Credit building, large student bursary

James1997

Hello,


I'm currently doing a PGCE in Secondary Maths, which comes with a £22k tax free bursary for my training year.


I'm 21, and looking to build up my credit. I've enquired at Nationwide (with whom I hold a student account) and HSBC (my current account providers), but we went no further with the application as the £22k is not an acceptable source of income, despite the minimum £5k and £8.5k being exceeded.


Obviously this is very frustrating. I want a credit card to build a score, probably buying my groceries with it, not make a major purchase. Are there any providers that would be accommodating, or alternative ways to build a score from nothing?

[Deleted User]

There's lot of card providers you can try. Have a look a the sub prime providers, such as aqua or Vanquis.

Remember you're not building a score, but a history.

Ergates

James1997 wrote: »

Hello,


I'm currently doing a PGCE in Secondary Maths, which comes with a £22k tax free bursary for my training year.


I'm 21, and looking to build up my credit. I've enquired at Nationwide (with whom I hold a student account) and HSBC (my current account providers), but we went no further with the application as the £22k is not an acceptable source of income, despite the minimum £5k and £8.5k being exceeded.


Obviously this is very frustrating. I want a credit card to build a score, probably buying my groceries with it, not make a major purchase. Are there any providers that would be accommodating, or alternative ways to build a score from nothing?

If your intention is to get a card and just using it for regular "normal" purchases (food etc) and clear it every month, then you don't need to worry so much about how "good" the card is. i.e. It doesn' t matter what the interest rate is if you never pay the interest. As ZX81 says, look for a card further down the "rankings" to build up some credit history. Then swap it out later for a better card (e.g. one that gives cashback or some kind of reward points).

Just make sure you actually do clear it every month as they'll have sky-high interest rates.

Ben8282

Don't worry about being told that this is not acceptable income. If you have been (or will be) paid it then it is your income.
If you have no credit card at the moment, try one of the sub-prime cards as suggested. Don't lie but don't volunteer unnecessary information. Enter the bursary as your income, your occupation as student etc.

Finally, forget about building a 'score'. You need to build a solid credit history not a made up advertising gimmick score.