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Student Credit Cards - do they exist?

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  • 2childmum2
    2childmum2 Posts: 249 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    aris said:
    aris said:

    Thing is he does have the money - the credit card is just a tool he is using to his own advantage.  Clearly you don't like them - which is fine. 
    Please don't think I'm trying to be all holier than thou. I've had credit cards for 30 years. I've used and abused them all my adult life, and still I fail to see any advantage. If you pay them off every month then what's the point? Their only function is borrowing, and expensive borrowing at that.


    For me the point is:

    I get cashback on all my spend
    I have S75 protection on all my spend
    It is more convenient than cash
    It is safer than cash - and safer than a debit card.
    It allows me to book hotels, hire cars, airline tickets - many of which require credit card pre-auth.
    I have no other debt - so it keeps my credit history ticking along.

    But that's just me - everyone has their own reasons.

    I was just about to post the same thing!!   I budget in advance for food, general spending etc, put it all on a credit card and transfer what I have spent from the food (or whatever) column into the credit card column so always know I have the money to pay.  Big purchases, which come out of savings, also get put on the credit card and then get transferred in one go from the savings pot to the credit card to pay it off in full every month - it's a handy tool for managing all the work we are having to have done around the house at the moment. 
    Each Christmas we get about £80 cash back from one card and another £30ish in M and S vouchers from another which both go towards Christmas.  We have two cards because one isn't accepted everywhere

  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 49,682 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    My offspring when students managed to get credit cards from their current account provider without any problem. Initially their credit card limit was quite low -£250 from memory- but it did increase as they proved themselves to be responsible.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • Emmia
    Emmia Posts: 5,863 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    If your son is already 21, how much longer is he going to be a student for?
  • aris
    aris Posts: 339 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    Emmia said:
    If your son is already 21, how much longer is he going to be a student for?

    Another year after this one - doing a masters next year. 
  • Dobbibill
    Dobbibill Posts: 4,194 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    aris said:

    So - do student credit cards exist?   I'm happy to sign surety for it, and even a low £250 or £500 limit is quite fine to start with.  Thing is - I can't seem to find any cards which do not require you to move your current account too.  He currently banks with Barclays.

    Any ideas?
    There are a few Student Credit Cards available - HSBC, Natwest, RBS & TSB on a quick google search. Although there is a requirement to hold a student account as part of the eligibility.

    Tbf - any credit card is suitable if accepted so maybe a good place to start is their own bank and if they are declined then perhaps a sub-prime card like Aqua/Vanquis etc. I see they bank with Barclays who offer a Forward Credit Card which is a starter card so worth looking into - may be best to do an eligibility checker to gauge probable acceptance. 

    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Budgeting & Bank Accounts, Credit Cards, Credit File & Ratings and Energy boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.

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  • aris
    aris Posts: 339 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    In the end, he managed to get an Aqua card.    Going with his own bank had too many roadblocks.   Maybe once he has a bit more of a credit history, he will be able to apply for other cards.

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