Getting a credit card as a student.

Kestrel68

How to get a credit card when the rules seem dumb.

I’ve suggested my daughter gets a credit card so she can build a credit history for when she might want or need to buy a house or get a loan for a car, it seems a good idea.

But she’s a student and all the stuff on the web says you can’t include your student maintenance loan as income. Now that’s not the bit that goes to the Uni to pay fee but the amount she’s got to live off.

OK fine she has a part time job so has an income, say £5 to £6 k per year.

But using an eligibility calculator she puts in her occupation (some don’t allow student) and income but it asks about rent.

Now she lives at home, registered to vote here, but rents a house at uni with friends, so she puts her rent down, it’s circa £500 per month.

But clearly £500 per month rent out of £5k means she’ll never get a credit card she’s tried the MSE and Ocean eligibility calculators and they says no.

But the rules are dumb, you can’t put your maintenance loans as income but err guess what pays for the rent it’s the maintenance laon. So they won’t use it as income but its the thing it pays the rent which they do take into account.

Any ideas does she can include and exclude?

 

Ta Kes

born_again

Does she have a student bank account? If so many also offer CC's.
Try where she banks now, as they can see her level of standing with them.

It's not a case of being dumb. It's a case of affordable & responsible lending.

Credit history includes many things such as a Mobile phone contract.

Mark_d

If your daughter has a HSBC student account, the bank would be able to sort out a suitable credit card.

cymruchris

If she opens a HSBC student current account - she can go for this:

https://www.hsbc.co.uk/credit-cards/products/student/