0
0
Credit cards for fair credit users do have a lot of perks associated with them as they can leave a positive impact on your financial standings. This is where the selection of the proper card and its responsible usage can play a vital role in rebuilding your credit history. However, not everyone can be eligible for these highly ranked fair-credit credit cards. Even then there are still a lot of options there for you so that you do not have to settle for a credit card with high-interest rates and no bonuses or rewards.
In this article, we will give you all the best available options for credit cards for fair credit instant approval for fair credit that requires no annual fees and also that come with credit-supportive features. We are going to analyze all the available options in these fair-credit credit cards descriptively so that you can make the right decision and maintain a healthy credit score.
Comparison Table
| Name | APR | Fee | Initial Limit | Credit score range | Rewards and Bonuses | Overall Rating |
| Discover it Student chrome | 17.24%-26.24% | N/A | $500 | 630-689 | 2% Cashback at restaurants and gas stations | 5.0 |
| Petal 1 No Annual Fee Visa Card | 24.49%-33.99% | N/A | $300-$5000 | 300-719 | 2%-10% cashback | 3.5 |
| Capital One QuicksilverOne | 29.74% | $39 | $1000 | 630-689 | 1.5% cashback | 4.7 |
| Mission Lane Cash Back Visa Card | 26.99%-29.99% | N/A | $300 | 630-719 | 1.5% cashback | 4.4 |
| Prosper Card | 23.24%-34.24% | $39 after 1st year | $500-$3000 | 300-719 | N/A | 3.4 |
Best Ranked Credit Cards for Fair Credit
Credit cards can be crucial for fair credit users as it is an effective tool for building your credit history. Even though the qualification for these credit cards can be hard there are multiple choices that are available for you. In this case, we have chosen five of the best credit cards for fair credit so that you will be able to choose the correct card for your personal finances.
1. Discover it Student Chrome
The Discover it Student Chrome is one of the best credit card options available for fair credit students. With its student-friendly bonuses and no maintenance fees, it has become one of the best credit cards for students among the fair credit options. Additionally, you get a free FICO score, along with the privilege of a laidback first payment rule. You do not need any FICO history to apply for this card.
Introductory offers such as charging 0% intro APR and giving 2% cashback, make this card an attractive option for fair credit users. The introductory cashback match offer is also another great perk that you get from this card. Through this offer, this card matches all your cashback throughout the first year, which allows you to double up on it. There are no extra fees, making it one of the most beneficial solutions for credit building. Discover also gives you the option to manage your credit account online, through their free mobile app.
Features
- Offer introductory cashback options, with which you can double up on your cashback received during the initial year.
- You can earn 2% cash back at various restaurants and gas stations, which can go up to $2000.
- Even customers with average credit scores can apply for this credit card for fair credit.
- It does not charge any annual fee.
Pros
- You have the opportunity to earn 2% cashback, which can easily reach $2000.
- You can get 1% cash back on other kinds of purchases.
- The annual fee from this credit card for fair credit stands at $0 and you also get a signature bonus the first year.
Cons
- The foreign acceptance of this card is lower than most other credit cards.
- Discover’s own student cashback card can offer certain additional offers that are not available on this card.
2. Petal 1 No Annual Fee Visa Card
Petal’s 1 No Annual Fee Visa Card is another worthy contender for building your credit score. The extra fee charged by this card is much lesser than the other unsecured options. Especially for people with average to fair credit scores, this card is one of the best ways of starting over with better credit history. Moreover, the rewards offered by it make it a leading choice for fair credit users.
The credit limit can reach $5000, which is greater than most of its competitors. This is a no-annual-fee credit card, making it easy for you to choose this card. There is a reporting process for all the major credit bureaus, which acts as one of the strong points of the Petal card. Among all the cards, this is one of the few options which does not require an annual fee. The availability of cashback on certain merchant expenditures makes it attractive to fair credit users.
Features
- Petal 1 Annual Visa card does not check your credit scores. Instead, they check your bank information for the pre-qualification round.
- Exciting credit cards for fair credit with high limits of up to $5000.
- You can earn 10% cash back on certain purchases.
- The Petal card is great for foreign travel and transactions; as it does not have any restrictions globally.
Pros
- Petal’s credit card for fair credit can offer one of the highest credit limits, i.e., close to $5000.
- You can earn up to 10% cash back on certain purchases.
- Reports are sent to all three credit bureaus, making it easy to use your credit responsibly.
Cons
- There are better options available on the basis of better rewards on common purchases.
- This credit card for fair credit does not offer any option for changing the due date for the minimum payment.
3. Capital One QuicksilverOne
If you have an average credit score but want to join the line of higher credit points and credit cards for fair credit instant approval, then Capital One QuicksilverOne is one of your best bets. This card allows you to earn rewards and can give you access to higher credit scores. So, anyone looking to move up the ladder in terms of credit scores can check out this card. Additionally, there are various rewards and bonus offers that this card gives users, that make your credit blossom in the long run. One of the many benefits of this card is that you can earn 1.5% cashback on any purchase made at any time. This transition from having an average credit score to a good credit score can happen within 6 months.
Other additional features include a $0 fraud liability, which can help you regarding unauthorized charges. In terms of travel as well, you can get 5% cashback on various rental cars and hotels.
Features
- This card offers 1.5% cashback on various purchases, which makes Capital One QuickSilver One one of the best credit cards for fair credit.
- You can get good credit scores within 6 months.
- Offers help to strengthen your overall credit score with strict usage.
- You have the option to use a contactless card as well.
Pros
- Offers 1.5% cashback on various purchases.
- You can get access to higher credit limits within just 6 months.
- You can also get 5% cash back on travel.
Cons
- This card charges $39 as an annual fee.
- You are required to spend $2600 annually to get access to the travel cashback offer.
4. Mission Lane Cash Back Visa Card
In case you are not sure whether your credit score is good enough to access a reward card or not, Mission Lane Cash Back Visa Card can work out for you. The pre-qualification process of these fair credit Credit cards lets you know about the offers available for you, which helps in prudent decision-making before applying. This way, you can use the loan offers to decide if you want to apply for this card. This clarity in terms of loan availability gives you a clear idea of whether you will earn rewards or not.
Within just 7 months, however, you can jump to the higher credit line. Another benefit is that you don’t have to pay interest on your purchases if you pay on time. Unlike some other cards, this card does not charge a security deposit. The availability of a mobile app also makes it easy for you to manage your account. All of these perks make this card a valuable option for people who want to go from being an average credit user to a good credit user.
Features
- You can get access to higher credit lines within 7 months.
- You can ignore the interest rates on purchases if you pay on time.
- Mission Lane Cashback credit card does not charge a security deposit from you.
- Your annual fee for these credit cards with fair credit for fair credit is $0.
Pros
- On the basis of your offer, you can get 1.5% cashback on any purchase.
- This credit card for fair credit does not require an annual fee from its users.
- You can easily check all available offers, as this will not hurt your overall credit score.
Cons
- The qualification process for the 1.5% cashback can be hard for most users.
- You have to complete the prequalification process to understand any cashback offers.
5. Prosper Card
In case you are looking to upgrade your credit score and do not care for rewards as such, the Prosper Card can be a good option for you. Even though this card asks for an annual fee, it makes up for it with its zero security deposit, which is one of the major reasons behind the Prosper card’s presence in the best credit cards for fair credit list.
They also offer a zero fraud liability service to all users, as this helps them with the problem of unauthorized access.
In case you don’t progress in the credit line, this card also offers a regular review process. There is a pre-qualification stage, from which you can gauge the offers that you’d be eligible for. Anybody within the range of poor to good credit can potentially apply for this card.
Features
- This card does not require a security deposit from users.
- The Prosper card regularly reviews your position in the credit line.
- The APR ranges between 23.24% and 34.24%.
- You can check all the offers in the pre-qualification phase.
Pros
- In the pre-qualification stage, you can check your available offers without undergoing any hard credit checks.
- The review process for any kind of increase in credit line happens every 3 months.
- You do not need any security deposit.
Cons
- An annual fee of $39 is charged after the first year.
- This card also does not have any upgrade option after the improvement of credit.
Clear Definition of Fair Credit Score
A fair credit score is often referred to as an average credit score, but that is not true at all. As most of these fair credit scores range between a FICO score of 580 to 670, it simply can not be specified as average credit. The general definition of fair credit can only be specified as between good and bad credit scores. As most people in the U.S.A. have an average FICO score of 716, these people have good credit, which is different from fair credit.
Clearly, the general idea of a fair credit score of a credit card offers for fair credit can not be either good or bad but in between them. This kind of average score can be called a fair credit score. According to FICO scores, there are five ranges. These are: exceptional, very good, good, fair, and poor. On the basis of that, fair credit scores can range between 590-669. This means that you do not have a good credit score, but you also do not have a poor credit score.
In the case of people with fair credit scores, even though you are better-positioned financially than people with poor credit scores, you should not stop there. You should try to upgrade your score to reach good credit scores, so you can get better rates and offers.
The Process of Getting a Credit Card with Fair Credit
In case you are looking for effective credit cards for fair credit instant approval and you have fair credit then you definitely have to compare and check out all the available cards in the market. It is one of the most important procedures as selecting the wrong card can hurt your credit scores even more. People with fair credit like you do have the accessibility to various options as it is an important phase to jump to the good credit score range.
What are You Looking for in Your Card?
There are multiple options available for you to choose from as you do need to know what you are looking for best credit cards for fair credit. The exact reason for your getting the card can be multiple like paying bills or spreading the bill of a huge purchase. The repayment terms here thus play an important role in your choice of cards. You can choose to repay the amount on a monthly basis or can split it over for a longer period.
Bonuses and Rewards
In terms of your interest rates if you can pay your bills on time you can definitely get a free interest period from certain cards. If the interest rates, in this case, do not matter to you then you definitely can check out some other kinds of bonuses and rewards that can be there in certain available card options.
Interest Rates
On the other hand, if you want a credit card for fair credit just to borrow a certain amount then, in that case, you definitely need to choose the card with better or lower interest rates. Due to the fact that you do have the full amount with interest rates in this case you will need to choose the card with lower interest rates for your benefit.
APR
The APR of a certain card can be specified as the actual cost of the card as it can only be there if you have not repaid the full amount in a month on time. Thus comparing the APR rates and other incentives like fees and charges can be crucial for you to choose the cheaper and correct card.
Availability of Rewards And Cashback Offers
The cashback and rewards options are there on certain cards like Discover it Student chrome, and Petal 1 Visa Card can offer better benefits to you than other alternatives. These rewards and cashback offers can also vary on certain credit cards whereas Discover cards can offer up to 2% cashback. On the other hand, the Capital One QuicksilverOne card can give you 5% cash back on travel but for that, you need to spend $2600 annually.
The Importance of Having a Good Credit Score
A fair credit score even though it can be better than poor credit users does not mean you should stop at that point. You will have to continuously improve your credit score for getting more access to lower interest rates or more attractive offers. The more you increase your credit score the more you will be able to get financial advantages.
Better Credit Limit Range
If you acquire a higher credit score then the lenders will definitely be able to trust you more for your creditworthiness. This kind of trust can be crucial for you to get higher credit limits from all of these lenders. In this way, you can upgrade yourself to higher credit lines. Thus improving your credit score can be essential for you to get better credit limits.
Cheaper Interest Rates
With the help of a higher credit score, you can also get much cheaper interest rates from all the lenders. These lenders will definitely be able to gauge you clearly if you pay your bills on time as that will increase your overall credit score. This kind of responsibility can help you to get lower interest rates from lenders.
Flexibility in Sealing the Deals Quickly
In case you are negotiating to get a vehicle or a house, having a higher credit score can definitely improve your chances of pre-qualifying. This pre-approval phase can give you the perfect opportunity to negotiate various house and car deals. This option is not present for clients with poor credit scores, which is why they should look into best credit cards for fair credit.
What Actions Should You Avoid for Credit Cards with Fair Credit?
In terms of your overall credit score if it is in a fair range then you should definitely maintain certain habits to keep increasing it. Otherwise, you can lag behind and get financially unstable. Now, in this case, you should stay away from certain actions to maintain a fair score on your credit card.
Ignoring Timely Payments
Ignoring the deadline of your payments can be a huge issue for any fair-credit credit cards user. Especially if you have a fair credit range then it can cause you to lose a lot of points. As payment history can be an essential part of credit scoring. The issuers can eventually ask you for a late fee if you are late on payment dates. This is where you need to put your focus as ignoring timely payments can be harmful to your fair credit score.
Lack of Knowledge of Interest Rates
Another one of the big mistakes you should avoid is not knowing about the probable interest rates. Now if you pay your bills in a timely manner you may not have to pay any interest rate but there is a minimum amount of payments you have to make for credit cards to make a good standing. You also need to compare the different interest rates in terms of the transaction process for better judgment.
Avoid Card Agreements
Residing from the same section as above the card agreements are also another area that you need to properly check before signing. As this is also one of the other major mistakes everyone makes, that is avoiding all the agreement papers as this can also harm your fair credit score. This agreement is required to be read as this consists of your card’s credit limits, extra fees, and interest rates. If you ignore this document then you might not be able to gain an understanding of how your credit card will work. This will eventually harm your credit score.
Reaching Credit Limits
In the case of any credit card for fair credit, there will definitely be a credit limit assigned to you. However, that does not mean that you should use the entire limit, as this can really hurt your credit score. According to various experts, you definitely should not use more than 30% of your credit limit for credit cards for fair credit instant approval.
Apply for More Than Enough Cards
You do have the freedom to apply for multiple credit cards at a time but you also need to know that it can cause harm to your overall credit score. Additionally, there are certain issuers who will definitely hard check your credit after you have applied for the card. This kind of credit history inquiry can negatively affect your overall credit scores.
The Improvement of Fair Credit Through Credit Cards
The responsible usage of credit cards can be the most effective tool to improve your fair credit scores towards good credit scores. Through these following steps, you can understand how these fair-credit credit cards can improve your fair credit scores.
Checking Credit Reports Regularly
One of the first steps that you need to incorporate for better credit, is to check all of your credit reports thoroughly. Through this process, you will be able to correct any misdirected information, which will help you in bettering your credit scores in the future. Also, examining the credit reports can help you pinpoint what you need to do for better scores.
On-time Payments
Your payment history can be one of the main sources that can affect your overall credit scores. So definitely on-time payments can help you to better your credit scores. If you want to make your credit score better and make it go from fair to good, you should definitely not miss the due dates of payments. With the perfect fair credit credit cards, you can pay the due amount on time thus, making it easy for you to better your credit score.
Lower the Credit Utilization Ratio
The ratio of credit utilization can be specified as the credit you use regularly up against the available credit balance you have. So clearly you do need to keep the ratio of credit utilization lower than 30%. In case it is lower than 10% it can be even better for you. Therefore you should definitely pay all your debts down for better scores.
Negating too much credit usage
Just paying down your debts will not give you positive results on your score due to your monthly balances. These monthly balances can really hurt your overall credit scores. So no negate this you will require to keep track of your overall credit card spending close to 30% or below. Anything over this can seriously hurt the credit utilization ratio.
Avoid Using Too Many Credit accounts
One of the other ways you can improve your fair credit scores is through proper maintenance of selected credit accounts at a time. Having too many accounts of credit can be quite a challenge to maintain. In case you have too many accounts at one time can negatively impact your credit utilization ratio as well which is not good for your credit score at all.
Rewards that Come With Fair Credit
Rewards and bonuses can vary from card to card as there are multiple card options available that come with rewards for all credit cards for fair credit users. The case of Discover cards offers various cashback bonuses for every kind of user. The Discover it Student chrome can offer you 2% cash back that can go up to $2000. On the other hand, the Petal 1 Annual Fee Visa card can offer up to 10% cash back on certain merchant purchases.
So it clearly varies from card to card as you will need to carefully review the terms and conditions before applying for it.
FAQs
Q1. What credit card can I get with fair credit?
In case you have a fair credit score rating you have multiple great options available for credit cards like Discover it Student Chrome, Petal 1 No Annual Fee Visa card, Capital One QuicksilverOne, and many more. All of these cards have different terms and conditions so you will need to check them properly before applying for them.
Q2. What is the minimum credit score for a credit card for fair credit?
Even though a fair credit score will be between the poor and good range there are multiple credit cards that are available for below that range of 580. Petal 1 No Annual Fee Visa Card can be a good option for you even if your score is as low as 300. The other options are Prosper Cards along with the usual ones like Discover it Student Chrome.
Q3. Will I get approved for a credit card with fair credit?
In case you are looking for a credit card with fair credit there are certain cards you might not be able to apply for., However, there are some other valid options available for you like Discover it Student chrome and Petal 1 No Annual Fee Visa Card.
Q4. What is the lowest credit score for a credit card?
There is simply no minimum limit credit score that is required for the application for credit cards. Even though the choices will be fewer in this case. So even if you have a low score of 300 can apply for certain cards but they will have higher interest rates and no rewards or bonuses.
Conclusion
Credit cards with instant approval can be crucial for fair credit users, as they do need to move up the ladder in terms of scores. We have given you all the best credit cards for fair credit options available. Now, you can choose the one which is most viable for your use. Hopefully, the comparison made between these cards will make your decision-making much easier. With this, you will also be able to understand all the bad habits that you need to stay away from, to improve your credit score. All of these healthy management habits can make your credit usage much smoother and easier to handle.
