New to credit cards

tim300

Hello everyone,

Sorry if this question or similar has already been answered, i'm new on here and have looked but can't find anything. If it has please point it out to me.

I'm currently a university student and although get the student loan once every 3 months or so i often find that by nearing that a few weeks in its all gone due to paying accommodation and bills etc. What i want is a card which has a low interest rate so that i don't incur to much interest charges before i can pay the balance off in full with the next loan instalment. I tried applying for the barclaycard student card but was declined.

I was wondering, how long does it take to build up a credit rating good enough to obtain the cards which have less than a 30% interest rate. From where i work i have a store card, (combined with employee discount) which i use quite regually and have a direct debit to pay it off in full every month. I've had this since about october last year. I've also got a contract phone. Will this help my credit score, and make it more likely for me to get a low interest card?

Thanks for all your help,
Tim

Lavendyr

There is no such thing as a credit rating. All lenders use their own criteria to determine if and how much to lend. There is such a thing as a credit report, which lenders access to see whether you are a safe risk or not.

The credit decision is not just about whether you have a good history of borrowing money, either. To begin with, most lenders will not even consider lending you anything if you are not on the electoral roll (and it checks out with the address info you give), so first things first, make sure that you are on the electoral roll for the address you are giving.

Secondly, obtain a copy of your credit report. Experian is the best one to go to as they seem to be used most often. You can request one at their website - it costs £2 and you get a hard copy within 7 days of your request, I believe. Equifax is the second one to check, at another £2. It may be that there is something wrong on your credit report and you may need to get it fixed.

Thirdly, be wary of applying for too many cards in a short period of time, as these too are recorded on your credit report, and lenders will be less willing to lend to someone whose file shows up a lot of searches. Before you apply for another card, I would recommend you follow all of the steps above. You could also ask Barclays why they declined you - though I'm not sure they have to tell you, they might be able to help. Alternatively, why not look into an interest-free overdraft which most student accounts should offer?

Hope that helps