Beacon Credit Score

Each of the 3 major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian & TransUnion) uses a different variation of the Classic Fico formula.

It should be noted that the differences between each of the credit bureaus’ credit scores and the Classic Fico formula are minute, and basically they share the same formula/algorithm. See Fico Score Rating for more details on the Beacon score formula, how it is calculated and what affects your score.

Another difference between Fico and Beacon scores is the scale. While Classic Fico runs from 300–850, Beacon Credit Score runs from 350–850.

For this reason, your Equifax Beacon score will not be the same as your score from Experian or Transunion. It will also be different from your Equifax Fico that you may purchase at myFico.com.

Another reason for the differences in your credit score from each of the three major credit bureaus is that each uses a different & separate data base. The credit bureaus do not share information between themselves, and because not all lenders and creditors report to all three bureaus – the data bases are never identical and hence produce different scores (See Understanding Fico Scores for more information).

On January 2009 Fair Isaac has updated the Classic FICO formula. Although they do minor tweaks all the time, this was a major change. Big enough for them to come up with a new name for it – NexGen FICO or FICO-08.

Equifax has also updated their model accordingly, and is now calling it the Pinnacle score.

To sum things up
Beacon score is Equifax’s version of the old Classic FICO.
Pinnacle score is Equifax’s version of the new NexGen FICO.