Credit Card Application For Student

Jon_B_2 · 17 June 2010 at 1:28PM

I've had a prime credit card for a year that is paid off in full almost every month. Trust me, apart from my outstanding overdraft my credit file is fine.

brians_daughter · 17 June 2010 at 1:31PM

Jon_B wrote: »

To be honest any responsible parent wouldn't be recommending financial help from the banks at all and would maybe lend the money themselves to be repaid as and when. Also I cannot fathom why anybody would really require a car at uni unless they were studying at home. I could afford a car at uni, because I had saved for it and could afford the insurance on top, but if I had to for a second consider a credit card to keep it on the road the car would have been sold.
.:)

TBH the parent, imo is doing the right thing. Instilling a sense of financial independance to their son? Rather than the bank of Mum and Dad?

You query why anyone would require a car at uni? I live 5 miles away from campus but I need my car..something to do with the 3 kids that need ferrying around, not to mention the 2 jobs that I have in order to keep my family whilst studying.

The op doesnt say he cant afford the insurance, they state that they cant quite afford it in 1 lump sum, due to unforseen circumstances. I take this to mean the op is already money savvy. but has had unexpected expense and doesnt want to take a monthly plan due to interest charged? Again, showing that they are switched on where finances are concerned?

Anyway, its each to their own and that what makes this forum a great place for another point of view

OP, TBH the best you could hope for is say a starter credit card (cap 1, vanquis maybe?) where you get (max) 56 days interest free ? MAYBE this option would allow you to pay most of the insurance on your debit card and the remainder on the cc, whilst giving you 56 days to pay off the rest - obviously this will only work if you have the amount owing coming in over next 56 days..do you have a summer job that enables you to do this?

If you did this you would be building a credit history as well as enabling you to pay the insurance under your own steam?

sorry for typos, got a grumpy baby attached to my hip this afternoon

ElkyElky · 17 June 2010 at 1:33PM

Jon_B wrote: »

I've had a prime credit card for a year that is paid off in full almost every month. Trust me, apart from my outstanding overdraft my credit file is fine.

Consider repaying the overdraft then...

What you could do is apply for the Virgin credit card to enjoy a lovely 14 month interest free period and SBT your overdraft to it. Well.. you would have been able to do that had you built up more of a credit history.

bouncydog1 · 17 June 2010 at 1:42PM

Would your dad be able to pay the bill for you on his card and then you pay him what you have got saved in one lump sum and set up a payment plan for the balance - you could set up a standing order. You could offer to pay a bit of interest to him.

Then I would start trying to build up your credit history - there are plenty of posts on the site on how to do that - perhaps approach your own bank for a card with a very low limit, use each month and pay off in full. Just don't get spending up to the limit seeing it as cash you have rather than potential debt!

Make sure you get yourself on the electoral roll and make an application for your credit report - perhaps there is something on there that is fraudulent that affected your application - at least if you can see what it says you have a starting point to do something about it.

Well done for trying to get yourself financially aware - it's a lesson that a lot of people on this site probably regret not learning earlier!

Fiddlestick · 17 June 2010 at 3:29PM

Jon_B wrote: »

Well considering I was a student for 3 years only graduating last year with £22,000 of student debt I was never in a position to be offered credit, let alone all my other peers who were living in the breadline. Trust me, my credit file is almost perfect, suffice for the fact I still have an outstanding overdraft that funnily enough I accrued during my student life, when all I had to worry about was where my next pint was gonna come from.

How nice for you.

I - and most other people I went to Uni with - had to worry about the rent, bills, food and making ends meet before worrying about the next pint.

I had no real choice other than to take a part time job, as otherwise £4,500 is really not a lot to live off for a year.

The fact banks offer students credit cards is abhorrent in itself, especially with the abundance of interest free overdrafts about

The mistake I made as a student was viewing that very same interest free overdraft as "free money", with little thought to paying it back.

I'm older and wiser now, but I suspect I wasn't the first and won't be the last student to be caught like that.

With regards to credit cards, a blanket ban for "students" would be wrong as it takes no account of credit worthiness, financial acumen, or ability to pay.

If I went back to University to do a Masters I would (ideally) be a mature student with savings and a clean financial record, plus a partner who works full time. Why then should I not be allowed a credit card just because I was a student?

To be honest any responsible parent wouldn't be recommending financial help from the banks at all and would maybe lend the money themselves to be repaid as and when.

It's always nice when parents can help out, but not everyone has that luxury not to mention that it doesn't teach good financial habits.

jewellybear · 17 June 2010 at 8:43PM

As a brief reply to all these posts...

Just tried applying for the Tesco credit card, failed. Hmm. Thinking about going into my local alliance and liecester branch (which one of my current accounts is with) and seeing if they might be able to stretch their criteria slightly for their credit card. I've dumped my Halifax student account overdraft (0%) in there all year for the high interest and so both the current and saving accounts I have with them have been well in credit all year. After all the bursaries and scholarships I get, my combined loan/grant last year was about £6700 and should be around the same this year, so they may hopefully be able to sort something else.

Parental borrowing is 99% out of the question as I have more cash generally than them anyway, (and Dad admitted to considering asking to borrow some from me when things got a little tight!)

As to why I "need" the car:
I will need a car at the end of next academic year anyway for a placement year
I am fed up with having to travel on trains so much (I have a long distance relationship)
I had it given to me as an 18th Birthday present and was sitting around costing money anyway in insurance under my dads name once I had passed my test in case it got nicked etc.
Cars are both a personal interest/hobby and a career path for me, and have waited years to have one of my own.

As I am narrowly short of the full payment, does anyone have any other ideas that would cost me less in the long run than having to pay the interest on monthly payments. Does anyone know what typical interest rate insurers use?

[Deleted User] · 17 June 2010 at 11:49PM

I doubt that most insurers charge more than the average cc.

GEEGEE8 · 17 June 2010 at 11:54PM

Just pay monthly for the insurance.. simple..

markfresh · 18 June 2010 at 2:14AM

College credit cards are not very different from other types of credit cards in the basic sense; they function in the same way as any credit card would. However, there are some differences, which basically arise from the fact that college credit cards are used by people who have no prior experience with credit cards and who perhaps don't understand the concept of credit cards completely. Hence, the credit card supplier is at risk with issuing credit cards (college credit cards) to such people whom he is not sure about. Most of the students don't have a credit history either. In such a case, the supplier of college credit card cannot be sure of receiving the credit card bill payments in time (and even receiving them at all). To counter such risks, the supplier of college credit card requires the parent of the student to co-sign the college credit card application as a guarantee.

Credit Card Application For Student

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