HSBC Student Account-Credit or Debit card?

Johnny_Hamster

I sent my 18YO son off to HSBC to set up a Student bank account which he duly did, then cleared off to Uni on the understanding that we'd forward his card when it came in the post.
Somewhat surpised to receive a Credit Card in the post with £500 limit - I was expecting him to receive a contactless enabled Visa Debit card. Is this right for new students opening an account? I'm holding on to this because I thick a debit card makes much more sense, especially since we'll be paying £500 pcm into his account for living expenses.

Luckily I have a direct number for our local branch, and a friendly advisor said that many students prefer a credit card, although he would ask one of the staff to send out a debit card if we wished. I can't believe a student account would be a credit card attached - I was of the understanding that credit card cash withdrawals attract a charge, you get charged extra for certain transactions, plus you have to pay off the balance each month.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick, or is the bank being irresponsible here ? Son is totally clueless about these things unfortunately, :mad:

grumbler

A credit card isn't attached to any current account. It's a separate entity and can compliment a current account, not replace it (or a debit card).
Either your son applied for a CC only (unlikely) or he applied for both CC and current account, and the CC was just quicker to arrive.
You should have started with asking your son, not the bank.

Toe-Jam

This is pretty normal for HSBC. The credit card is 1 checkbox on the current account application form. You can't have the credit card without the current account. But you can have the current account without the credit card.

I think if memory serves me well the spin they put on it when getting you to take it out is you should spend the money on your credit card and keep your cash in a savings account throughout the month to earn some interest, then pay the credit card balance off at the end of the month.

Knowing fine well an 18 year old fresher won't do that.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

Johnny_Hamster wrote: »

I sent my 18YO son off to HSBC to set up a Student bank account which he duly did, then cleared off to Uni on the understanding that we'd forward his card when it came in the post.
Somewhat surpised to receive a Credit Card in the post with £500 limit - I was expecting him to receive a contactless enabled Visa Debit card. Is this right for new students opening an account? I'm holding on to this because I thick a debit card makes much more sense, especially since we'll be paying £500 pcm into his account for living expenses.

Luckily I have a direct number for our local branch, and a friendly advisor said that many students prefer a credit card, although he would ask one of the staff to send out a debit card if we wished. I can't believe a student account would be a credit card attached - I was of the understanding that credit card cash withdrawals attract a charge, you get charged extra for certain transactions, plus you have to pay off the balance each month.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick, or is the bank being irresponsible here ? Son is totally clueless about these things unfortunately, :mad:

I'm surprised that the "friendly advisor" was willing to discuss your adult son's personal banking details with you. This sounds like a breach of all sorts of data protection rules.

grumbler

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

I'm surprised that the "friendly advisor" was willing to discuss your adult son's personal banking details with you. This sounds like a breach of all sorts of data protection rules.

I don't see any *personal* details that were discussed. What I see is some general information ("many students prefer") and a ridiculous offer "to send out a debit card if we wished" - obviously some misunderstanding by the OP.

CLAPTON

Johnny_Hamster wrote: »

I sent my 18YO son off to HSBC to set up a Student bank account which he duly did, then cleared off to Uni on the understanding that we'd forward his card when it came in the post.
Somewhat surpised to receive a Credit Card in the post with £500 limit - I was expecting him to receive a contactless enabled Visa Debit card. Is this right for new students opening an account? I'm holding on to this because I thick a debit card makes much more sense, especially since we'll be paying £500 pcm into his account for living expenses.

Luckily I have a direct number for our local branch, and a friendly advisor said that many students prefer a credit card, although he would ask one of the staff to send out a debit card if we wished. I can't believe a student account would be a credit card attached - I was of the understanding that credit card cash withdrawals attract a charge, you get charged extra for certain transactions, plus you have to pay off the balance each month.

Have I got the wrong end of the stick, or is the bank being irresponsible here ? Son is totally clueless about these things unfortunately, :mad:

I'm sure a debit card will arrive in due course : if it doesn't get your son to phone the bank to find out why it hasn't (he needs to start to manage his own affairs himself now)




all my children were offered a CC when they opened their student a/c.
I told them to accept but to always pay the bill off each month in full : the card can be very useful especially if travelling abroad or emergency source of money.


when they graduated (without misusing their CCs) they all had a decent credit history showing on their files showing responsible use of credit.


as all their mail came to our home I helpfully offered to open all the official mail and keep them up to date with any bills etc.

Archi_Bald

CLAPTON wrote: »

I'm sure a debit card will arrive in due course

I applied for an HSBC current account online in May 2012 and was accepted. It took them over a month to send me the online banking details and I have to this very date not received a debit card or a PIN for a debit card. As I only use the account for access to their regular saver, it doesn't matter to me that I don't have a debit card for it.