What is Experian?

Experian is one of the three major credit bureaus---the other two are TransUnion and Equifax---in the United States. Almost every lender who pulls your credit score will get it from one of these three credit bureaus.

Expert Insight

Not all credit bureaus have the same information on your credit report. While the credit reports will be mostly similar, a late payment appearing on only one could result in significantly different credit scores.

Considerations

The Beacon score has now been replaced by the Pinnacle score, which is also calculated by the Experian credit bureau, but uses a different scoring algorithm.

Factors

Both the Beacon score and Pinnacle score look at the same factors: how much money you owe, how you have made your payments in the past, the amount of time you've been using credit, whether you have applied for new credit recently, and the types of loans and lines of credit you've used in the past.

Significance

Having a good credit score will help you get lower interest rates and more attractive deals on credit cards and loans. If you are considering a major loan, such as a car loan or mortgage, you should pull your credit report from all three bureaus to make sure there are no inaccuracies.

Misconceptions

You are entitled to request a free combined credit report (see the Resources section) once every 12 months. However, this report does not include your credit score; you must pay extra to get that information.

Source:

Investopedia: Beacon Score

MyFICO: What's In Your Credit Report?

More Information:

Annual Credit Report: