Uni student having difficulty opening a starter credit card

MutleysMother

Second year Uni student has been refused a starter credit card from their bank, Nationwide because they currently only have sporadic part time work.

They have tried for another card but have also been refused. They are on the electoral role.

Will they need to have a more permanent part time job before they can begin to build their credit rating?

retiredbanker1

The bank I used to work for insisted a salary of at least £6000 on topof any grants/Student loans/ Bursary etc.

I don't know whether this is still the case.

Persistent applications in a short period of time will make it more difficult for you to get one.

Is there a reason why you need one in year 2 that was not the case in year 1?

Nasqueron

Lenders don't want to risk unaffordable lending complaints, sporadic part time work is not a good enough revenue source

daveyjp

You need to show a pattern of regular income. An account with a larger mainstream bank may prove more fruitful.

born_again

Do any of the banks that offer student accounts, also offer CC as part of the package?

Building credit history also includes Direct Debits.

lr1277

This is not a recommendation but HSBC offer a student current account and a student credit card. A customer needs to have the student current account before applying for the student credit card. Credit limits range from £250 to £500. There is no income requirement according to google.

I found it by typing into google:

HSBC student credit card minimum income

A well run pay monthly mobile phone contract is also a positive in a person's credit file.

Edited to add:

I note that Nationwide don't offer a specific student credit card. According to google, the minimum income for any Nationwide credit card is £5k.

There is a site called finder which helps users find financial products.

If you type into google:

finder student credit card

The top result should take you to finder's page about student credit cards. At the time I looked, there were four credit cards specifically for students. HSBC's card being one of them.

2nd edit: Finder's lists are not always complete. For example in the list of student current accounts, they don't mention the Co op bank who do offer a student bank account but not a student credit card. So use at your own risk.