NerdWallet’s Best Credit Cards for Fair or Average Credit, Spring 2013

Fair or average credit doesn’t mean you have to give up rewards entirely. If your FICO score is in that range, between 630 and 689, we can still recommend a few great cards.

The Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard: 2% on bonus categories

The Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard for Average Credit offers 2 points per dollar on Net Everyday Purchases, which is Barclays-speak for groceries, gas and utility bills, and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. There’s no cap on those rewards, and, after your first purchase, you’ll receive 2,500 points. With no annual fee, either, the Barclaycard gives the Capital One card a run for its money. If you spend a lot of money on the bonus categories, you’re better off with the Barclaycard; otherwise, the Cash is your best bet for maximizing rewards.

Another difference is in how much debt you tend to carry. Both cards offer an introductory period of 0% purchase APR, but the Barclaycard gives you 6 months while the Capital One Card give you 9. After that first year, of course, when the intro period’s expired, the Barclaycard looks more appealing. But considering these cards are for fair credit, we hope that you’ll have graduated to something for good-credit consumers by then.

Barclaycard® Rewards MasterCard® - Average Credit
	Earn 2 points per $1 on gas, grocery, and utility purchases Earn 1 points per $1 everywhere else No balance transfer fee No annual fee Use the points you earn like cash to pay for almost any purchases you've made. No blackout date, no redemption fees, no limit on the points you can earn and no complicated set up. Reports to all 3 major credit bureaus monthly providing you the opportunity to rebuild your credit score		Pros Qualify w/ average credit No annual fee Cons High APR

Best card for immigrants: the Capital One® Cash Rewards for Newcomers

Are you a recent transplant to the United States? If so, you’re in luck: Capital One has a card specifically for immigrants. Your credit score doesn’t carry over from other countries, so you have to start from scratch. But on the bright side, the Tag not recognized is pretty much the best for doing so. There’s no annual fee, and you get 2% cash back on travel and 1% back elsewhere. It has no foreign transaction fee, of course, so it’s a great card to have if you travel home. Capital One doesn’t punish you for having no credit history – they work with you to build it up fee-free.

Capital One® Cash Rewards for Newcomers
	A card designed to help those new to the U.S. establish credit and earn cash back Build credit with responsible use -- plus automatic reporting to the three major credit bureaus Get 2% cash back on travel purchases Earn 1% cash back on all other purchases No foreign transaction fees No annual fee		Pros Qualify w/ average credit Bonus cash back categories No annual fee No foreign transaction fee Cons High APR