Student credit cards - do they exist?

aris

My son is in University - 21 years old and he needs to start getting his credit rating going.  I'm thinking a credit card may be the best option as he can spend online and get S75 protection, and build his credit at the same time.  He does not work (yet - he'd like to though) - I give him a living allowance and he has some healthy savings in the bank too.  He's very sensible with money and doesn't believe in credit - but in today's world, you need a credit history and/or a credit card just to exist - like rent a house, or a car while on holiday.

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?

eskbanker

aris said:

He currently banks with Barclays.

Has he asked them for a credit card?  It's often recommended to start via your current account provider, who obviously already have sight of at least some of his financial circumstances....

aris

eskbanker said:

aris said:

He currently banks with Barclays.

Has he asked them for a credit card?  It's often recommended to start via your current account provider, who obviously already have sight of at least some of his financial circumstances....

He went through the eligibility test online - and computer said no.  I tried calling Barclaycard - and was unable to get hold of a human on the phone.  I was on a merry-go-round of voice automation.  Ridiculous really.

I see some banks offer student bank accounts - and student credit cards, but changing banks would be an absolute last resort.  I'm a bit flabbergasted at Barclays really.   I thought they wanted to get young professionals early in their careers in the hope that they continue to bank with them and use their services.  Apparently not. 

[Deleted User]

You don't need to change accounts, can have more than one so long as it has funds.

Try a credit builder account like Vanquis or Cap One if his own bank won't lend

Is he actually a student? If not, then don't start his financial life with a CIFAS for application fraud

aris

Deleted_User said:

You don't need to change accounts, can have more than one so long as it has funds.

Try a credit builder account like Vanquis or Cap One if his own bank won't lend

Is he actually a student? If not, then don't start his financial life with a CIFAS for application fraud

Thanks for the response.

He is a bona-fide student at a Russel Group university.   I suppose having accounts in two banks could be another option - but really an unnecessary and unwanted one. 

kuratowski

This is probably obvious but make sure he puts down the same address as he uses on his current account.  A credit card provider will want to verify his identity and for that they'll be looking for existing accounts (such as the current account) and also electoral roll.  I presume he is registered to vote both at home and at uni (which is the norm).

Check his credit files - you want to know whether he "exists", as far as the CRAs are concerned.

Then have a look at the eligibility checkers - there's one on this site, the other free credit file checking services have their own, most likely you will be able to find a provider who is looking to service this market.

Credit cards are not so easily available as they were in my day...  (that's a good thing)

born_again

aris said:

 I tried calling Barclaycard - and was unable to get hold of a human on the phone.  I was on a merry-go-round of voice automation.  Ridiculous really.

Pointless you calling them, as they won't tell you anything.

Has he gone into a branch and asked?

aris

born_again said:

aris said:

 I tried calling Barclaycard - and was unable to get hold of a human on the phone.  I was on a merry-go-round of voice automation.  Ridiculous really.

Pointless you calling them, as they won't tell you anything.

Has he gone into a branch and asked?

Well I was hoping they could tell me a few things - like would they allow me to sign surety for him, and do they take students with no job, but another guaranteed income source (mum and dad).

I suppose going into a branch is the next step - but in my experience branch staff can be useless too.

AstonSmith

Student cards do exist, well at least they used to. My first card was one, with a £500 limit. I got it at the same time with the same bank that I opened a student account with. I wasn't working at the time (and stated as much) and they seemed happy as long as they saw the student finance payments going in. However, this was before 2008, so things might be different now.

A possible problem with Barclaycard is that it's a separate part of the Barclays group, or in other words credit cards are independent from retail banking.

There are other ways to build credit, SIM only phone plans tend to be popular for this.

Emmia

aris said:

Deleted_User said:

You don't need to change accounts, can have more than one so long as it has funds.

Try a credit builder account like Vanquis or Cap One if his own bank won't lend

Is he actually a student? If not, then don't start his financial life with a CIFAS for application fraud

Thanks for the response.

He is a bona-fide student at a Russel Group university.   I suppose having accounts in two banks could be another option - but really an unnecessary and unwanted one. 

Having 2 accounts can be useful in case of outage, needing to pay rent etc at odd times of the month vs when you get paid.  I banked with Barclays when I went to uni, and opened a Natwest student account then (the incentive was better).


Overall my experience with Natwest over the course of around decade during and after uni was pretty bad,  so I closed my account with them - but I still have the Barclays account (with one exception, I've found the customer service to be consistently great) and bank with HSBC now as well.

RBYHS

Hi there,
you could also try a credit builder card such as a capital one, Vanquis or Aqua. 

Otherwise, he can start building some history with a sim only contract or a catalogue such as Very. Or an Argos Card which classes as a store card. 

Hope that helps.