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Home Credit Cards Credit Cards for Fair Credit

Best Credit Cards for Fair/Average Credit in May 2025

Credit Cards for Fair Credit

At a glance

Our experts have collected the best credit cards available today to borrowers with fair or average credit scores.

Save time, check out the best credit cards for low (or no) credit from our sponsors.

In some cases, you may be eligible for preapproval and avoid hurting your credit score.

Written by Kari Dearie

Reviewed by Ana Staples

Updated Nov 11, 2022

Fresh advice you can trust

We promise to always deliver the best financial advice that we can. Our writers and editors follow strict editorial standards and operate independently from our advertisers and affiliates. Learn more about how we make money.

Credit Card for Fair Credit

Credit Card Best For Credit Score Annual Fee Welcome Bonus Apply Now
Capital One QuicksilverOne
Capital One® QuicksilverOne® Apply
Overall 580–739 $39 Apply
Petal 2 cash back no fees visa credit card
Petal 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Apply
High Credit Limits 300–669 $0 Apply
Capital One Platinum Mastercard
Capital One Platinum® Mastercard® Apply
Unsecured (No Deposit) 580–739 $0 Apply
Credit One Bank Wander Card
Credit One Bank Wander® Card Apply
Travel 580–739 $95 10,000 Apply
Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards
Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Apply
Building Credit 580–739 $0 $200 cash back Apply
Discover it student cash back credit card
Discover it® Student Cash Back Apply
Students 580–739 $0 Cashback match Apply

Table of Contents

  1. Best credit cards for fair credit
  2. What is fair credit?
  3. What credit cards can I get with fair credit?
  4. How do I choose a credit card for fair credit?

Having a fair credit score may not sound that bad, but in the world of credit, it’s definitely undesirable. Fair credit scores (FICO scores between 580–669) are on the low end of the credit scale, and discount you from qualifying for the majority of credit cards. However, there’s still hope.

The best way to get your credit score up to the good range and start qualifying for better cards, is to get a credit card for fair credit and use it responsibly. Luckily, there are some decent credit cards available to those with fair or average credit—and we’ve found the best ones.

Best credit cards for fair credit

Here are the top credit cards you can get if you have fair credit.

Best overall credit card for fair credit

Overall

Capital One® QuicksilverOne®

Capital One QuicksilverOne Apply Now

on Capital One's secure website

Rates & Fees
4.1
Annual Fee

$39

Credit Score

580–739

Purchase APR

28.49% (variable)

Rewards

  • Capital One Travel

    5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel

  • Everything Else

    1.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Why It's Great

If you’re looking for a credit card for fair credit, the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® is a great pick. It’s low-cost, straight-forward, and earns some rewards while helping you build credit.

As a Capital One credit card, the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® enjoys Capital One benefits like CreditWise—a credit monitoring service that keeps you up-to-date on your credit score and its fluctuations.

Tools like these are important when you have fair credit, as you can quickly build your score into the good range and start qualifying for better credit cards.

Along with its ability to build credit, the Capital One® QuicksilverOne® offers 1.5% cash back on all of your purchases and 5% on certain travel purchases, meaning you can easily profit off of frequent use of this card. However, make sure your cashback earnings make up for the reasonable $39 annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • 1.5%–5% rewards rate
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • No SSN needed to apply
  • No penalty APR

Cons

  • $39 annual fee
  • High APR
  • 5% travel cash back only applies to hotels and car rentals

Best credit card for fair credit with high credit limits

High Credit Limits

Petal 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa®

Petal 2 cash back no fees visa credit card Apply Now

on Petal's secure site

Rates & Fees
4.4
Rating Breakdown
Fees
4.7

Because the Petal 2 Visa® stays true to its “no fees” name, it scores very highly in this category.

APR
2.2

The Petal 2 Visa® has a wide range of interest rates, and less creditworthy borrowers could be hit with high APR.

Rewards
2.5

This card has a fairly complicated rewards program, although it’s still one that’s worth having.

Credit Reporting
5.0

Petal cards report to all three of the major credit bureaus, so the Petal 2 Visa® ticks all the boxes for building credit.

Credit Limit
5.0

The Petal 2 Visa® gives you a credit line of up to $10,000, which is very generous.

Other

We gave the Petal 2 Visa® extra credit for its accessibility, since it accepts applicants with no credit score and applicants without a Social Security number.

Our FinanceJar Star Rating represents an objective and unbiased evaluation of this card, without influence from advertisers and affiliates. Our scores are generated by a rubric and our reviews adhere to a strict editorial process. Learn more about how we rate credit cards.

Annual Fee

$0

Credit Score

300–669

Purchase APR

15.99%–29.99% (variable)

Rewards

  • All Purchases

    1%–1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases (your rate increases to 1.25% after 6 on-time payments, 1.5% after 12 on-time payments)

Why It's Great

Fair credit borrowers looking for high credit limits and high approval odds should look no further than the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa®. As the name suggests, the card comes at a supremely low cost, as it doesn’t charge annual fees, foreign transaction fees, or even late fees.

On top of that, it offers credit limits between $500–$10,000. The spending potential on the Petal® 2 is incredibly high, especially considering it’s a credit card for fair credit and isn’t secured (doesn’t require a deposit).

Last but not least, the Petal® 2 offers cashback rewards at the following rates:

  • 1% cash back on all purchases
  • 1.25% cash back on all purchases after making 6 on-time monthly payments
  • 1.5% cash back on all purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments
  • 2%–10% cash back on purchases with select merchants

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • No deposit required
  • No fees
  • 1%–10% cashback rewards rate
  • Pre-approval process
  • Credit reporting

Cons

  • Potentially high APR
  • No introductory APR
  • No balance transfers or cash advances

Best unsecured credit card for fair credit

Unsecured (No Deposit)

Capital One Platinum® Mastercard®

Capital One Platinum Mastercard Apply Now

on Capital One's secure website

Rates & Fees
3.8
Annual Fee

$0

Credit Score

580–739

Purchase APR

28.49% (variable)

Why It's Great

The Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® may not be the jazziest option on the market, but if you have fair credit and want an accessible and reliable credit-building card, this unsecured credit card is a good choice.

The Capital One® Platinum Mastercard® doesn’t come with any rewards, but it offers the standard Capital One benefits, including credit monitoring through CreditWise and no foreign transaction fees.

Capital One also reports monthly activity to the major credit bureaus, so you can build credit quickly by using your card responsibly. For no security deposit and no annual fee, this card provides an inexpensive temporary solution for fair credit borrowers ready to move onto good-credit cards.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • No annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Credit tracking
  • Credit limit increases after 6 months

Cons

  • No rewards
  • High APR
  • Limited Capital One benefits

Best travel credit card for fair credit

Travel

Credit One Bank Wander® Card

Credit One Bank Wander Card Apply Now

on Credit One Bank's secure site

Rates & Fees
4.2
Annual Fee

$95

Credit Score

580–739

Purchase APR

26.99% (variable)

Rewards

  • Welcome Bonus

    10,000 after you spend $1,000 in 90 days

  • Credit One Travel Partner

    10x points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel partner

  • Travel

    5x points on eligible travel purchases

  • Everything Else

    1x points on all other eligible purchases

Why It's Great

If you have average credit and are looking for a lucrative travel rewards card, the Credit One Bank Wander® Card is probably the top of your list. The Credit One Bank Wander® Card is one of the most rewarding credit cards on the market, offering cashback rates on par with luxury travel cards (which are usually only available for excellent credit). Here’s how the rewards work:

  • 10x points on hotels and rental cars booked through the Credit One travel partner
  • 5x points on eligible flights, dining, and gas purchases
  • 1x points on everything else

On top of that, you’ll get a 10,000 point welcome bonus (worth $100) when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of borrowing.

The catch is that the card comes with a $95 annual fee. While this is easily made up in the first year by the welcome bonus alone, you’ll have to use the card enough in following years to earn rewards that outweigh the cost of the fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • 1%–10% cash back
  • $100 welcome bonus
  • Available to average credit borrowers
  • Additional cash back with select merchants

Cons

  • $95 annual fee
  • High APR
  • All fair credit borrowers may not qualify

Best fair-credit card for building credit

Building Credit

Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards

Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards Apply Now

on Upgrade's secure site

Rates & Fees
3.9
Annual Fee

$0

Credit Score

580–739

Purchase APR

14.99%–29.99% (variable)

Credit Limit

$500–$25,000

Rewards

  • Welcome Bonus

    $200 cash back when you open a Rewards Checking account and make 3 debit card transactions

  • Home, Auto, & Health

    3% cash back on home, auto, and health purchases when you pay them back

  • Everything Else

    1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Why It's Great

The Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards card offers fair-credit borrowers a unique opportunity to build credit. Rather than acting like a traditional credit card, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards acts as an installment loan—and reports your payments that way to the credit bureaus.

This means what you spend on the card will be tallied up at the end of the billing cycle and broken into fixed installment payments. And because your account activity is reported as an installment loan rather than revolving credit, having an Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards credit card can contribute to your credit mix (an important factor in your credit score).

On top of the credit-building potential, the Upgrade Triple Cash Rewards offers cashback in the form of 3% back on purchases in the following categories:

  • Home
  • Auto
  • Health

For everything else, you'll earn a cashback rate of 1%.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Cashback rewards
  • No fees
  • Predictable fixed repayments
  • Premium Visa® benefits
  • Available to holders of average credit

Cons

  • Cash withdrawals unavailable
  • Higher monthly payment amount
  • No direct balance transfers
  • No introductory zero-interest offers

Best student credit card for fair credit

Students

Discover it® Student Cash Back

Discover it student cash back credit card Apply Now

on Discover's secure site

Rates & Fees
4.6
Annual Fee

$0

Credit Score

580–739

Purchase APR

15.99%–24.99% (variable)

0% APR Period

6 Months

Rewards

  • Welcome Bonus

    Cashback match earns you a dollar-for-dollar match on your first-year rewards

  • Rotating Category

    5% cash back on select purchases each quarter (e.g., Amazon, grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and PayPal), up to the quarterly maximum

  • Everything Else

    1% cash back on all other eligible purchases

Why It's Great

The Discover It® Student Cash Back is a great credit card for students with fair credit or not-yet-established credit scores. The rewards are generous, offering:

  • 5% cash back on rotating bonus categories
  • 1% cash back on everything else
  • Dollar-for-dollar cashback match your first year

Bonus categories rotate every quarter and can include gas, groceries, dining, or similar rewards groups. But what we love most about this card is how much it gives you in the first year of borrowing. Along with the cashback match, you'll get 6 months of 0% APR.

The no-interest period and doubled rewards the first year will no doubt help fund a big transition, like moving out of your family home or furnishing your first apartment.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • $0 annual fee
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Cashback rewards
  • Cashback bonuses in the first year
  • Introductory offers on APRs and fees
  • No fee for first late payment

Cons

  • High APR
  • Complicated bonus rewards
  • Limited acceptance abroad

What is fair credit?

Fair credit is a FICO credit score between 580–669 or a VantageScore between 601–660. While fair credit is also sometimes referred to as average credit, fair credit is actually below the mean American credit score, and is considered subprime.

Being in the subprime credit range means you’ll have a harder time qualifying for lines of credit (including loans and credit cards) and likely be offered less favorable borrowing terms (like higher interest rates).

What credit cards can I get with fair credit?

With a fair credit score you can qualify for the following types of credit cards:

  • Secured credit cards: Secured credit cards require a security deposit that’s usually equal to the credit limit. The deposit acts as collateral, so secured cards are easier to get if you have bad or fair credit.
  • Unsecured credit cards: If you don’t want to pay a security deposit, you can still qualify for unsecured cards with fair credit (or even bad credit in some cases). Unsecured cards may not require money upfront, but they often come with an annual fee when they’re for borrowers with fair credit.

How do I choose a credit card for fair credit?

To choose the right fair-credit credit card for you, consider the following questions:

  • Do you want a secured or unsecured card?
  • Are you willing to pay an annual fee?
  • Do you want cashback rewards?
  • How much credit do you need?
  • Are you going to regularly carry a balance?
  • Do you want the option to upgrade to a better credit card in time?

How you answer these questions and which ones hold priority for you will help you limit your search based on fees, interest rates, and borrowing benefits.

How we rate our credit cards

Getting a new credit card is a big decision. That's why we heavily weighted the following factors when determining the best credit cards for fair credit:

  • Fees
  • Rewards
  • Qualification requirements
  • Interest rates
  • Benefits
  • Borrowing terms

These factors, among many others, are part of our 5-star credit card rating methodology for all card categories. Our star ratings are unbiased and independent of our affiliates and advertisers.

Kari Dearie

Credit Cards Editor

View Author

Kari Dearie is an editor for FinanceJar specializing in credit and personal finance. She previously managed a B2B website in the data privacy and digital compliance industry.

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