More and more banks and credit card issuers are offering free credit scores. Some of them are free FICO scores, whilst others are actually FAKO scores. Before we go any further it’s probably important to discuss the difference:
- FICO Score: A credit score used by lenders in more than 90% of all lending decisions
- FAKO Score: Any credit score that is not a FICO score. Generally not used by lenders and built specifically for consumers. Should only be used as a very basic “educational” credit tool.
[Read: FICO Or FAKO – What’s The Difference?]
A few days ago Capital One announced that they were officially releasing a free credit score to all of their card holders. A lot of people wrongly assumed that this was a FICO score and when corrected often asked “How do you tell which score is FAKO and which is FICO”, here’s the answer:
- If it’s a FICO score, it’ll be advertised as such. FICO is a powerful brand name, if a bank or card issuer is actually giving you a FICO score – they’ll let you know about. I don’t know of any banks or card issuers currently offering a FICO score that don’t advertise that fact.
- Check the press release. Usually when they make these offerings they do a big press campaign as well. The press release will usually contain some information on the actual credit score they are using if it’s not a FICO score.
- Check this blog. We’re all over announcements like this and will not only tell you if it’s a FICO score, but also if it’s an industry specific FICO score or a classic score along with what credit bureau the data is based on.
