Question How important is the Experian Score in Rebuilding Credit?

[Barbisi]

When we applied for our current car loan, we were surprised that both our scores were at least 30 points higher on Eqifax and Transunion than Experian (which currently has my mine listed as a dismally unchanged fair.) Just how important is Experian in credit scoring? If we need say, a 700 score, to rent a house closer to my husband's job, how much weight do their scores have? Can we just ignore them as we take more steps to rebuild our credit?
How can we obtain our scores from the other two credit bureaus?

[shipo]

Experian lagged my Equifax and TransUnion scores by 30 to 40 points for the two(ish) years between my discharge and the Chapter 13 falling off my credit reports. Once the bankruptcy fell off my FICO 8 scores all jumped to between 10 to 15 points of each other.

As for how important the Experian scores are versus the other two, that's a crap shoot; some entities pull something from the other two, some pull from Experian.

[BxRcvor]

Oddly enough, my Experian scores are higher than the others. But, as stated, it's really up to the entity that is doing the pulling.

[Zombie13]

Interesting. To add to what Barbisi asked: do we need to pay a subscription fee to all three bureaus, to monitor the credit score (not the credit report)? Can we do it for free, or cheaply?

[shipo]

If you're looking for Vantage 3.0 scores (aka FAKO scores because they are virtually unused), you can log into the likes of WalletHub, CreditKarma, and Chase to get your Vantage scores for the three credit bureaus.

Regarding FICO scores (the ones used for something like 98% of credit underwriting decisions), the only one you can get from the source for free is the Experian FICO 8 scores. PenFed and I believe Discover do provide at least one free FICO score each (there are something like 34 different FICO scores these days). If you want the full boat of all of your scores you'll need to subscribe to one of the plans offered by myFICO.com or ExtraCredit plan from credit.com.

[Barbisi]

shipo,we might consider joining myFico.com for a short time just to see where our Fico credit scores are.
Zombie13 is rightly unhappy with the current 2-hour daily commute; we need to move to (hopefully) another rambler much closer to the job. For that a credit score of 700 is essential.

[shipo]

shipo,we might consider joining myFico.com for a short time just to see where our Fico credit scores are.
Zombie13 is rightly unhappy with the current 2-hour daily commute; we need to move to (hopefully) another rambler much closer to the job. For that a credit score of 700 is essential.

Over the last year I've had memberships with both myFICO and ExtraCredit; the latter is $15.00 per month less expensive and IMHO, just as useful.

[BxRcvor]

If you're looking for Vantage 3.0 scores (aka FAKO scores because they are virtually unused), you can log into the likes of WalletHub, CreditKarma, and Chase to get your Vantage scores for the three credit bureaus.

Regarding FICO scores (the ones used for something like 98% of credit underwriting decisions), the only one you can get from the source for free is the Experian FICO 8 scores. PenFed and I believe Discover do provide at least one free FICO score each (there are something like 34 different FICO scores these days). If you want the full boat of all of your scores you'll need to subscribe to one of the plans offered by myFICO.com or ExtraCredit plan from credit.com.

Take care, because a lot of creditors/merchants are secretly using the FICO 9 scores that Experian provides them, but not you. I was denied by a merchant once and was told my FICO score was too low. I checked the Experian website to find my Experian score was 30 points higher than their minimun. My FICO 8 Score, that is. The merchant told me they are using FICO 9. And when I inquired with Experian, they acted like FICO 9 scores didn't even exist. They refused to acknowledge them.

[shipo]

Take care, because a lot of creditors/merchants are secretly using the FICO 9 scores that Experian provides them, but not you. I was denied by a merchant once and was told my FICO score was too low. I checked the Experian website to find my Experian score was 30 points higher than their minimun. My FICO 8 Score, that is. The merchant told me they are using FICO 9. And when I inquired with Experian, they acted like FICO 9 scores didn't even exist. They refused to acknowledge them.

I tracked all 28, and then 34 scores of mine for the better part of the last year; in the time before my Chapter 13 fell off my record my FICO 8 numbers for all three credit bureaus ranged between 30 and 60 points lower than my FICO 9 scores. Once the bankruptcy fell off ALL of my scores skyrocketed up in to the 800s (some of which had never ventured into the 700 territory) and the delta between my FICO 8 and FICO 9 scores narrowed to between 15 and 20 points, with the FICO 9s still being the higher of the two. Go figure.

[BxRcvor]

I tracked all 28, and then 34 scores of mine for the better part of the last year; in the time before my Chapter 13 fell off my record my FICO 8 numbers for all three credit bureaus ranged between 30 and 60 points lower than my FICO 9 scores. Once the bankruptcy fell off ALL of my scores skyrocketed up in to the 800s (some of which had never ventured into the 700 territory) and the delta between my FICO 8 and FICO 9 scores narrowed to between 15 and 20 points, with the FICO 9s still being the higher of the two. Go figure.

What is your source for your FICO 9 scores (because I sure can't get them out of Experian)?

[justbroke]

I use MyFICO the same as shipo. I pay for a premium membership and receive a three-bureau update once a month and it has all 34 scores.

[shipo]

Between April and September of 2021 I used credit.com's ExtraCredit service which cost $24.99 per month (with the first month free, cancel any time before the first billing and you'll get one month of reporting); just to try it out, in October I transitioned to the myFICO.com "Premier" service which costs $39.95 per month. All in all, the ever so slight extra you get from the extra fifteen bones per month of the myFICO service isn't worth it and I cancelled that service as of May of this year. Given all 34 of my scores are now up in the 800s, and given I have no plans on making any other financial moves regarding debt or assets for at least another year, I don't seen the need to keep either subscription active.

The above said, in the next year or two my wife and I will probably be moving from New Hampshire to the Washington DC area (our daughter and her intended will be moving down next summer after she graduates with her Masters degree), so when I start kicking the tires for a mortgage, I'll probably re-subscribe for the ExtraCredit service.

[justbroke]

I agree with shipo. Unless you're about to purchase real-estate and need to monitor the three elusive FICO mortgage scores (2, 4, and 5), then it's not really worth paying for a premium subscription to all the FICO scores. I'll probably back down my subscription now that my new mortgage is out of the way.

[Barbisi]

justbroke, what's the best source to check our credit score to prepare for a local move here in Washington? Rental houses are extremely competitive here and if we end up moving before Feb./March 2024, the BK13 will be clearly visible on any credit check a landlord or rental management company runs or, is there a way around that? Most of them seem to expect 700 (or higher).

[justbroke]

From my exhaustive experience with rental management companies, not one had looked directly at my credit report. They use a service, usually LexisNexis or Equifax rental solutions, which score the applicant. I had an active, open, Chapter 13 and was approved to several "luxury" (I use the term lightly) complexes with the lowest deposits (one had a deposit of $350). Here, I have only seen private (non-corporate) landlords want a minimum score of 700.

You have to remember, too, that these are rental scoring models. They are different than FICO.