Should you use Vantage or FICO?

A few of the key differences between Vantage and FICO models are 1) Length of Credit History, 2) Hard Inquiries, and 3) Collection Accounts. The FICO model puts more emphasis on the length of credit history, requiring a minimum of 6 months for an active account and activity within the past 6 months, vs Vantage which requires a minimum of 1 month for an active account and activity within the past 2 years. The FICO model weighs hard inquiries for a longer span as well, 45 days compared to the Vantage model’s 14 days. The FICO model generally ignores small collection amounts, while the Vantage model only includes unpaid collections, regardless of amount. [2]

  • Vantage

    Qualifying[1]:

    • Qualifying for a score is a little easier

    • Credit report needs at least one tradeline present

    Weighted Contributors[2]:

    • Payment history (Extremely Influential)

    • Credit Utilization (Highly Influential)

    • Amounts owed (Moderately Influential)

    • Recent Credit Behavior (Less Influential)

    • Available Credit (Less Influential)

    Reason to Use:

    • Pricing is lower than FICO

  • FICO

    Qualifying[1]:

    • Credit report needs at least one tradeline that is 6+ months old with some activity within the last 6 months

    Weighted Contributors[2]:

    • Payment history (35%)

    • Credit Utilization (30%)

    • Length of Credit History (15%)

    • Mix of Credit Accounts (10%)

    • New Credit Accounts (10%)

    Reason to Use:

    • More common model in the industry