Stuliasz Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 Alright people, I've stayed away from the things up to now but I need one as I'm going to Australia in the summer and need a credit card to pay for some of the larger costs when I'm over there. As I have no credit history and am a student with no employment income, I am finding it difficult to get an applications accepted. So two questions really: Does anyone know of a student Visa/Mastercard that would let you get started without a credit history? I'm sure there must be because you have to start somewhere. Secondly, on the application forms I have just been putting down £0 as my income but was thinking, should I put my student loan on to this instead of employment income as I am a student? Thanks for the anticipated help.
Newcastle_Fox Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 Have u tried applying for a student credit card with the bank you currently have you student account with? I am with Natwest and I can get a student credit card with them if I apply.
Matt Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 Don't know how you want to go about it but I use Debit Cards, Atleast then you only use whats in your account and theres no way of getting into debt...Sure you can use Debit Cards over there.
Head Honcho Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 The maximum credit limit you will get anyway is around £750 so get yourself a part-time job and you won't need to lie about income, I doubt your student loan will be enough to cover any credit as this is a debt. Whatever you do don't lie on your application as if it all goes tits up they will do you for fraud, whereas if you don't lie on your form the most you will have to do is pay it back when you can afford it. You could always get your folks to cover it for you the banks are usually happy with that!
Stuliasz Posted 21 April 2006 Author Posted 21 April 2006 Have u tried applying for a student credit card with the bank you currently have you student account with? I am with Natwest and I can get a student credit card with them if I apply. I've got a student current account with HSBC but they don't do a student credit card unfortunately. Don't know how you want to go about it but I use Debit Cards, Atleast then you only use whats in your account and theres no way of getting into debt...Sure you can use Debit Cards over there. I have just opened a current account with Nationwide for this purpose as they don't add charges but for bigger purchases I won't be able to withdraw enough, like vehicle hire over there is going to be a massive cost and I need a credit card for things like that.. The maximum credit limit you will get anyway is around £750 so get yourself a part-time job and you won't need to lie about income, I doubt your student loan will be enough to cover any credit as this is a debt. Whatever you do don't lie on your application as if it all goes tits up they will do you for fraud, whereas if you don't lie on your form the most you will have to do is pay it back when you can afford it. You could always get your folks to cover it for you the banks are usually happy with that! If I could afford the time to get a job I would but my course costs me 50 hours a week in time spent working. I have never planned on lying on the application form but I just wondered simply if I could use my student loan as an income. The plan is for my parents to pay off my credit card bills while I'm over there (I'm only there for 5 weeks) and any cash I need out there use the debit card from the current account I opened.
Newcastle_Fox Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 Maybe you could prebook the vehicle hire and large purchases from the uk and do bank transfers to the companies. So you wouldnt need a credit card, on the other side you would be tied to a schedule.
Stuliasz Posted 21 April 2006 Author Posted 21 April 2006 Maybe you could prebook the vehicle hire and large purchases from the uk and do bank transfers to the companies. So you wouldnt need a credit card, on the other side you would be tied to a schedule. Yeh while we have a rough schedule of what we're gonna do, we can't really stick to anything too rigid. Need to pay for things as and when really.
Scow Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 When applying for any sort of credit or lending, lenders tend to see things in black or white - they use their own automated scorecards, which allows them to consider what risk you may be to that organisation. So they'll check your credit history, either using Experian or Equifax. They'll also check your income against your outgoings, along with other factors which they analyse from the application. The only way to perhaps get around this is to arrange an appointment at your local branch and explain the situation to them before going ahead with a credit scoring application. If you get rejected, it doesn't help with further credit/lending applications in the future. An overdraft facility could be an option instead of a credit card. HSBC are usually fairly strict with lending though.
Head Honcho Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 I've got a student current account with HSBC but they don't do a student credit card unfortunately. I have just opened a current account with Nationwide for this purpose as they don't add charges but for bigger purchases I won't be able to withdraw enough, like vehicle hire over there is going to be a massive cost and I need a credit card for things like that.. If I could afford the time to get a job I would but my course costs me 50 hours a week in time spent working. I have never planned on lying on the application form but I just wondered simply if I could use my student loan as an income. The plan is for my parents to pay off my credit card bills while I'm over there (I'm only there for 5 weeks) and any cash I need out there use the debit card from the current account I opened. No offence meant buddy! Why don't you ask your folks to sort something out with their bank for you I'm sure they'd be happy to help! Then again there's always paypal or one of these money exchange places but I'd go for paypal as the others charge about 10-15% commission whereas I've been told paypal is around 3-5%!
Anish Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 When I was at uni in my 2nd year some representatives from Barclaycard came and set up a stall in our union for credit card applications. I applied for a student credit card (I think the credit limit was around £500) and got it even though I didn't have a job at the time and didn't have any earnings. I'm sure there's credit cards out there for students (try Barclaycard), and I don't think it would be appropriate to claim your loan as being as income.
Nationwider Posted 21 April 2006 Posted 21 April 2006 When I was at uni in my 2nd year some representatives from Barclaycard came and set up a stall in our union for credit card applications. I applied for a student credit card (I think the credit limit was around £500) and got it even though I didn't have a job at the time and didn't have any earnings. I'm sure there's credit cards out there for students (try Barclaycard), and I don't think it would be appropriate to claim your loan as being as income. The same happened to me. I think my limit was about the same. Probably your best bet is to get your parents to make you an additional cardholder on an existing credit card of theirs? Most cards can have 2-4 actual cards on one account. At the end of the day, the original applicant will be liable for all debts you rack up, so the CC company may not that be bothered about who else has one. I may be wrong about this, but it would save the hassle of going through credit checks.
Knighton Matt Posted 22 April 2006 Posted 22 April 2006 There's lots of student credit card offers here I'm sure one of those will sort you out if they're being advertised on a student site.
The People's Hero Posted 22 April 2006 Posted 22 April 2006 I graduated in summer and have a credit card from HSBC with decent limits... just explain your situation to them.
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