Possible to get a credit card if no income?

spinningsheep

If you dont manage to get an Aqua card, you say you bank with the Co-op and I presume that account has been run well in the time you have been abroad and paying money in, so why not speak to them first? They can see your financial situation and may offer you a card with a small limit?

Capital One now offer a secured card too, so you may be able to pay a security deposit of between £50 and £200 to secure a limit of £200.

Finally, CashPlus offer a prepaid Mastercard with credit builder, they "lend you" £60 that you never actually see, and you repay this at £5 a month for a year and they then report this to the CRA's as a settled load agreement thus improving your credit history.

Let us know how you got on.

GreatBigBookcase

Suarez, yes, totally agree with you in principle re the the service charge, it's just I'm hoping to stick to a pretty small budget to stretch out my savings for as long as possible and that service charge (actually GBP150 a month, I checked with the agent today) takes a big chunk out of my budget. Of course, I have no idea how much buildings insurance and heating would ordinarily cost! I'll look into that before I rule out the flat.

spinningsheep, thank you for your post, your response is exactly what I was hoping for when I asked for advice! Good tip re talking to the Co-op as that account's always been topped up over the years to cover my student loan and the direct debits I have set up. And once I transfer all my money across from HK, it'll look pretty healthy. It's the CashPlus card that I came across earlier actually, so I'll definitely remember them and give them a try if all else fails.

Suarez

That is quite high. Ours is only £45 per month with all that included and it would probably cost us more or less the same if we were to do all the services I listed.

I wouldn't rule out apartments - just check the service charges and what they cover. Also, it's a lot cheaper to heat a flat and a few other bills may be cheaper like council tax. Check all the costs before going ahead with a purchase. Good luck