Advantage Scores is a joint venture backed by the 3 Credit Reporting Agencies (CRAs). The score was created in 2006 by a group of third parties that was selected and funded by the CRAs. Even though they are supposed to be separate from the CRAs, they are still funded by them. Makes you wonder if this score becomes popular, will it give the CRA too much power? The advantageous score is a bit more complex than the Fico score. Use current economic trends to evaluate your scores. It breaks down the different types of revolving credit and classifies them into several categories.

For example, instead of having an overdraft on a checking account, home equity loans, and credit cards grouped into the same group (revolving credit), each is considered separately. This, they claim, will help define the scoring algorithms more precisely. If you are looking for a Fico score, to date, each of these aforementioned categories are considered revolving credit. Revolving credit weighs the most in scores as it is the only credit that can charge the maximum and pay the minimum. This type of credit affects the score more since it is the credit that we handle the most as consumers. It gives the score a more detailed view of our ability to control and use our credit. Instead of grouping everything, Vantage separates each type and sees it individually. For example, if you have high home equity balances, but your credit card debt is low, your score would reflect the difference that your FICO score would drop if some or all of your revolving credit balances were high. This is one of the differences in scoring.

Some other distinctions of difference are authorized credit card holders. If it is not the principal on a credit card, it will not be considered in the tabulation of your advantageous score. This could be a good or bad thing. If you have very little credit and need your score to increase if you are assigned the credit card of a family member or close friend as an authorized user, this could dramatically increase or decrease your Fico score. Depending on the duration of this credit and previous payment patterns, the effect on the score will be defined. For example: if I had a car rental, 2 credit cards opened last year, and a student loan with a late payment from 2 years ago, my score could be around 602. If they added me to my husband’s 10 years -Old Amex (with great payment patterns and low balance) my score could go up to 60 points or more. If the same happened in the advantageous score, it would not make any difference. The score would see the authorized account as invisible. The score also claims to be able to have less disparity between the 3 CRAs, but does not clearly explain how this is possible. There seems to be some really good ideas and valuable attributes to this scoring system, but it will only become clear when banks start using it more consistently.

The advantageous score ranges from 501 to 990 and has a letter grade of af. A rating of and a score of 990 would be the best consumers and those with the lowest risk.

Fico scores range from 300 to 850, with 300 being the lowest and the worst. Vantage scores will always be higher than Fico scores as the range is very different. This creates more confusion for consumers.