Today, more than 90% of top lenders use FICO Scores to make faster, fairer, and more accurate lending decisions. Other credit scores can be very different from FICO Scores—sometimes by as much as 100 points! FICO Scores are trusted to be a fair and reliable measure of whether a person will pay back their loan on time.

What does a FICO Score of 8 mean?

FICO 8 scores range between 300 and 850. A FICO score of at least 700 is considered a good score. There are also industry-specific versions of credit scores that businesses use. For example, the FICO Bankcard Score 8 is the most widely used score when you apply for a new credit card or a credit-limit increase. 1.

How do I get my true FICO Score for free?

You can get a free FICO® Score from hundreds of financial services companies, including banks, credit unions, credit card issuers and credit counselors that participate in the FICO® Score Open Access program and offer free scores to customers.

What makes a FICO score a good score?

FICO creates industry-specific credit-scoring models tailored for certain credit products, including credit cards, auto loans and mortgage loans. These scoring models use the same foundation as the base scoring models. So if you have a good FICO® Score 8, you may also have a good FICO® Auto Score 8 or FICO® Bankcard Score 8.

Are there any credit cards that give free FICO scores?

In 2013, Fair Isaac Corp., the company that created the FICO score, launched its FICO Score Open Access program, which allowed lenders to give their customers free FICO scores. The next year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau called on major credit card issuers to offer free credit scores to their customers, and many of them now do.

What’s the difference between FICO Auto Score and FICO credit score 8?

With FICO Bankcard Score 8, which is used when you apply for a credit card, the focus is on how you’ve handled credit cards in the past. FICO Auto Score 8, on the other hand, doesn’t emphasize credit card activity and history as heavily. 9 

What’s the best credit score to get for a credit card?

Keep reading for our rundown on the best credit cards by FICO score. The FICO credit score range spans from 300 to 850, with 850 being the best possible credit score.