Credit Cards for Fair Credit Score

If your credit score is somewhere from 650 to 699, you are said to have a fair credit score. Having a fair credit score means you have one or two delinquent accounts (accounts with one or more past due payments,) have a pattern of late payments or have a very poor debt-to-income ratio recorded in your financial history.

By having a fair credit score, you are actually somewhere near the US national average credit score of 692 as of November 2009 (referring to a research conducted by one of the three credit bureaus, Experian.)

With your less-than-perfect credit score, you may have difficulties in obtaining loans and applying credit cards. Even if you did manage to get loans, the interest rates will disappoint you.

The good news is, you can apply for credit cards specifically aimed for those who have fair credit scores. These credit cards are designed to help you in your endeavor to build your credit history.

How to know your score

If you don’t have any idea about your credit score, today is a good time to start learning about your credit score. You can obtain your credit score for free from one of the three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

How to improve your credit score

Your credit history governs your credit score. It is calculated based on some factors, including the amount of your debts, the number of delinquent accounts you have, your debt taking habits, and some other factors.

Generally, you can improve your credit score by paying your debt on time and clearing your past dues history by negotiating with your lenders and – probably the most important of all – checking for credit report errors (yes, it can contain errors!) You can actually work on building your credit score on your own by following some advices by trusted advisor. But if you feel you need a third-party help, you might want to consider the help of a trusted credit repair agency. But before you decide on anything, you should make sure that you understand the basics of credit scoring by consulting your situation with a trusted financial advisor.