What is a healthy fico credit score?

[Lebstyle]

Hey everyone

What is a healthy fico score? What is the bare minimum you need for credit cards, mortgages, and financing.

Lets make it to the point and lets make it informative. I heard that 690 is good, i heard you need it higher, i heard it can be lower... so all your advice, experiences, and methods would greately be appreciated :)

Thanks
Ali

[aingaran]

I thought it was near 750? There are a few other threads about this subject.

[Octavius]

I just purchased a home last month and I had a FICO score of 748.
Mind you, I applied for like 3 different credit cards this year ON TOP of the mortgage hit.

My bank manager called my score "very good" in their books.

So yeah, there you go.

[rc51]

If you go to EQUIFAX, their site I think has a chart where the majority of people fall under. The masses generally are around the 650-750 region...there are very few above 850.

I think anything over 650 is generally considered a good score. I had checked a couple years ago and my score was 774. We've never had any issues of ever obtaining credit, mind you, the irony is, we never use credit anymore except for our mortgage.

[vickyvictoria]

fico (fair isaac - used in the US)
Canadian credit bureau measures Beacon (similar to fico scores) and BNI (scores)
Beacon score of 650 is considered satisfactory. Above 750, you would be considered A+ paper, so you would get the best rates. Below 550, you would be borrowing anything unless fully secured.
But other factors go into approvals, not just your credit score... lenders will look at the repayment history, the type of credit you have had, the amount owed, how much credit is available etc.. the BNI score is bankruptcy navigation index, measures the likelihood of bankruptcy... the lower the BNI score the more likely you are to go bankrupt, but that doen't mean you will.. this score changes the fastest based on how much you owe and the credit you have available.
Always keep your oldest credit card even if you don't use it... this will help with the length of time you have established credit, don't close it, try ot pay off all credit each month, if not, at least, always make the minimum payments.... and paying a credit off with credit will not improve your credit scores, you're just moving around the money you owe and it will lower your bni score, your better off with a full consolidation loan to pay out credit cards in this case.
if your credit is really good, and then for whatever reason, you good bankrupt... it is actually harder to rebuild your credit after than if you were to always have bad credit and then go bankrupt. Consumer Proposals fall under bankruptcy... so R5s and R7s are pretty much like R9s.

hope this helps. :)

[rc51]

http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/ExSupport/fico_6_en.gif

[HammerTime]

fico (fair isaac - used in the US)
Canadian credit bureau measures Beacon (similar to fico scores) and BNI (scores)
Beacon score of 650 is considered satisfactory. Above 750, you would be considered A+ paper, so you would get the best rates. Below 550, you would be borrowing anything unless fully secured.

[QUOTE=HammerTime;4215559] So I guess the question is why doesn't Equifax Canada call it the Beacon score? Is the mathematical formula for FICO and BEACON the same or are there some differences? Anybody know?

I asked my question in another thread but didn't get any response - I'll try again here. Equifax Canada gives FICO score, is this really a BEACON score but has been mislabeled, or is there really a mathematical difference between the two? Is a 750 FICO score equivalent to a 750 BEACON score? If there is no difference, why the difference in names? Thanks very much!

[Fragle]

I asked my question in another thread but didn't get any response - I'll try again here. Equifax Canada gives FICO score, is this really a BEACON score but has been mislabeled, or is there really a mathematical difference between the two? Is a 750 FICO score equivalent to a 750 BEACON score? If there is no difference, why the difference in names? Thanks very much!

In Canada we use the metric system for calculating the score, where in the US they use Empirical. I think the mathematical difference between the two is something like forty rods to the hogshead.

[Narci]

Fico score is not the only determining factor when getting credit/loans/motgages. Your relationship with the bank is just as important. The combining of these two scores decided whwther they give you a loan/mtg/credit card etc and at what rate.

[Octavius]

In Canada we use the metric system for calculating the score, where in the US they use Empirical. I think the mathematical difference between the two is something like forty rods to the hogshead.


^^....Best....Response....Ever....

[Fragle]

Thanks, I'll be here all night folks :twisted:

[winner2000]

Well for what it's worth, Suze Orman says anything over 700 is a strong FICO score...

[Narci]

No difference between FICO and Beacon score....just the naming is different.

[HammerTime]

Thank you!

[fortunekitty500]

BEACON is just a marketing name from Equifax based on the FICO algorithm. So they are the same thing. TransUnion uses another name, etc.

[lily81]

I am working on getting my credit fixed up and it has taken YEARS. Things are about to start coming off my credit report, I have 2 credit cards over the next 3 months that were in R9 that are about to drop off. Does anyone know how much that will change my FICO score? I do have a secure credit card now, so that has been helping but I am still sitting below 700. More like 670

Thanks

[Kestral]

This PDF should help you understand credit scores:
http://www.fcac-acfc.gc.ca/eng/publications/CreditReportScore/PDF/CreditReportScore_e.pdf

Your score is out of 900. The last time I managed to get a free credit score check from TransUnion was about 3 years ago, my score was 832. My credit since then has been even better. (At the time I had about some money on a line of credit, which lowered my score, I currently have zero debt).