Have Fair Credit? Apply for a Discover Card

We’ve all seen those credit card ads that mention unlimited cash back, or ridiculous rewards, or other benefits that nobody really thought came with credit cards at all. Regrettably, many of these cards are only available to those with great credit.

While this is great news for folks whose credit is spotless, or close to it, what’s there for the rest of us? Many people find themselves in the “fair” credit range for a variety of reasons. Maybe you have a short credit history, or maybe you have a high balance on several credit accounts. OR maybe you’ve made late payments in the past and are working to restore it.

Thankfully, there are some really great cards out there for people who have fair credit, and one of them is the Discover card. This card comes with a surprising palette of rewards, too, making it a choice with some perks. After all, not all credit cards for those with fair credit are bare bones.

One great thing is about this card is the fact that it offers a zero percent intro APR for 12 months, and this applies to both purchases and balance transfers. After that, it carries a variable APR that ranges from 10.99 percent to 22.99 percent (though this value is subject to change). The high-end APR may sound high, but it isn’t bad for a card that is available even when your credit is fair.

If you’re anxious to get your card fast, there’s good news for you – Discover offers an online application process that gives you an instant decision (also online) in almost every case.

If you are approved, you should know that this card offers a range of features that can improve your life as you work to improve your credit. One is the ability to “freeze” your card. Nearly all of us have thought we’ve lost a credit card at some point. With most banks, you need to cancel your card and then go through the hassle of waiting to have a new one mailed to you. Discover’s “freeze” option – which is available in its free banking app – lets you instantly freeze your card, preventing purchases from being made. That way, if you end up finding your card, you can simply unfreeze it and use it as normal. The freeze option provides peace of mind while you look, and the card can stay frozen if it is genuinely lost.

One other benefit is Discover’s one percent cash back on everything. This is a great perk, but you can earn even more cash back when you watch out for the card’s quarterly update, where select venues will result in your getting a full five percent cash back. It takes a little extra monitoring, but it’s well worth the rewards.

There’s one more feature on the card that is especially useful for those who want to improve their credit. Discover offers free FICO score monitoring. As you probably know, having to repeatedly check your credit score will usually end up lowering it, but this feature lets you constantly monitor your score without impacting the score itself. This can be an encouraging number as you make your payments and watch your score gradually climb.

In summation, having fair credit can be really discouraging, but it doesn’t mean you have to settle for sub-car credit cards and horrible APRs. If you apply for Discover Card, you’ll likely be approved and will also gain tools that help you pay attention to your credit score and improve that score while you enjoy rewards and important safety features to protect you against fraud and theft.