Free FICO score for BofA cards

[dadu007]

I just spotted this blog post, and since I have a BofA Visa card, I enrolled and was able to see my FICO score instantly (TransUnion).
I was pleasantly surprised but extremely shocked to see I had an "Exceptional" (their word) score of....849!!!

This is the only place I would brag about such a thing (anonymously, thankfully). I guess paying off our car in December really helped. Our only debt currently is the mortgage.

Here's the link to the blog post I read:

Free FICO Score from Bank of America Credit Cards — My Money Blog

Cheers!

 

[LOL!]

Almost every one of our credit cards gives a free score and has for more than a year now.

Some are FICO 8 Bankcard score (not the FICO you need for home loan) and some are Vantage. CreditKarma.com also gives out free scores. And I see the BoA is the FICO 08 score, so nothing special.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/fico-8-bankcard-score/

 

[dadu007]

Thanks for raining on my parade, LOL!. I didn't know the FICO 08 was a new flavor of the FICO. Ah well, a moment of ignorant bliss. ;-)

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for raining on my parade, LOL!. I didn't know the FICO 08 was a new flavor of the FICO. Ah well, a moment of ignorant bliss. ;-)

If you have an Amex card you can get the old flavor.

 

[LOL!]

You're welcome. More rain: FICO 08 is pretty old.

FICO last introduced a new model, called FICO 8, in 2008.

Also note that when your pay off your mortgage, your credit score will drop.

 

[Another Reader]

Yeah, I won the "Feel Good Credit Score Olympics." AMEX, Discover, Chase, and now B of A all say I'm a perfect 850 using the FICO 8 model. Two of them use Experian and the other two use TransUnion. Who knows what Equifax thinks?

Credit Karma, using the Vantage model, isn't quite as kind. I have thought for years that their model underestimates your score so you can be pushed down a level if you apply for credit through them. I have never used their links because I don't trust them.

 

[Another Reader]

If you have an Amex card you can get the old flavor.

Amex uses FICO 8 from Experian.

 

[LOL!]

Yeah, I won the "Feel Good Credit Score Olympics." AMEX, Discover, Chase, and now B of A all say I'm a perfect 850 using the FICO 8 model. Two of them use Experian and the other two use TransUnion. Who knows what Equifax thinks?

FICO 08 Bankcard score goes to at least 900. I'm sure some posters here have scores above 850. Citicards uses Equifax.

 

[Another Reader]

FICO 08 Bankcard score goes to at least 900. I'm sure some posters here have scores above 850. Citicards uses Equifax.

From Bank of America:

Congratulations!
You have the highest FICO® Score possible. You are doing an excellent job managing your credit.

FICO 8 goes to 850. Vantage goes to 900.

Perhaps there are two different FICO 8 scores, one being as described in your source. However, all four of the credit card companies show a range of 300 to 850 for their FICO 8 calculation. The only difference is the credit bureau used.

 

[LOL!]

So there you go: FICO 8 is different from FICO 08 Bankcard score.

 

[scrabbler1]

I just spotted this blog post, and since I have a BofA Visa card, I enrolled and was able to see my FICO score instantly (TransUnion).
I was pleasantly surprised but extremely shocked to see I had an "Exceptional" (their word) score of....849!!!

This is the only place I would brag about such a thing (anonymously, thankfully). I guess paying off our car in December really helped. Our only debt currently is the mortgage.

Here's the link to the blog post I read:

Free FICO Score from Bank of America Credit Cards — My Money Blog

Cheers!

Thanks for the tip. I was told my FICO score when I first got my BofA Visa card a few years ago. I was pleased to see my FICO score had risen over time, now over 810. I have no loans and use my CC sparingly an pay it off every month. I did raise the credit limit last year so I wonder what effect that had. Apparently not a negative one.

 

[Another Reader]

So there you go: FICO 8 is different from FICO 08 Bankcard score.

And the regular FICO 8 is what the credit card companies are showing, so I stand by my original statement.

 

[Tadpole]

PenFed offers free scores without a hassle. It uses FICO NG 2 which has a maximum score of 950. I got my score at BoA and PenFed. My BoA (Transunion) score is higher as a percent of max possible than my PenFed (Equifax).

 

[Corporateburnout]

My Amex card has been given me my FICO score for a few months now.

I was just checking my BoFA credit card account online but I did not find the free FICO score offer. Where do you find it?

 

[Tadpole]

Accounts may differ but when I logged in there was a box on the right hand side toward the upper middle of the page that, when clicked, took you through a sign-up process. If it were another website it would have been an ad on the right hand side of the page.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Accounts may differ but when I logged in there was a box on the right hand side toward the upper middle of the page that, when clicked, took you through a sign-up process. If it were another website it would have been an ad on the right hand side of the page.

Thanks. I'm all set now. I was looking on my credit card account screen when I should have been looking on the main accounts screen.

 

[Pscott2019]

I had been getting 850's then opened a new cc account. Knocked it down 10 points.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Lsbcal]

If you have a 750 do you get any fewer breaks then 800 or 849?

I think we are above 800 but other than applying for new CC's, what good is it?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Car insurance rates can be affected by FICO scores, but not all companies use it.

 

[mpeirce]

...but other than applying for new CC's, what good is it?

Not much really, assuming you aren't applying for loans. For me, one of the nice things about reaching FI is that I don't expect need to get a loan for anything ever again.

There are insurance companies that use it as a contributing factor in figuring insurance rates (who wants to insure a deadbeat, right?). But again, if you are FI, you probably have good credit. And does a FICO score of 810 vs one of 820 affect your insurance rate much? I doubt it. Why sweat it? (Especially if you live in Hawaii, Massachusetts, or California don't allow FICO score to affect insurance rates at all)

I'm happy to not pay any attention to my FICO score.

 

[mickeyd]

I think that the federal law now requires that they provide it.