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Should I get a credit card? Am i eligible ?

Hey, i need £1,500 by July 24th to pay off my advance payment for my student accommodation.. I was considering getting a credit card!

My plan was to take out £1,500 from the credit card, i was going to use that to pay if off then pay it back with my maintenance loan in September which was going to go towards my rent anyways. I get over £8,000 of maintenance loan.

Am i eligible for a credit card? I’m 19, I’m starting uni this September and I’m currently unemployed! Will the interest on the amount be really high by September when i pay it off?? How long will it take for me to get the money? What’s the best bank for me to get a credit card with? And can i close it the account/cancel the card immediately after paying it back??
You should be able to since you're over 18. Go to a bank branch of your choice and discuss with one of the bankers there. Good luck!
Just being 18 won't be enough. They will also look at how much your income is and your credit score.
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Dez
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Original post by Anonymous
Hey, i need £1,500 by July 24th to pay off my advance payment for my student accommodation.. I was considering getting a credit card!

My plan was to take out £1,500 from the credit card, i was going to use that to pay if off then pay it back with my maintenance loan in September which was going to go towards my rent anyways. I get over £8,000 of maintenance loan.

Am i eligible for a credit card? I’m 19, I’m starting uni this September and I’m currently unemployed! Will the interest on the amount be really high by September when i pay it off?? How long will it take for me to get the money? What’s the best bank for me to get a credit card with? And can i close it the account/cancel the card immediately after paying it back??


You may not be able to pay your accommodation using a credit card. Depends on exactly what your arrangement is, but normally only debit cards or bank transfers are allowed for that sort of thing. So the first thing you'd best check is whether your accommodation provider would be willing to accept credit or not.

Further to that, getting a card with a £1500 limit at 19 may be quite difficult, especially since you have basically no credit history. So even if you can pay off your accommodation with a CC, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to borrow that much.

Interest-wise, assuming you got a 20% AER card, you'd probably accrue about £50 in interest over the two months you had the balance outstanding for. That's just an estimate though.

If possible, I'd try and get a student account with an overdraft attached to it, or else borrow the money you need from a different source. You could also talk to your university's student union, they might have some other options you could explore.
I don't think this will be a realistic option.

You would have been told about the advance payment when you signed up to the accommodation. How did you plan to deal with it then (hopefully not leave it until 11 days before it's due?!)

Savings, parents, overdraft, bank loan, speak to uni, change accommodation. Is it private or uni?
Original post by Anonymous
Hey, i need £1,500 by July 24th to pay off my advance payment for my student accommodation.. I was considering getting a credit card!

My plan was to take out £1,500 from the credit card, i was going to use that to pay if off then pay it back with my maintenance loan in September which was going to go towards my rent anyways. I get over £8,000 of maintenance loan.

Am i eligible for a credit card? I’m 19, I’m starting uni this September and I’m currently unemployed! Will the interest on the amount be really high by September when i pay it off?? How long will it take for me to get the money? What’s the best bank for me to get a credit card with? And can i close it the account/cancel the card immediately after paying it back??


The interest won't be pretty.

Have you tried speaking to your uni/accommodation provider to see if you can make a part payment instead of the full £1500? They should accommodate (pardon the pun) for this as they know people don't get their student loan until Sept.

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