The terms "fair credit" and "average credit" are used more or less interchangeably within the credit cards industry to describe scores in the middle ground between good credit and bad credit. It's important to note that definitions of credit score ranges can differ from one card issuer to the next. What one issuer might see as a score on the low end of the fair credit range, another might consider bad credit. Conversely, a higher score that one issuer still sees as fair credit might qualify as good credit to a different issuer. Keep in mind, also, that credit scores are not the only thing that credit card issuers and other lenders look at when evaluating a credit application.