Not All Credit Scores Are Created Equal

When it comes to your credit score, you're likely already familiar with your FICO score. It is, after all, the most common type of score that creditors check before approving you for a home loan, car loan, etc. But there's more than just the FICO score that creditors may check when it comes to looking up your finance history. Vantage and PLUS scores are two in particular that come to mind.

So what are the key differentiators between FICO, Vantage, and PLUS? Here's a closer look:

FICO The FICO credit score, which ranges from 300 to 850, is made up of five main categories: Payment history, 35 percent Amounts owed, 30 percent Length of credit history, 15 percent New credit, 10 percent Types of credit, 10 percent

As you can see from the FICO score makeup, the single most important thing is credit history - so here's a credit tip - pay your bills on time. It's why making on-time payments is such a crucial piece of credit repair. Debt and debt management is the next most important thing and the score is, rounded out by how diverse your credit is, new lines of credit you've opened, and how long your credit history is.

Vantage Unlike the FICO score, the Vantage score essentially judges you on your last 2 years of credit and delivers your score in a range from 501 to 990. Unlike the FICO score, which takes into account 5 components of your credit history, Vantage measures you on 6 categories. Here's a look at what they are and how significantly they weigh into your overall score: Payment history, 32 percent Utilization, 23 percent Balances, 15 percent Depth of credit, 13 percent Recent credit, 10 percent Available credit, 7 percent

Many of the categories are similar to FICO, and there's the "payment history" category, which takes tops in importance on its own. But the Vantage score includes a separate "Utilization" category, which measures debt-to-credit ratio, and "Balances." In FICO, those two categories are somewhat grouped together. So while on-time payments are also important to repair credit with the Vantage score, there's almost a greater emphasis on debt-to-credit ratio and debt.

PLUS Score The score is measured between 330 and 830. It's considered more of an "educational" score rather than one that's used by lenders, but it's nevertheless still a score. It's a scoring system developed by Experian. Here's a look at the breakdown: Payment history, 31 percent Credit usage, 30 percent Age of accounts, 15 percent Account types, 14 percent Inquiries, 10 percent



By Nikitas Tsoukalis