Beacon Score

Beacon Score numbers are numbers that lenders base their lending to YOU on. In other words, the better your score, the easier the credit, the worse the score... enough said. A good Beacon Score can be in the 800-900's, but this is very difficult to obtain. The national average is around 640.

A Beacon Score is a number generated by the Credit Bureau to rank an individual's credit worthiness. Beacon scores are credit scores, which are determined through a complex algorithm developed by the credit agencies. These numbers tell the lender how likely it is that the borrower will repay the loan. When NextGen FICO scores started being used, the Beacon score was replaced with the Pinnacle score.

Mathematical criteria involved in calculating a Beacon score can include late payments, current debts, length of time an account has been open, types of credit and new applications for credit.

If you are interested in your Beacon Score, or were recently denied credit, then you can write to TransUnion for a copy of your credit report. TransUnion is just one of three credit bureaus that American creditors report to. There is also Equifax and Experian as well.

Each bureau uses a different name for its score, even if it uses the same FICO algorithm to generate the score. For example:

- Experian uses the term "FICO or FICO II",

- TransUnion uses "Empirica"

- Equifax uses "Beacon"

It is always good to check your credit reports and Beacon Score yearly to make sure that all debt incurred was done so by yourself and that no fraud is ooccurring. Credit fraud is on the rise, so protect yourself early!

More on Beacon Score information.