What Is A VantageScore
A VantageScore is a term that you may hear about in the upcoming months regarding your credit score. So what is a VantageScore exactly? Well, it's a new form for your traditional credit score, but streamlined in a number of ways. Your credit score will definitely look different (odds are it will be higher in number), but it will essentially remain the same in status and purchasing power.

There are three major credit reporting bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Before VantageScore, they all measured your credit, or FICO, score based on their own individual proprietary systems. Although this could often result in a close calculation, some people's credit scores would vary greatly among the agencies because of their different methods of computing.

Now, the three companies have come together to create VantageScore, a uniform way to calculate your credit score. In addition to a new ratings system, your score is also assigned a letter grade. The old system based your score on a scale of 350-850. VantageScore works from 501-990, and scores are broken down by letter as follows: a score of 901-990 = A, 801-900 = B, 701-800 = C, 601-700 = D, 501-600 = F.

Consumer advocacy groups are concerned that this system may be too broad and doesn't account for different data received by each bureau. Credit card companies, lenders, and other institutions are not required to report to all three companies, so they could still end up with variations in score, despite all being on the same system.