Student with no credit history, possible to get a cc?

joeyboy

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone had any input on this..

So I'm 21 years old, 22 in a couple of weeks. I'm in my final year of university and have a part-time job. I generally work 15ish hrs a week, no paid breaks so it probably equates to around 13hrs a week payment, at roughly £7 an hour so we'll call it £90 a week in term time. I work much more during the holidays obviously, I can't seem to find my P60 for tax year ending April 2012 but for April 2011 my annual pay was £6643, it'll have been pretty similar for my April 2012 P60.

I live at home and have paid my course fees myself, so have no university related loans.

I was looking to get a credit card for two reasons..

1) Me and my partner have gone on a couple of holidays together and although these were fairly cheap, I have paid by bank transfer which I know isn't a very safe way of doing things, I know paying for holidays by credit card does give you more protection if someone goes wrong.

2) I do have a few direct debits so I assume always being able to pay those might give me some sort of credit score, but seeing as when I finish uni and start saving a deposit up, I might want to get a mortgage, car loan etc. I was thinking it might help me if I had a credit score from having a credit card and paying it off the next month or two to show I'm not a risk.

Now I can't get one with my bank, Santander, because you need a minimum annual income of £7500. I've noticed quite a few other banks offer cards with no minimum income it seems, but I don't know if my circumstances would allow me to get a cc at all?

I mean I don't know if something like this would accept me? It doesn't mention about minimum salary..

http://www.barclaycard.co.uk/personal/credit-cards/initial

Willing2Learn

You've got a chance with an Barclaycard initial and if they turn you down then you could try Vanquis and Capital One as they are possibly the easiest cards to get. Make sure you pay any of these card balances off in full each month as they are very high interest.

Before you make any application make sure you are on the electoral register and get a copy of your statutory credit reports from both Experian and Equifax to check the data they hold is accurate.

Edit: Do the pre-application check on the Barclays site. It will give you an idea of whether you could get the card.

stephane_2

Why don't you try the Pre-application assessment for Barclaycard....it will only do a soft search & will tell you which card you would be eligible to....

joeyboy

stephane wrote: »

Why don't you try the Pre-application assessment for Barclaycard....it will only do a soft search & will tell you which card you would be eligible to....

ah I didn't see that!

I've tried it, apparently I have a good (80%) for a few of their cards including platinum ones. Then I have an excellent (90%+) chance for their Initial card.

I'll just go with the Initial then as I know a bank turning you down for a card isn't a great thing to have on your credit score if it happens a couple of times. I can always change to a card with a better APR once I've shown I'm reliable with this one.

Just filled it out and submitted my application for the Initial card...wonder how long it'll take and what my credit limit will be, something tiny like £100 haha.

stephane_2

I would have tried the Platinum.....then they would probably have offered you the Initial if declined for platinum....

joeyboy

stephane wrote: »

I would have tried the Platinum.....then they would probably have offered you the Initial if declined for platinum....

Ah well, I didn't see that pre-application thing till I'd filled out the application form.

Tbh the APR means little to me as I always plan to pay it off the next month anyway. Maybe in 6-12 months time I can try applying for the other one and cancel this one.

stephane_2

Have you been told if accepted..?

trikidy

Capital one is your best shot IMO

joeyboy

stephane wrote: »

Have you been told if accepted..?

Nah no word either way yet, just said wait for a response. Some folks speaking online seem to say Barclaycard can take a while before they decide at times..

zerog

joeyboy wrote: »

Nah no word either way yet, just said wait for a response. Some folks speaking online seem to say Barclaycard can take a while before they decide at times..

Probably should have applied before 4pm, sometimes the computer only makes instant decisions in working hours

bouncydog1

The other way of getting a cc would be with a student account i.e. HSBC offer one with a £500 limit with their account. You also get preferential rate on savings for first year and two year's free travel insurance.

There was also an enhanced savings offer for 1st year when DD got her account last year. You pay in up to x per month - think it might be £250 and get 8% interest. You also get a free overdraft (but you don't have to take that).

I know certain people don't like HSBC but TBH we've never had any issues with them.