Best Credit Cards for Fair/Average Credit for 2025
Review
Updated
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For most credit scoring models, a fair or average credit score isn't necessarily the middle of the road. Instead, it's usually where you'll find people working on building their credit. You may be building credit for the first time, or you may need to rebuild your credit after making a few mistakes.
With a fair credit score, you're still proving to lenders that you can handle credit responsibly, so you might have a harder time getting approved for certain credit products. Read on for more information on the best credit cards for fair credit.
Our aim is to maintain a balanced best-of list featuring top-scoring credit cards from reputable brands. 'Best for' category selections on this page are determined by our editors, and a single card may be recognized in multiple categories.
Great for: Building credit with no annual fee
Fair (300-669)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
29.74% (Variable)
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer N/A
N/A
One of the leading cards among its competitors, mainly due to its focus on cutting nuisance fees, such as annual dues and for foreign transactions. Read Full Review
Great for: Unlimited cash back
Fair/New to Credit Under(669)
Intro APR
Purchases: n/a
Balance Transfers: n/a
Regular APR
18.24 - 32.24% Variable
If you need to build credit, pay attention to this card. You qualify based on bank information, rather than credit, and there are no fees of any kind. Best of all, if you pay your monthly bill on time every time, your cash back rate will grow from 1% to 1.5% on purchases over your first year.
Great for: Small business owners
Fair/New to Credit Under(669)
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Regular APR
29.99%, variable
Rewards
1% cash back
Annual Fee
$0
Welcome Offer
N/A
For businesses or borrowers with fair credit, this card is a winner. Purchases earn unlimited 1% cash back, plus it includes a $0 annual fee. These perks are rare for cards in this credit score range.
While you may not qualify for the best credit card offers out there with fair credit, you do still have some quality options for making purchases and even earning rewards.
Great for: Building credit with no annual fee
The Capital One Platinum Credit Card (see rates and fees) is a basic starter card designed for people who need to build credit. It doesn't have many bells and whistles -- there's no purchase rewards, for instance -- but it also charges no annual fee and offers convenient online banking.
Read the full Capital One Platinum Credit Card review
Great for: Unlimited cash back
The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card is a cash back rewards card that encourages responsible credit habits. You'll earn unlimited 1% cash back right away, with a boost to 1.5% cash back after making 12 on-time monthly payments.
Read the full Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card review
Great for: Small business owners
Read the full Capital One Spark 1% Classic Card review
The exact range of what is considered to be a fair credit score will depend on the scoring model. Most lenders use the FICO® Score, and that has a range of 300 to 850. Within that model, average or fair credit scores range between 580 and 669. Anything lower than 580 is considered a bad credit score, and scores from 670 to 739 are considered good.
An average credit score is standard among folks who have just started building their credit, as it takes time to reach the higher score ranges. If you started working on your credit within the last year or so, you most likely have an average score.
You could also have an average credit score if you have a longer credit history, but you’ve made some mistakes along the way. For example, if you’ve missed payments every now and then, that could keep your score in the average range.
Comparing credit card offers when you have fair credit isn't quite as straightforward as it is for folks with good or excellent credit. That's because your credit card options are limited by your credit history.
So, the first step to comparing cards will be to find out which cards are most likely to approve applicants with similar credit scores. In general, this will mean student cards, starter cards, and secured credit cards.
Once you have a short list of cards you're likely to qualify for, you need to decide what features you want your card to have.
Answering these questions should narrow down your options significantly, allowing you to make a choice on which card to take to the next step.
Having a fair or average credit score tells credit card issuers that you're still building your credit. This means that your choices won't be as lucrative as the credit cards for good credit, but you can definitely earn competitive purchase rewards and find options for no annual fee cards even with fair or average credit scores..
If you're not a student, then you may need to settle for a regular starter credit card, such as the Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card or the Capital One Platinum Credit Card. You may also want to consider a secured credit card, as secured cards are ideal for building credit. They're easy to get so long as you can make the required deposit, and many secured cards also have purchase rewards and no or low annual fees.
Before you can work on building your credit, you need to work on really understanding your credit score. This means knowing what will help you increase your credit score -- and what will hinder your progress.
Each credit scoring model will weigh factors differently, but, in general, there are five main things that go into calculating your credit score:
Your credit card can be a great tool for building credit, but only if you use it responsibly. This means keeping your balances low and paying your bill on time every month. An easy way to build credit with a credit card is to use your card to automatically pay a small monthly bill, such as for a streaming service. Then, set up autopay through your bank account so your card balance is paid in full before your due date every month. After six months or so, you should have a solid start on building credit.
If you're not keen on the card offers for fair credit, you can always look into the options for credit cards for bad credit. Specifically, there are a lot of secured credit cards that have no annual fees and purchase rewards. Plus, your credit limit on a secured card will be determined by the size of your deposit, so a secured card could help you get a higher credit limit than an unsecured card for fair credit will offer.
And speaking of low credit limits, since most credit cards for fair credit will have low credit limits and high interest rates, they're not ideal for large purchases or carrying a balance. So if you need more financing than you can get with a credit card, you might consider personal loans for fair credit. Personal loans can be used for just about anything, and they can be a good option for building credit if you need a loan anyway.
If you don't need a personal loan but you would like to build credit without a credit card, you can also look into credit-builder loans. These loans are actually designed specifically for people who need to boost their credit scores and build credit history. Credit-builder loans usually have you make monthly payments into a secured account over the course of six months or more. Once you've made all the payments, you get the money back and you've built a positive payment history. Win-win.
Credit cards are one of the best tools for building credit, making them a good choice for most people with fair credit. As long as you can use your card responsibly -- by paying your bills on time every month and keeping your balances low -- then using your card should improve your credit score.
However, if you know you have trouble with missing payments or overspending when you have a credit card, it may not be the right choice for you. In this case, you may be better off using a small personal loan or credit-builder loan to improve your credit -- or even avoiding credit altogether while you work on creating better financial habits.
| Card | Rating | Great For |
|---|---|---|
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Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Great For: Building credit with no annual fee |
|
|
Rating image, 4.25 out of 5 stars.
4.25/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Great For: Unlimited cash back |
|
|
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Great For: Small business owners |
At Motley Fool Money, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.
Our highest-rated credit cards have:
We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how Motley Fool Money rates credit cards.
The easiest card to get is the OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card. Unlike most credit card issuers, OpenSky doesn't check your credit when you apply for this card.
That means your application won't be denied because of:
A refundable security deposit is required to get this credit card.
There's no way to be 100% sure you'll be approved for a credit card before applying, but you have a good chance of success if you choose a card you're pre-qualified or pre-approved for.
Pre-qualifications and pre-approvals mean that your credit profile fits the eligibility criteria for that card. Credit card companies often send pre-approval offers in the mail, and many have tools on their websites you can use to see if you're pre-qualified for any of their cards.
The exact range for a fair credit score varies by model. The FICO® Score model, which is the most widely used, has a total range of 300 to 850, with 850 being the highest possible score. In this range, scores between 580 and 669 are considered to be fair or average.
The first step in comparing credit cards for fair credit to determine which cards are likely to approve you with your credit history. If you're in college, look for student credit cards. If not, you'll need to get an entry-level unsecured card or a secured credit card.
Once you have a short list, you can look at the other features of the cards, such as which cards offer purchase rewards and which cards have annual fees. If you think you'll carry a balance, you may also want to look at the APR; higher interest rates mean higher interest fees if you carry a balance.
Overall, the best credit card for you will depend on what you want out of your card. When you have fair credit, however, your card options are usually pretty limited. If you're in college, the best cards for fair credit will be student credit cards.
If you don't qualify for a student card, the best cards for fair credit will be those that don't charge annual fees. You can also find a few options that will offer purchase rewards. If you can afford to put down a deposit, you may also want to look at secured credit cards, as these often have low fees and many have purchase rewards.
The simplest way to improve a fair credit score is to get a credit card and use it responsibly. This means keeping your balances low and paying your card in full every month before the due date.
An easy way to do this is to use your card to pay a small recurring monthly bill, such as a streaming service subscription. You can then set up automatic payments through your bank to automatically pay your card balance every month.
Missed payments, high balances, or opening too many new accounts in a short period of time can all hurt your credit, so avoid these at all costs. It generally takes six months to a year of responsible credit use to build a fair credit score into a good credit score.
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