Why this is one of the best credit cards for fair credit: When you pay this card on time, you can boost your cash back earnings. These are only guidelines to help you narrow your selection, and additional factors from your application and credit history will also be considered. , making it a good option for someone with average credit. These companies collect the information used to calculate your credit scores. Best Credit Cards of March 2023; Best Gas Credit Cards; Best Travel Credit Cards; Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards; Best 0% APR Credit Cards; Best Cash Back Credit Cards; offers those with average credit a chance to both earn rewards and, potentially, gain access to a higher credit line. The Capital One Platinum Credit Card doesn't offer rewards, as several other cards in the fair-credit category do, but for those looking to strengthen their credit, it's a simple, solid $0-annual-fee option with an incentive for responsible behavior. WalletHubs editors compared hundreds of credit cards for people with fair credit scores, searching for the top offers in the most popular categories. (Unlike with Discover's other student card, you don't have to "activate" your bonus rewards.) But they may still offer rewards. The $0-annual-fee Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa can be an ideal choice if you plan to carry a balance, want the convenience of equal monthly debt repayments and can pre-qualify for a favorable interest rate. Just hover your card over a contactless reader, wait for the confirmation, and you're all set. The 1.5% rewards rate is on par with that offered by many cards for good or excellent credit. Our pick for: Crypto rewards + flexibility. The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is one of the best credit cards for people with fair credit who plan to charge a fair amount to their new card. When you have fair credit, getting the right credit card can be a key step to building a good or excellent credit score. Promotion runs from March 1, 2023 to March 31, 2023. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. Disclaimer: NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. Read review. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. if the card offers enough rewards and benefits to outstrip the cost of carrying it. Unlike other sites that only promote cards they're paid by, WalletHub's editors focus on finding the best cards. Perhaps most importantly, though, this card will consider applicants with limited-to-fair credit history. Plus, Discover says there's no FICO history requirement for this card. The Petal 1 "No Annual Fee" Visa Credit Card is a worthy contender for your wallet as you continue building credit. The card still reports account info to the major credit bureaus each month, though, so its a pretty dependable tool for building credit. If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. Our opinions are our own. The Petal 2 Visa Credit Card is one of the best credit cards for people with fair credit, or even limited credit. Get started with your free credit score. , the first thing to do is determine why. See what terms you'd qualify for without a hard credit inquiry. You can be automatically considered for a higher credit limit in as little as six months. As you work to push your scores into the good-to-excellent range, its important that youre able to track how youre doing. The Best Credit Cards for Average or Fair Credit of March 2023. Business Insider 8h ago. Pay on time to boost your cash back to a total of 1.25% for that month, Enjoy no annual fee, foreign transaction fees, or hidden fees, Lock your card in the Capital One Mobile app if it's misplaced, lost or stolen, Earn up to $500 a year by referring friends and family when they're approved for a Capital One credit card, Pick the monthly due date that works best for you, Pay for Amazon.com purchases using your Capital One rewards, Pay for online purchases with virtual card numbers and keep your actual card number to yourself, Get notified via text, email, and phone if Capital One notices potential suspicious transactions on your account, Build your credit with responsible card use. That is the low end of a range from 17.49% to 31.49% (V), however, so it might be optimistic to assume youll get a rate that low. Foreign transaction fee: 1% of the transaction amount. Researcher. This content is not provided or commissioned by any issuer. Or turn $100 into $200. Wallethub doesnt charge for this service. Capital One Platinum Credit Card FAIR CREDIT RATING This ensures that your on-time payments and other responsible credit habits will be recorded. WalletHub actively maintains a database of 1,500+ credit card offers, from which we select the best credit cards for fair credit for different applicants as well as derive market-wide takeaways and trends. These cards lack the splashy rewards of credit cards for good or excellent credit, but they're a good option for those working to establish or rebuild their credit. Free, online credit score access for cardholders. The best credit cards for fair credit can be a great tool in helping to build or rebuild your credit score. $39. Why We Like It:There is no credit check when you apply, so a rocky credit history wont prevent you from getting approved. For 0% cards, it means seeing what monthly debt payments you can comfortably afford to make, how large of a balance you will therefore have remaining at the end of each cards 0% intro term, and what interest charges you would incur thereafter. Depending on which offer you qualify for, you could get as much as 1.5% cash back on purchases. Store credit cards can offer deferred interest to people with fair credit. If you do make a late payment, the card doesn't impose a penalty APR. Like Upgrade's other cards, it works like a combination of a credit card and a personal loan, allowing you to make purchases and then pay down your balance in equal monthly installments at a fixed interest rate. Many major issuers offer free access to your scores, available once you sign in to your account, along with other budgeting and education tools. Simplicity makes the Discover it Student chrome a standout for students searching for their first credit card. NerdWallet Compare, Inc. NMLS ID# 1617539, NMLS Consumer Access|Licenses and Disclosures, California: California Finance Lender loans arranged pursuant to Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Finance Lenders License #60DBO-74812, Property and Casualty insurance services offered through NerdWallet Insurance Services, Inc. (CA resident license no. With fair credit, you wont be eligible for the highest-end credit cards but good cards are still available at this level. And if you have more than one need, you can get multiple cards and use the Island Approach. Graduating to good credit could take as little as one month, depending on your circumstances. - Business Insider - Fact Check and Transparency Report (United States) . NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. That will help cardholders build positive credit history, as long as they manage the account responsibly. The underlying data is compiled from credit card company websites or provided directly by the credit card issuers. Read our review. If you can find a card that pays rewards while also providing a steppingstone from average credit to good or excellent credit, its a win-win. First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard Secured Credit Card. Mobile app to access your account anytime, anywhere. A credit card application usually triggers a. on your credit report. doesn't offer rewards, and it charges an annual fee, but the issuer goes out of its way to encourage people with "less than perfect credit" to apply. Credit cards for fair credit, sometimes called "average" credit, are aimed at those in the 630-689 FICO score range. No annual fees, no foreign transactions fees. No single credit card has the best rewards and the best rates, which means you shouldnt try to use one for both everyday purchases and carrying a balance. Pay with your phone or device by using Apple Pay or Google Pay. The Journey Student Rewards from Capital One gives newcomers to credit a powerful incentive to develop responsible habits. (Unlike with Discover's other student card, you don't have to "activate" your bonus rewards.) There's a quick pre-qualification process with no impact to your credit score, modest interest rate and an annual fee of $35 - $99. In addition, it is not the financial institutions responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered.show more show less. FULL LIST OF EDITORIAL PICKS: Do any issuers have a particularly good/bad reputation for offering decent fair-credit credit cards. Best Credit Cards for Fair or Average Credit From Our Partners Our pick for Flat-rate cash back Compare this card Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card 4.7 NerdWallet rating. The key difference is that this version charges an annual fee while the regular one does not. This card requires a security deposit, which will . Advertising may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). Earn unlimited 1.5% back in bitcoin rewards after you make payments on your purchases. (If you go through with applying, then there's a hard check.) You can be automatically considered for a higher credit limit in as little as six months. That's because this entry-level card doesn't charge an annual fee or foreign transaction fees. N/A. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money. It also earns 1.5% cash back on all purchases. The issuer automatically reviews your account for potential credit line increases. New Credit Users. Rejection stings, but you can learn from it. Paying in full every month also helps keep utilization in check. You also have to use that card responsibly, by paying the bill on time every month and not maxing out your credit limit. Earn 1.5% unlimited cash back on card purchases every time you make a payment. And the card doesn't charge foreign transaction fees. Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of an issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by an issuer. There are some notable restrictions on the Bitcoin rewards you earn, including holding requirements and transaction fees when you sell. is a cross between a credit card and a personal loan, and it can offer the best of both worlds: flexibility, but with predictable terms from month to month. This reporting affects key elements of your scores: Payment history is the single biggest factor in your credit score, so it's essential to pay your bill on time every month. Before applying, confirm details on the issuers website. Enjoy peace of mind with $0 Fraud liability. You also get a free FICO score, low fees, and forgiveness for your first late payment. Actual terms may vary. If youre more than 30 days late, it can start to affect your credit scores. Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card (5) Apply Now on Capital One's secure site Rewards Rate 1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day; 5% Cash Back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel (terms apply) Still not sure which credit card is best for building credit? Some may have slightly lower standards, for example, starting the fair credit range as 620 and ending it at 659. What We Dont Like:Youll have to pay the bill in full every month, which limits the cards value for some business owners. What We Dont Like:This card does not offer rewards or a low interest rate. In fact, only 40 credit-score points separates the two tiers (fair credit means a credit score of 620 to 659, while good credit is 660 to 719). We encourage everyone to share their knowledge while respecting our content guidelines. (The card also earns 5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. isn't going to wow anyone; there's no sign-up bonus and the APR is high. Zero fraud liability (which offers protection against unauthorized purchases). Petals algorithm looks beyond credit scores by analyzing your bank information to determine how you manage income, savings and spending. You can get the Discover it Secured Credit Card with a bad credit score (below 640). If you still arent approved, it may be a sign you need to work on your credit scores before applying again. The annual fee is $0. The top features: Earn 1% . There are no rewards. Review that notice, then review your credit report to make sure there are no inaccuracies, and then do the same for the card application you submitted. You earn 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations, on up to $1,000 in combined purchases per quarter, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Why We Like It:This card is inexpensive to own and rewarding to use. Lets take a look at Discovers offers and what score you need to get approved. And unlike many of those cards, any unpaid balance is automatically converted into an installment loan with a fixed monthly payment. Its lighter on the fees than some unsecured credit cards for less-than-perfect credit and it offers rewards. That's pretty good for a student card. But it also earns rewards, gives you a tool to monitor your credit profile, and offers the possibility of a higher credit line after making your first five monthly on-time payments. However, this does not influence our evaluations. . There's an annual fee, although you can avoid it in the first year by signing up for autopay before your first statement is issued. A 700+ credit score is needed to get most Discover credit cards, but theres no minimum credit score needed for a few Discover cards. Get Credit Cards for Fair Credit Start with your FICO Score and get matched, based on your credit profile with offers for rewards or no annual fees, so you can strengthen your credit. Earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options. offers a solid ongoing rewards rate: You earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases. Yes, you can get a credit card if you have fair credit. And college students dont need a credit score, or any credit experience, to get one of Discovers two student credit cards. It also comes with a cool 1.5% cash back on every purchase and an annual fee of . With that in mind, we asked a panel of experts for insights into the best way to navigate fair credit now and escape it later. The Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa earns rewards on par with cards for good or excellent credit. An eventual upgrade path: Ideally, you wont be stuck in the fair credit score range forever, so look for a card that offers a route to improved terms. And unlike with those cards, any unpaid balance is automatically converted into an installment loan with a fixed monthly payment. With a product change, youre not applying for a new account; youre seeking an upgrade to the one youve already got. No annual fee and build your credit with responsible use. Youll be reviewed for regular credit line increases. Youll also usually keep the same account, often with the same card number, so theres no loss of credit history length. This information may be different than what you see when you visit a financial institution, service provider or specific products site. Earn 1% cash back on all your purchases. You increase your odds of approval when you apply for a card tailored for your score range. Depending on which offer you qualify for, you could get as much as 1.5% cash back on purchases.