Credit Score Guides
Plain-English explainers for the questions that actually move your money.
US credit scoring in 2026: FICO, VantageScore, and the three bureaus
Credit scoring in the US is fragmented across two competing score models (FICO and VantageScore) and three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). The same consumer can have six different numbers in circulation at any moment, plus another half-dozen industry-specific FICO variants (FICO Auto Score, FICO Bankcard Score, mortgage-specific FICO 2/4/5). Lenders pick which model and bureau they pull from; the score the consumer sees on a free credit-monitoring app is rarely the score the lender saw on the application.
FICO vs VantageScore — the practical differences
FICO 8 is still the most widely used score for credit cards and personal loans; FICO 2/4/5 (older models) dominate mortgage underwriting because of GSE guidelines. VantageScore 3.0 and 4.0 are used by most free-score apps and increasingly by smaller lenders. The main practical difference: VantageScore generates a score after one month of credit history; FICO needs six months. For consumers building credit from scratch, this matters. The weighting differs slightly too — both prioritise payment history above all else, but VantageScore weights credit utilisation more heavily and is less sensitive to a single hard inquiry.
What actually moves your score
The five FICO weighting factors, in order of impact:
- Payment history (35%). A single 30-day late payment can drop a score 60-100 points; a 90-day late or charge-off drops 100-150+. The damage decays over time but stays on the report for seven years from first delinquency.
- Credit utilisation (30%). Total balances divided by total limits. Below 10% utilisation is optimal for FICO; below 30% is the commonly cited threshold. Per-card utilisation matters separately — one maxed-out card on a portfolio of otherwise-low-utilisation cards still hurts.
- Length of credit history (15%). Average age of accounts plus age of oldest account. Closing your oldest card lowers both. The fix: keep the no-fee oldest card open even after you stop using it.
- Credit mix (10%). Having a revolving account (card) plus an installment account (auto loan, mortgage, student loan) is slightly better than one or the other.
- New credit inquiries (10%). A single hard pull drops 5-10 points and decays over 12 months. Rate-shopping for mortgage or auto within a 14-45 day window counts as one inquiry under FICO's de-duplication rule.
The three bureaus and your free reports
Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are private companies operating under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Federal law gives you one free report per bureau per year through AnnualCreditReport.com — the only federally authorised source. Through 2026, all three bureaus voluntarily offer weekly free reports through the same site. Use the weekly access to catch errors; about 20% of consumers have an error on at least one report per FTC studies, and a meaningful share of those errors are score-moving. The dispute process is bureau-specific: each bureau has 30 days under FCRA to investigate and respond, and 5 days to notify the data furnisher.
What credit-monitoring apps are actually showing you
Free apps like Credit Karma, Credit Sesame and Experian's free tier show VantageScore 3.0 from one or two bureaus — not FICO, not the score most lenders pull. The number is useful for tracking direction over time, less useful for predicting what a specific lender will see at application. For the score that matters on a specific application, ask the lender which model and bureau they use, and pull that one through myFICO.com or the bureau directly for $20-30.
Common US credit score questions
How fast can I improve a 600 FICO? Realistically: 60-90 days to gain 30-60 points if utilisation was the main drag; 6-12 months to gain 100+ points if late payments or charge-offs are the issue. The single highest-impact short-term move is paying down revolving balances below 10% of credit limit before the statement closing date — not the due date. Card issuers report balance to the bureaus on statement-close, so a payment made before close shows lower utilisation than a payment made between close and due date.
Does checking my own credit hurt my score? No. Self-pulls through AnnualCreditReport.com, myFICO, Credit Karma or your card issuer's free score tool are "soft" inquiries and don't affect your score. Only "hard" inquiries from credit applications affect the score, and only marginally (5-10 points each, decaying over 12 months).
Should I use a credit-repair company? Almost never. The Credit Repair Organizations Act regulates these companies, but they cannot remove accurate negative information faster than time does — nor can you. What they can do is dispute errors on your behalf, which you can do free yourself through each bureau's online dispute portal. The fees ($50-150/month for 6-24 months) almost never recover their cost. Exceptions: identity theft cleanup, where a specialist can be worth the cost during the legal process.
What's the fastest legitimate way to build credit from zero? A secured credit card (you deposit cash as collateral, get a credit line equal to it, use it lightly, pay it off in full monthly) builds a record from month one. After 12-18 months of clean use, most issuers upgrade you to an unsecured card and return the deposit. Adding yourself as an authorised user on a family member's old, well-managed card is faster but less reliable — some issuers no longer report authorised-user history to the bureaus to reduce gaming.