoring alerts and personalized tips to help improve your credit score.  

8. Credit unions

Another option for getting your FICO scores for free is through a credit union. Not all of them offer this benefit, but if you belong to one, it’s worth checking. For example, DCU Credit Union offers members who sign up free access to their monthly FICO score from Equifax.

What’s the difference between VantageScore and FICO?

VantageScore and FICO are both credit scoring models — they are not credit bureaus. VantageScore is a collaboration between the three main consumer credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Credit Karma provides free credit scores and reports from TransUnion and Equifax using VantageScore 3.0. 

Both scoring models are widely used by lenders and credit card issuers to evaluate credit but they have their differences. For example, you may be able to generate a VantageScore 3.0 credit score with just one month of credit history. With FICO, you’ll need at least one account with six months of credit history reported to a credit bureau to generate a FICO^® Score 8 score.

Another difference between VantageScore and FICO is the scoring models they use to determine your credit scores. While they look at similar factors when calculating your scores, those factors can be weighed differently.

Next steps

Understanding your credit scores, including your FICO credit scores, plays a big part in getting a handle on your overall financial health. For example, your credit scores could affect your borrowing costs when you purchase a new car or home. 

Monitoring your credit reports is another good way to keep an eye on your financial health. It can help you detect errors on your reports — like incorrect personal information, payments you didn’t make, or hard inquiries or new accounts you don’t recognize. 

Credit Karma offers free credit monitoring and can alert you to any key changes to your Equifax or TransUnion credit reports.

myFICO.com also offers free credit monitoring for your Equifax credit report when you sign up and will alert you of any important changes to your report. TransUnion and Experian also offer free credit monitoring when you sign up.

FAQs about how to check your FICO score

VantageScore 3.0 is a common credit scoring model — and the basis of the free scores you’ll see when logged into Credit Karma.

There are many credit scores and scoring models out there, including FICO, but many top banks, lenders and card issuers use VantageScore 3.0. Credit Karma provides your free credit Vantage 3.0 credit scores from two of the three main credit bureaus: TransUnion and Equifax. 

We’ll review more details about how this scoring model works, the credit score factors it considers and how it compares to FICO scores.

• What is VantageScore 3.0?
• How are your VantageScore 3.0 scores calculated?
• How does VantageScore 3.0 compare to FICO models?
• What is the difference between VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0?
• Next steps: Monitor your credit

What is VantageScore 3.0?

VantageScore® was established when the three major consumer credit reporting bureaus — Experian, TransUnion and Equifax — teamed up to create a credit scoring model of their own in 2006.

VantageScore 3.0 debuted in 2013 and has become a popular scoring model. A distinguishing feature is that it may be able to provide you a score using just one account and one month of credit history. 

Keep in mind that VantageScore offers multiple models with different factors being weighed differently for each. The latest version of the VantageScore® model is VantageScore 5.0, but many lenders continue to rely on VantageScore 3.0.

How are your VantageScore 3.0 scores calculated?

VantageScore 3.0 credit scores range from 300 to 850.

Though individual credit scores are based on a complex series of calculations, VantageScore does offer some insight into how the various credit factors are used to calculate a VantageScore 3.0 score.

Generally, here’s how the credit factors break down:

Image: ccupdateutilization-vantage-2

• Payment history (40%): This key factor measures if you are making on-time payments toward your financial accounts. 
• Age and type of credit (21%): This credit factor indicates how long you’ve had different types of credit accounts open — the longer the better. Lenders also often like to see a mix of account types.
• Credit utilization (20%): This factor measures how much of your available credit you use. Experts generally recommend a credit utilization ratio of below 30%. 
• Balances (11%): This factor shows your total amount owed. Lenders usually prefer seeing low to no balances rolling over on your accounts from month to month. 
• Recent credit (5%): This factor shows if you’ve recently applied for a new credit card or loan. Your recent credit activity, especially if you’ve opened any new lines of credit, can be an indicator of future performance. 
• Available credit (3%): Though a low priority, lenders like to see that you are only taking out the credit you need.

VantageScore 3.0 vs. other scoring models at a glance

How does VantageScore 3.0 compare to FICO® models?

It is good to remember that while there are many scoring models out there, there are also many similarities between the VantageScore and FICO credit-scoring models. Not only are both typically calculated on a 300-to-850-point scale (newer FICO® scores may range up to 950), but both models put a lot of emphasis on payment history and credit utilization.

Let’s take a look at how FICO weighs various factors in your credit scores. Some of these factors may have slightly different names from what we referenced above, but they refer to similar information in your credit reports.

Image: ccupdateutilization-fico-3

• Payment history: 35%
• Amounts owed: 30%
• Length of credit history: 15%
• New credit: 10%
• Other factors, such as types of credit used: 10% 

While much of the information is comparable, one big difference is how VantageScore and FICO evaluate data in order to generate scores, particularly for people without much credit history.

If you have little credit history, there’s a good chance you might not have a FICO® score. FICO requires at least six months of account data reported to a credit bureau within the past six months before a score can be established.

VantageScore, on the other hand, might be able to provide more people with a credit score by using just one month of history on at least one account reported within the previous 24 months.

Do you have a collection account on your credit reports? VantageScore may be a little more forgiving to your situation. Unlike the FICO® 8 credit scoring model, VantageScore 3.0 will ignore any collections account that has been paid in full. (FICO® 9 also ignores any collection account that is paid in full.)

Do banks use VantageScore or FICO?

Different institutions may use different, and sometimes even multiple, credit scores when evaluating your credit history. VantageScore is a widely used scoring model that allows banks to see how you have used credit in the past. 

Keep in mind that banks may use this information, along with other factors such as employment history or income, to determine if they are willing to approve a loan or line of credit. 

Lenders often use specific scores for the type of financial product you’re seeking. For example, if you’re applying for a car loan, your potential lender will likely pull an auto loan-specific credit score rather than a general one.

The best way to get a clear idea of your credit health is to check multiple credit scores, including VantageScore 3.0 on Credit Karma. You can also ask a lender which scoring model they use. Some banks and other lenders will list it on their websites.

What is the difference between VantageScore 3.0 and VantageScore 4.0?

Over time, VantageScore Solutions has adjusted its credit scoring model.

Here’s what VantageScore 4.0 takes into account.

Trended credit data

Typically, credit scores have only been able to take a snapshot of your credit reports based on how they look at a specific period of time. VantageScore Solutions says that VantageScore 4.0 uses trended data from the three major consumer credit reporting bureaus — meaning it may offer deeper, more-accurate insight into your borrowing and payment patterns.

Tax liens, judgments and medical collection accounts might not hurt as much

TransUnion, Experian and Equifax have adopted stricter requirements for collecting and reporting consumers’ tax liens and civil judgments. In light of that change, VantageScore 4.0 doesn’t rely as heavily on tax liens and civil judgments as some previous scoring models.

Credit scores for more consumers

VantageScore 4.0 could be welcomed by consumers with a thin or dormant credit history. VantageScore Solutions says the model leverages “machine learning techniques” to better develop scorecards for consumers with no update to their credit files in the previous six months.

Next steps: Monitor your credit

Credit scores are ever-evolving, but knowing how different scoring models incorporate credit factors can help you address any issues that may arise. It’s important to check your credit scores regularly to verify that the information you see is accurate and up to date. 

Keep in mind that your credit scores may differ for a variety of reasons, including:

• The use of different credit scoring models
• Different information on different credit reports — not all lenders report to all credit bureaus 
• Timing — different information such as account balances may be reported to the bureaus at different times 

Credit Karma gives you access to your Vantage 3.0 scores from TransUnion and Equifax as well as credit reports from those two bureaus.

You may also want to check your FICO scores (a service now offered by many banks and credit card issuers) to get a broader picture of your credit health.