“Fair credit” is not easy to define, because different banks will treat customers in different ways. FICO defines fair credit as those having credit scores between 580-669. But some credit card issuers consider fair credit to be in a higher range, topping at about a 700 credit score. (Last year FICO said the average credit score was 704.) For our purposes, we consider fair credit cards to be in the credit score range of 600-700. The cards below accept fair credit customers, and we’ve listed them based on your chances for approval — the higher the card is on this list, the better your approval odds. But this is not an exact science! (Don’t know your credit score? It’s easy to get it for free with no strings attached.)

Open to lower end of fair credit:

• Capital One Platinum Mastercard – No frills credit card has a high interest rate of at least 22% (but possibly higher depending on your credit history) but no annual fee. No rewards. Not a great credit card, but if your credit score is on the lower end of “fair,” this might be your best shot at getting an unsecured credit card from one of the biggest card issuers.
• Capital One QuicksilverOne Rewards – Good rewards card offering 1.5% cash back on all your purchases, but it comes with a $39 annual fee and a high interest rate of at least 22% (but maybe higher).
• Blue from American Express – The rewards are paltry at 1 point per dollar charged to the card, but it’s probably the easiest American Express card to get. High interest rate at 26.24%.

February 7, 2019 Update: Hilton’s work-at-home openings are generally few and far between, but there were some live jobs posted last we looked, so hurry if that interests you. VIPdesk Connect is a new company we added this week that you might want to check out.

• Enterprise – The well-known car rental company often hires at-home customer service representatives and reservation agents who work with Enterprise customers by telephone.
• TTEC (TeleTech) – Offers work-at-home customer service opportunities. From their site: “As a TTEC@Home associate, you’ll use TeleTech’s proprietary technology to support and assist customers with a variety of customer service and technical needs. This could include helping customers over the phone, via chat, or on social media. Best of all, you can do it all while wearing your slippers or flip flops! (To get started, you’ll need internet access and a home phone.)”

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

In today’s video, I caution you about biases (or even conflicts of interest) that may arise when you take financial advice from me or anyone else. As an example, I demonstrate one of my own potential blind spots in giving advice: my comparison of the Citi Double Cash credit card vs the Capital One Quicksilver card might lead me to a conclusion that is not best for you based on your circumstances.

By Adam Jusko, ProudMoney.com, adam@proudmoney.com

Regional banks BB&T and SunTrust announced today that they will merge, creating the sixth-largest U.S. bank based on assets and deposits. Instead of one company name going away after the merger is completed, they will both go away — the combined bank will have a new name that is yet to be determined.

While it’s too early to say whether this merger is anything more than the typical bank consolidation, the fact that the combined entity will be similar in size to US Bank (though still far behind Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo) suggests that we may see some different and hopefully innovative products in terms of credit cards, savings products, etc.