Balance Transfer Credit Card 650 Credit Score

Top Overall Cards For 600 To 650 Credit Scores

Although consumers with credit scores in the 600 range are hardly the lowest cardholders on the credit card food chain, theyre not exactly writing their own tickets, either. To easily qualify for the rewards-rich prime credit cards so popular these days, youll likely need a credit score north of the 670 mark.

What you can get with a 600 to 650 credit score is a solid unsecured credit card or a low-fee secured card that will allow you to build credit and, maybe, earn some rewards. Use your new card responsibly for six to 12 months, and your score should increase enough to get your hands on even better cards.

A PREMIER Bankcard® Mastercard® Credit Card can be obtained by consumers with a wide range of credit types. The card can be used to make purchases both online and in stores, and can help you build credit with responsible use.

Research Methodology: How We Choose The Best Cards For Fair Credit

Methodology: We analyzed 161 credit cards in the average credit range to identify the top products in the class. Core criteria we considered in our evaluation include:

• : When building a credit score, its vital to have a card that regularly reports your payment habits and has flexibility with your credit limit. We looked for credit cards with perks that help bolster your credit history and make it easy to track your credit score.
• Base rewards program: Does the card provide any ways to earn rewards? Not all cards in the fair credit range do, but some options provide strong cash back earnings, attainable sign-up bonuses and rewards across several spend categories.
• Affordability: Does the card feature an annual fee? Additionally, are there any extra fees you need to watch out for? How high are the interest rates if you were to carry a balance? In other words, we considered how costly a card can be.
• Additional benefits: Some cards offer introductory 0% APR periods on purchases/balance transfers to help protect cardholders from tedious costs. Other protective benefits, like zero fraud risk, prequalification and many more, were also weighed during our analysis.

What Is A Secured Credit Card

Two of the three credit cards weve profiled are some of the best-secured credit cards out there, but do you know what a secured credit card is?

Simply put, a secured card is a credit card that requires a cash security deposit to open an account.

Your credit line is typically equal to the amount you deposit and you can usually raise your credit limit by giving the card issuer more cash.

Banks offer secured credit cards to people whose credit scores are less than perfect due to past credit behaviors such as late payments, accounts going into collections, or bankruptcy.

The cash deposit on the card is the bank’s insurance policy in case of default. The deposit only acts as collateral and it can be refunded when the card is closed.

Read Also: What Credit Score Is Good

Chase Freedom Flex Card Pros & Cons

A Fair Credit Score Opens Financial Doors

Keep in mind that although the credit cards featured on this page are very worthwhile, theres a significant drop-off in value when you slide down the and look at the cards available to those with no credit or poor credit. Those who are just starting out their credit journey in Canada, like immigrants and young adults, might be wise to make reaching the average credit score range one of their foremost personal financial goals.

*This post was not sponsored. The views and opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.

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How Long Does A Balance Transfer Take

It typically takes anywhere from two to seven days for your transfer request to be completed, but it depends on the issuer of the card youre seeking to transfer a balance to.

For example, American Express says it typically takes from five to seven days for a transfer from another bank to be completed but it could take as long as six weeks. Citibank says on its site it can take from two to 21 days and Chase says most transfers are complete within two weeks.

The exact time for your transfer will likely depend on both the bank youre transferring the debt to and the bank youre transferring the debt from.

Do Balance Transfers Show Up On Credit Reports

A balance transfer shows up on your credit report just like a conventional credit card or loan. How responsibly use it, including on-time payments, will impact your credit score, just like any card or loan.

A balance transfer also adds to your overall available credit, which impacts your utilization ratio. With the additional credit from the balance transfer, youâll ideally keep you use only 30% or less of all your available credit.

On your credit report, a balance transfer also counts toward the length of your open credit. The average length of time youâve kept credit accounts open accounts for 15% of your score, and the new credit with a balance transfer can skew that number.

Some people use balance transfers to pay off high-interest credit cards â and then immediately close those cards. This can also impact your average length of credit and impact your credit score negatively.

Also Check: Does Lending Tree Affect Your Credit Score

Quicksilverone From Capital One Credit Card

If you like getting rewards, this is an excellent credit card for you. It is widespread and comes with a rewards program that is beneficial so that you will receive more when you are using the card. With every purchase you make using this card, you will earn 1.5% back, so you will not need to track the different purchase categories.

When you have good credit behavior, this credit card will give you rewards and increase your limit if you make the first five monthly payments on time. You can increase your limit faster and have a higher chance of getting more rewards using this credit card.

Features

What Apr Does A Fair Credit Rating Earn For Balance Transfer Credit Cards

With a Fair credit score, you should expect to have balance transfer APRs a bit higher than the 17.54% national average.

As you evaluate your need to transfer an existing balance to a new credit card, you will want to check that the APR on the balance transfer offer is lower than the cards that carry your existing balance. Whenever you transfer a balance, you want to be sure that you can save money on interest.

Recommended Reading: What Determines Your Credit Score

Citi Simplicity Card: Best For No Late Fee

• What we love about the Citi Simplicity Card: The Citi Simplicity charges no penalty APRs or late fees for missed payments, making it a very friendly card for people struggling to pay off credit card debt.
• Who this card is good for: People who are temporarily avoiding interest on a balance transfer for an extended period and do not want to pay late fees or annual fees.
• Alternatives: If youre more interested in a cash back rewards card for everyday use, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express could provide better long-term value.

Read our full Citi Simplicity Card review or jump back to offer details.

Charge No More Than You Can Easily Repay When The Bill Comes In

In order to be able to pay your balance in full each month, you should avoid charging more than youll be able to repay the next month. A credit card is not a blank check. No matter what the credit limit is, you need to set your own budget for that card. If the credit limit is $2,000, but you can afford to repay only $400 the following month, then $400 needs to be your credit limit.

Read Also: What Credit Score Does Carmax Use

Pay Attention To Fees And Apr

Is A Credit Score Of 600 To 650 A Good Score

These days, you can get a free credit score from nearly every major credit card issuer and from dozens of third-party websites and mobile apps. But, all the numbers in the world wont do you a lick of good if you dont actually know what they mean.

To know where your score stands in the overall scheme of things, you need to know more about which scoring model was used to generate it. While creditors can use any number of the dozens of scoring models out there or even their own internal models most credit scores come from either FICO or VantageScore.

The most popular FICO credit score youll encounter is currently the FICO® Score 8, and the most common iteration of the VantageScore is the VantageScore 3.0. The nice part of these two types of scores is that they both have the same scoring range namely, each model operates on a range of 300 to 850, with 850 being the best possible score.

At a quick look, having a credit score of 600 to 650 out of a possible 850 may seem like youre doing OK after all, 600 / 850 = 71%, and that would have gotten you a passing grade of C in school, right?

Sort of. The general cutoff for good or prime credit is the 670 mark. A credit score in the 600 range will often be considered nonprime as in, its not a prime score, but its not a subprime score, either. In other words, your credit score is still considered to be risky, just not as high risk as someone with a score below 580.

Recommended Reading: Creditsesame.com Free Credit Score

Be Free Of Your Debt Today With A Smart Balance Transfer Card

Ive personally paid off $10,000 in debt before. Let me tell you — it feels great to get that debt off your back. I dont think I couldve done it without using a tool like these no interest intro period cards. If you keep paying interest the cards are just stacked against you. We already did all the research and reviewed hundreds of the best balance card offers. In a few minutes you can be interest free for 18 months. Take your first easy step to being debt free today.

Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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About Our Ratings

Our experts rate credit cards based on their features, fees, and benefits to consumers compared to other cards in its category. The ratings are the expert opinion of our editors, and not influenced by any remuneration this site receives from card issuers.

Advertiser Disclosure

Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links from which we receive a compensation . But they do not affect the opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is an independent, award-winning consumer publication established in 2006. Our finance columns have been reprinted on MSN, Yahoo Finance, US News, Business Insider, Money Magazine, and Time Magazine.

How We Chose Our Best Balance Transfer Cards

Bankrate writers and editors have evaluated dozens of options to determine which cards are most likely to help you achieve your financial goals with a balance transfer. In this category, our 5-star scoring system pays particular attention to the essential features of a balance transfer credit card, including:

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What Factors Affect Your Credit Score

Your credit score is comprised of five factors: payment history, amounts owed, length of credit history, new credit, and credit mix. When youre in the average credit score range, your credit score can be affected by any of these five factors. In fact, your payment history may not even be a major issue. Even though your payment history is flawless, your credit score can still fall below 700 if you owe too much on your credit cards, or if you have too much new credit.

Pay The Minimum Payment

If youre overwhelmed by the amount you need to pay on your monthly credit card bill or you can no longer afford to make the payment at the levels you once did, consider just making the minimum monthly payment to avoid affecting your credit or going into default on your card. It may not help you get out of debt quicker, but it can delay any adverse effects to your overall credit profile.

Read Also: What Is The Good Credit Score

How A Credit Card Helps You Improve Fair Credit

Credit cards for fair or average credit can help you move up to good or excellent credit when you use them responsibly. The card issuer reports details about your account to the major , which compile the credit reports that form the basis of your credit scores. This reporting affects key elements of your scores:

• Payment history. Payment history is the single biggest factor in your credit score, so it’s essential to pay your bill on time every month. Doing so also avoids costly late fees. If possible, pay off your balance in full each month. When you pay in full, you don’t get charged interest and cards for fair credit tend to have high interest rates.

• Credit utilization. The second-largest factor in your scores, is the amount you owe as a percentage of your available credit. The lower your utilization, the better 30% or below is a good benchmark. Paying in full every month also helps keep utilization in check.

• Length of credit history. Credit scores also take into account how long you’ve been using credit, so the sooner you can find the right card, the better. And if you already have a long-serving credit account, keep it open and active.

• Recent credit applications. When you apply for new credit, it’s not uncommon to see your scores dip, at least temporarily.

The Best Western Mastercard Credit Card

Hotels represent some of the largest expenses incurred on any vacation or business trip, so it helps to carry a card that reduces the bite they take out of your wallet. The Best Western Mastercard® credit card is one of these cards, earning 1 point for every $1 spent in eligible purchases, 5 points for every $1 spent on Best Western properties worldwide, and a generous 20,000 points just for making an initial purchase with the card. Thats already enough for a free nights stay. Add in some vital travel insurance perks and a $0 annual fee, and the card is made even sweeter.

• 5 points for every $1 spent at Best Western
• 1 point for every $1 spent elsewhere
• 20,000 bonus points for an initial purchase
• Obtain Gold Status upon first use of your credit card
• Standard Annual Interest Rates of 19.99% on eligible purchases, 22.99% on balance transfersand access cheques, and 22.99% on cash advances

, , , Terms and Conditions apply.

This offer is not available for residents of Quebec. For Quebec residents, please click here.

Sponsored advertising. MBNA is a division of The Toronto-Dominion Bank and TD is not responsible for the contents of this site including any editorials or reviews that may appear on this site. For complete information on this MBNA credit card, please click on the Apply Now button.

You May Like: 650 Credit Score Good Or Bad

Best Credit Cards For Fair Or Average Credit From Our Partners

Why We Like It

Pros & Cons

Product Details

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers those with average credit a chance to both earn rewards and, potentially, gain access to a higher credit line.

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers those with average credit a chance to both earn rewards and, potentially, gain access to a higher credit line.

Pros

• The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card offers a solid ongoing rewards rate: You earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on purchases. You can be automatically considered for a higher credit limit in as little as six months.

Cons

• There’s a $39 annual fee. You would need to spend $2,600 per year on the card to make that back . And unlike some other cash-back cards, it doesn’t allow you to boost your rewards earnings with bonus categories.

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