 TITLE: What Is the Difference Between FICO<sup>®<\/sup> Score and Credit Score? CONTENT: What Is My Real Credit Score?\n-----------------------------\nCompanies can choose which score to purchase and use when reviewing applications and managing customers' accounts, which is one reason there's competition in the credit scoring world. With this in mind, there isn't a single, \"real\" credit score.\nFor example, when you're shopping for an auto loan, you may try to get offers from several lenders. One lender might use a FICO® Score 8, another a FICO® Auto Score 2, and a third a VantageScore 4.0. Your scores may vary, but each is very real in the sense that the lender is using it to determine if you qualify for a loan and the rates and terms to offer you.\nGenerally, you won't know which of your three credit reports or which credit score a lender will use. However, because credit scores all rely on the same underlying data, building positive credit can help you get good credit scores regardless of the model. Conversely, negative items, such as late payments or a bankruptcy, could hurt all of your credit scores. END