 TITLE: What Is a FICO<sup>®<\/sup> Score, and Why Is It Important? CONTENT: How Is FICO Different From VantageScore?\n----------------------------------------\nAside from FICO, there's an entirely separate credit scoring model, called the VantageScore®, which the three major credit reporting agencies released together in 2006. The average VantageScore, according to recent Experian data, is 680.\nThere are several differences between the FICO and VantageScore models. You could have a VantageScore with just one line of credit to your name, even if it's less than six months old, for instance. But you won't have a FICO® Score if you don't. Plus, a good VantageScore starts at 700, as opposed to 670 on the FICO® Score range.\nThe two scoring models also differ in the ways they weight certain financial behaviors. The latest VantageScore version is more similar to FICO® Score 9 than FICO® Score 8, which is still most widely used: It doesn't factor in paid collection accounts and reduces the impact of medical collections on credit scores. VantageScore also considers your historical credit utilization, such as how frequently you pay off your balances in full, rather than capturing it only as a snapshot like a FICO® Score does. END