Best credit card for a student?

kkid

I am currently looking for a credit card.

I want it only for big purchases for 2 reasons; to slowly build my "credit rating" and for added protection on purchases over £100. I would pay off immediately to avoid fees.

I have heard that getting declined for card lowers my desirability for further applications elsewhere. Therefore where am I most likely to be accepted?

I would assume that my bank would be the best to ask, is this correct or are there any cards in particular that I should look into?

If my bank is the best place, which of mine would be best?

I have a Santander student account, and standard accounts from Nationwide and Halifax.


Thank you!

grumbler

kkid wrote: »

I want it only for big purchases for 2 reasons; to slowly build my "credit rating" and for added protection on purchases over £100. I would pay off immediately to avoid fees.

No need to pay it off 'immediately'. Pay the statement balance in full and on time and the interest will be waived.

I have heard that getting declined for card lowers my desirability for further applications elsewhere.

An application has a small and short-time effect. Declining/acceptance isn't reported

Therefore where am I most likely to be accepted?

I would assume that my bank would be the best to ask, is this correct or are there any cards in particular that I should look into?

Correct. If rejected, you can try some of Bad-credit Credit Cards .
The APR is pretty much irrelevant for you.

If my bank is the best place, which of mine would be best?

I have a Santander student account, and standard accounts from Nationwide and Halifax.

The one that shows you in the best light.
Preferably - regular credits, always in credit, if overdrawn - for short time only. That said, banks can be more lenient to a student.

kkid

grumbler wrote: »

No need to pay it off 'immediately'. Pay the statement balance in full and on time and the interest will be waived.

Ah, sorry, this is what meant.


Sorry, what did you mean by the last sentence?
I don't understand? Did you miss out a word or am I being stupid?

kkid

I am looking over my bank credit cards. It is showing me multiple cards but honestly have no idea of the difference. What is it that I should be looking at?

Will some card have a longer no interest period that I'll need?
Is there something else I should look for?
Or will a cashback credit card be best so that I can get some cashback if possible?

I never thought I would actually be given a choice considering I am only 18 and thus have no real rating. Will I just fill out my details no matter which i choose and I will get offered the same (relatively terrible) card?

kkid

Just realised, I'm guessing I'll need to aim to get one with no annual fees?

dresdendave

kkid wrote: »

Will I just fill out my details no matter which i choose and I will get offered the same (relatively terrible) card?

Not sure what you mean by a "terrible card". If you are always going to pay your statement in full then any card you get will effectively have 0% APR.

kkid

dresdendave wrote: »

Not sure what you mean by a "terrible card". If you are always going to pay your statement in full then any card you get will effectively have 0% APR.

For me it would be as good as any other card. For people who actually use credit cards, it would be a card usually deemed terrible due to high fees etc.

kkid

I applied for the credit card from Halifax which is for students only. I still got declined

kkid

Will the capital one classic extra credit card be good for me?

It is the recommended bad credit credit card at the top of this forum page.

I won't apply for more than 2 cards as I don't want it to affect my credit rating.

It is either this or having another go at a bank credit card.

Alarae

kkid wrote: »

Will the capital one classic extra credit card be good for me?

It is the recommended bad credit credit card at the top of this forum page.

I won't apply for more than 2 cards as I don't want it to affect my credit rating.

It is either this or having another go at a bank credit card.

I may be wrong, but I think student credit cards from banks tend to be offered to those who have their student account with their bank.

As a student myself, I would suggest you go for the Capital One Classic Extra. They are specifically geared towards bad/limited credit, so a higher chance of acceptance. I've also heard that Capital One may offer you an alternative card if you don't get offered your original choice, so that's a plus

kkid

Alarae wrote: »

I may be wrong, but I think student credit cards from banks tend to be offered to those who have their student account with their bank.

As a student myself, I would suggest you go for the Capital One Classic Extra. They are specifically geared towards bad/limited credit, so a higher chance of acceptance. I've also heard that Capital One may offer you an alternative card if you don't get offered your original choice, so that's a plus

My student account is with Santander. I only went with Halifax for my first application as they had good cashback although I've realised that I don't care about this now - I simply want a credit card to accept me so I can build up credit. The amount I earn would be extremely minimal anyway.

I have been looking at cards aimed at people with bad credit and my top choice at the moment is this:
http://www.aquacard.co.uk/product-detail-page/product-classic-359-dds

I know the interest-free period is a couple days under average but I really liked the SMS reminder service for upcoming payment dates so that I would never forget (Extremely unlikely anyway).

Would this be a good choice?


I have looked at Capital one, however on their website it doesn't mention being for people with no/bad credit, it is actually listed as being for medium-good credit. it also says that they are unlikely to accept if you have never held credit in the UK before (like me).



Martin's pre-approval tool says that I am 80% likely to get the Capital One Card but only 50% likely to get this Aqua one, however, as I said, the Capital One says that it is for people with better ratings