Consumerist: Credit Score Estimators are Quite Effective

Saturday April 25, 2009

Have you ever wondered just how accurate free FICO score estimators are? In a post for Consumerist.com, Jim Wang (Bargaineering.com) writes that the estimators "...are quite effective at giving you a ballpark number." He did a test with his own FICO score, first using the estimator, then checking his real score, and finally checking his score from CreditKarma.com, a website that offers free credit scores from TranUnion. They were all fairly close with the FICO estimate being 20 or so points below is real FICO score and his CreditKarma.com score being just more than 50 points lower than his real score.

Sure, 50 points can make a huge difference when you're talking about getting a good rate on a loan, or even simply getting approved for a loan, but I wouldn't suggest using a free estimate for loan shopping. Instead, I recommend ordering your real FICO score from myFICO.com. On the other hand, if you're just curious as to where your FICO score stands, use an estimator.

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