Student Credit Card

friskyfleabag

Hello there, if you could give me some advice on getting a credit card in order to boost credit rating/get rewards from credit card companies/not have to fanny around with cash it'd be appreciated. I'm pretty good with money and have quite a bit saved in various places so there's no chance of me missing any payments, going hideously overdrawn etc.

Thanks.

nephilim

I got one, and started to use it only for emergencies, then that became well i can spend a little here and there and now I have had to cut the card up and pay up some hefty amounts to shift the amount owed. I am speaking from my own experience, credit cards are good, but only when used sensibly, and if you want one that you can use sensibly, apply for a barclaycard student card as you can freeze the payments and the card when you need too, but generally, dont get one as a student, the limits are low and you will max it in no time.

thats just my experience, other people may say different.

System

As a fellow student and ex-student credit card user, I'd advise against them.

Most charge hefty fees, I was with Lloyds, which had a max of £250, but charged me £2.50 cash advance for using it (even if I just put it into a machine to change my pin). So whenever you spent anything you were charged cash advance, unless you credited the card with money beforehand.

Most take advantage of students lack-of-earnings by linking into current accounts where your student loan is being paid into. They won't let you take a lloyds student credit card without having a Lloyds student current account for example.

My advice is to stick with a debit card that is linked to a separate account (with only a hundred £ or so) - and top up the account whenever you spend. It's easier than worrying about paying credit card bills every month, you don't have to worry about interest, and you can't get into debt.

NBE

As another fellow student I would advise that there is nothing wrong with getting one as long as you're careful.

I applied for a Barclaycard Student Card during my first year at university (2006/2007) and was given one with a £600 credit limit. I found this more than sufficient for my needs and paid the card off each month.

I also recently applied for a Tesco Clubcard credit card and was successful in getting one with a £250 limit and with it I get the extra clubard points.

So you can try your luck with a specific student credit card as you would have more luck getting one of those and then when you have built up your credit limit a bit more then you can try applying for another card. Hope this helps

(BTW having a contract phone will also improve your credit rating)

broke_student111

Hi,

There is nothing wrong with getting a card, as long as you know what you are spending and pay the full balance every month (perhaps with direct debit). Having said that, I am in debt at the moment partly due to credit cards, and it is no fun!

My advice is to go for one of the major bank's student credit card offers. They will have a low limit and you will almost certainly be accepted despite not having a proper full-time income. The rates are higher, but these shouldn't be a problem if you repay in full.

Your credit score can have a big effect. Just before leaving school, my bank had increased my overdraft limit to around £5000 and my credit card limit to £3000 - a lot of money to an 18 year old schoolchild. Of course, these are standard bank products rather than the student ones, so they are more 'loose' with their limits but you get the idea.

Hope this helps!

friskyfleabag

Thanks all, I'll go and have a word with Barclays when I get home for Easter.

Only problem is I don't actually have a student account with Barclays - my student account is with Natwest but I basically just use that to get interest on the uber overdraft, transferring some money between that account and my Barclays one so that the account isn't stagnant.

Will this be a potential problem; must I have a student account to get a student credit card? AFAIK you can't have a student account at more than one bank.

Cheers

NBE

When I applied for a Student Barclaycard I didn't (and still don't) have an account with Barclays. Although they share their names and some facilities the two companies are essentially separate companies and Barclaycard make a decision by themselves as to whether to offer the card. Although there is nothing from stopping you from applying for a Barclays Student account, the banks say that you can't have more than one student account but they don't check.

CrispyUK

The Student Barclaycard isn't a bad card, it's got a fair APR on it as well compared to a lot of the banks student cards - you can apply for it online

skyrider007

I got one with HSBC, the limit is 500 pounds and the APR is pretty standard at 18.9%. I use it instead of using my Maestro card and pay the bill off in full every month, this helps improve my credit score.

johncmcloy

Get a student credit card with natwest, they give you £500 which is pretty good. You have to be with the bank to get their student credit card as far as I know