Credit bureaus: The Big Three
There are three major national credit bureaus that compete with each other to cover consumer credit information: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. These credit bureaus compile and distribute the following consumer credit information:

* Account balances
* Payment habits
* Credit history
* Length of employment
* Previous employers
* Personal information
* Current and previous addresses
* Bankruptcies
* And more…

The three credit bureaus are independent of each other and do not share information. Therefore, the personal financial information contained in one of your credit bureau files may not appear in another. A potential lender can pull credit information from any one of the three credit bureaus. Many national banks and lending institutions report credit information to all three credit bureaus, but other credit grantors and smaller banks may report to only one or even none. Therefore, a single credit report could be missing some of your important financial information.

On the other hand, a 3-in-1 credit report provides your complete credit history as reported by all three credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. In a 3-in-1 credit report, you can view a list of all your credit accounts line-by-line, bureau-by-bureau, allowing you to see how each of the individual national credit reports are reporting your accounts, as well as which credit grantors have recently reviewed the credit report. Obtaining a 3-in-1 credit report leaves nothing to the imagination—you see all the accounts and financial history a potential lender will see.

3-in-1 credit report: Safety in numbers
According to a study done by U.S. PIRG, up to 70 percent of credit reports contain errors of some kind. By getting a 3-in-1 credit report, you can review all your financial information for potential errors and inconsistencies, ensuring that no incorrect information goes unnoticed. And false information on a credit report can be one of the first signs of ID theft, so the sooner you catch an error with a 3-in-1 credit report, the faster it can be corrected.

A credit report is most effective when it provides a complete review of your credit history and presents all details of your credit exactly how potential lenders will see it, with nothing omitted. A 3-in-1 credit report gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you have seen every single piece of your financial history. With a 3-in-1 credit report, you can view everything potential lenders can see, and you can review your credit report for any false financial information and stop a potential identity thief in his or her tracks.

Stop wondering where your credit history stands. Click here to get your complete 3-in-1 credit report now!

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who still have good credit, congratulations. You’re likely getting great offers on mortgages, home equity loans, lines of credit, credit cards and auto loans. Heck, your car insurance is probably cheaper, too!

Still, it might be to your advantage to bump that score up just a few extra points. While an even higher credit score can’t always assure you a better deal, it can’t hurt. And there are ways that even incremental gains can make an impact.

Know more about your score
No matter what score you’ve earned, it’s important to know what system was used to get your score — and what it means. Changes in the credit score world may require a quick review.

FICO scores: When most people think of credit scores, they probably think of the FICO score, a scale developed by the Fair Isaac Corp. Variations of the algorithm are used by the three major national credit bureaus to come up with a number that fits in a rough range of 300 to 850, which helps lenders assess how risky it is to loan money to you.

While the definition between good credit and great credit varies, you can safely assume you’re in the top tier if you’ve got a score of 770 or above. The ranges vary greatly, however, so a score of 700 may be considered just as good as 770 to some lenders.

Vantage scores: This scoring system, introduced a few years ago, is intended to simplify and standardize scores across the three bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. One of the problems with FICO scores is that each credit bureau uses a variation of the formula, which means that even if the exact same information is provided to each bureau, they may still come up with different scores. So, the three bureaus agreed to use the same methodology to compute Vantage scores, which should provide more consistency.

The Vantage scores, which range from 501 to 990, are associated with a letter grade from A to F, which will help consumers get a handle on where their credit stands. (901 and above is an A; letter grades drop at hundred-point intervals.)

“Essentially, it’s just another way of stratifying things,” says Cate Williams, vice president of financial literacy for Money Management International. “The basic elements of a credit scoring system are going to be the same.”

In other words, if you have a good FICO score, you’re likely to have a good Vantage score. If you have a poor FICO score, it will be reflected by the Vantage score as well.

Expansion scores: This is another relatively new offering in the credit scoring realm, provided by Fair Isaac. If you’re new to the world of credit, an Expansion score evaluates financial relationships that aren’t usually considered in a traditional credit score.

“This system gives a fair shake, computationally, to people who don’t have a long credit history,” says Boyce Watkins, finance professor at Syracuse University. The scores have the same range as traditional FICO scores.