First Credit Card for Student in Final Year of Uni

yellow_stag

Hi, I'm just entering my final year of university (4th year) and am looking at getting some sort of credit card to help boost my credit score.

So far, I have determined that pretty much every credit card has at least a £10,000 minimum income, which rules me out! Then it's whether to use the parent's address or the university-rented one which changes yearly.

There seem to be student credit cards out there, but are they worth it for one year when I will most likely be earning a proper salary in 12 months and, therefore, should have better luck applying for a proper one?

Any advice is very welcome! Thanks

born_again

Forget about your score. It is a meaningless figure made up by CRA. Never seen by lenders.
What you need to focus on is credit history. paying bills on time.

Best bet if you want a CC is to go via bank you have your student bank acc with.

New_in_the_fens

My uni student was in the same situation. Didn’t do it with the student bank account provider - followed the MSE check eligibility guidance and got a card against our address (never changed her addresses from the home address during uni term). Was surprised that the eligibility tracker said the student bank account provider would not have offered, so do use the checker rather than assume. 

CliveOfIndia

To reiterate the previous comment, ignore your score.  But yes, a credit card (managed responsibly) is an easy way to start building up some credit history, which is what counts.

Try doing some eligibility checks for credit-builder cards, also (as previously mentioned) it can be worth approaching you current bank.

yellow_stag said:

There seem to be student credit cards out there, but are they worth it for one year when I will most likely be earning a proper salary in 12 months and, therefore, should have better luck applying for a proper one?

It's definitely worth a shot - even if it means you can get a year's worth of credit history under your belt, that will stand you in good stead for your next application.

Do remember that having a credit card requires an element of discipline.  Only use it for things you would have had to buy anyway, and never use it to buy things you can't afford.  You must always repay it in full every month, so never buy anything if you won't be able to repay it at the end of the month.  If you don't repay in full then (a) you'll get charged interest (at a fairly hefty rate, especially if it's a credit-builder card) and (b) you'll defeat the whole aim of trying to build up a good history.

jbrassy

If I was in your position, I would consider a credit builder card or a card for people with bad/no credit history:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/credit-builder/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/bad-credit-credit-cards/

Out of the cards listed on those pages, I would either get the Tesco or Asda credit cards because you then get some vouchers which can save you a bit of money on your shopping. The best thing to do is use the 'eligibility checker' on the Tesco and Asda credit card websites.

As others have said, ignore your credit score and just get one of these cards and pay the full balance off each month through direct debit.