Since we are currently in the process of doing a refi, our new lender sent us a copy of our credit scores. This must be a new thing because I don't recall get this form last time we did a refi a few years ago.

The form lists 3 credit scores for both my wife and I, one from each bureau. The Equifax score is called Beacon 5.0, the Transunion score is called Empirica 950, and the Experian score is called Fair Isaac Score 2. Apparently they all use similar but slightly different algorithms, but all are scored on a range of 300-850.

My scores were 754 (Equifax), 729 (TU), and 755 (Experian), for an average of 746. My wife's were slightly higher at 768, 732, and 762 (average 754). You can see that there is approximately 25-35 points of variation depending on which bureau generates your score.

This also gives me the opportunity to check our real FICOs against the "fake" FICO that Creditkarma.com gives out for free. CK.com says they use the TU credit report to approximate your score. My CK score is 775, and my wife's is 751. Interestingly, my CK score is higher than my wife's by 25 points, although her real scores were higher than mine. Obviously the credit score is not an exact science. That is why it is so scary that a few points either way can make a big difference in your interest rate! After seeing this, I will be sure to take the CreditKarma score with a grain of salt.

Altogether, I am happy with our scores as I think we will be getting a good rate (maybe not great though).