Going to uni in September and need to get a credit card quickly! Any recommendations?

Might be worth looking at your current bank, they’ll usually give student cards out
Otherwise there’s the more dubious ones like capital one (they have very high apr though)
To be honest, they don’t actually check your income though only your credit score... or st least they didn’t when I was in uni so you could get whatever card you wanted if you were inclined to be liberal with the facts.

I'd recommend getting a student bank account and reading up about them a little bit, just to understand the advantages of a student account. Your accounts don't have to be with the same providers, so I could have a current account with Barclays and a student account with Nationwide. If you get a normal credit card you could get charged interest for your overdraft and there's no guarantee that you'll get an overdraft because you're a student so you probably don't have much of a credit score because of your credit history.

I don't get what the connection is between a credit card and getting charged interest on on an overdraft? To be honest I really don't care about overdrafts because I don't think I'll need it, they seem to be the only actual benefit of student accounts from what I saw. I just need a credit card for regular purchases.

I need a card just for general daily shopping and online purchases. But I can't find anyone who will give a card to student without a job.

Only thing would be to get a student bank account but I really don't want to switch banks. I like my bank a lot but they don't have a student account.

Can I use parents income on an application forum to get a card? Some places just ask for income instead of employment.

Sorry lol. Because you mentioned a student account I assumed you wanted a credit card because of the overdraft you can also have. Sometimes you have to pay interest on credit cards if you're using the overdraft but on student accounts you don't have to pay any interest and you can also get freebies, so that was the connection for me lol. You mentioned you're already with a bank, so what kind of account do you have?

Just a basic current account, I've never really needed to use it much since my parents pay for food and everything and if I do go out by myself I just use cash. But going to university and buying everything for myself using cash for everything would be such hassle with having to deal with loose change and other nonsense. But I don't get how the credit card is related to an overdraft? Ideally the card issuer will be separate from my bank altogether.

Okay I get it now lol forget the overdraft I assumed you were talking about making another account but I understand you're just talking about a bank card. So I would assume you'd get a credit card with the account? I have a basic current account with Nationwide and I was automatically sent a credit card. I think you should ring or go to your bank and ask for a credit card and then it'll be sent to you. You'll probably need the details of your account (e.g account number, sort code and possibly some for of id). If your bank just doesn't provide a credit card with the account you have, you'll probably have to open another account. But I assume you'll be able to open another current account (that provides a credit card) with the same bank. It's possible that you didn't get a credit card with the account because you were under 18 so it's worth giving your bank a call and seeing if you can get a credit card.

sorry for this mix up, hopefully we're taking about the same thing now lmao

As far as I know banks don't usually give out credit cards automatically with accounts unless you specifically apply for them. My current bank only gives credit cards to people with an income of £10,000 or more which is why I want to get a credit card from a different issuer like maybe Capital One for example. I don't know whether student accounts issue credit cards automatically with the accounts or if they need to be specifically applied for.

Why do you need a credit card rather than using a debit card?

Oh I've honestly never heard of that. Well as for a student account if you're going to uni, your source of income are your student loans so you should definitely be able to get a card with your student account.

As far as I know banks don't usually give out credit cards automatically with accounts unless you specifically apply for them. My current bank only gives credit cards to people with an income of £10,000 or more which is why I want to get a credit card from a different issuer like maybe Capital One for example. I don't know whether student accounts issue credit cards automatically with the accounts or if they need to be specifically applied for.

Credit cards are an account in themselves, you can't have one issued as PART of another account. They get their own account number ect

No bank will issue one automatically, you need to ask/accept the terms and conditions (they normally just send you as lot of junkmail about how 'pre approved!' you are)

No, you can't use your parents income, you'll have a v hard time getting one tbh, as generally they don't consider student loans as income, and they're not legally allowed to offer you credit you cannot possibly repay (on an income of zero)

I think firstly you need to get clearer on what a credit and debit card are. There’s been some pretty sketchy advice here.

Credit card with a credit limit is essentially spending someone else’s money. They’re good as they can offer extra rewards e.g club card points, or rewards schemes. But many you can get as a low income earner or student have ridiculously high APR and if you rack up the spending and can’t pay it back you’ll end up owing a lot of money before you’ve even started out in life. They can be useful for large purchases as you can delay paying the lump sum and, as you mentioned you’re protected if the purchase falls through/goods not as described IF the company you bought from can’t refund you. But this only applies to purchases of a value >£100. Credit cards are no safer from fraud than debit cards. My husband had his cloned earlier on in the year - he suspects at a restaurant in London - they spent over £700 on it, but he was no better protected than he would have been with a debit card. Maybe less so as banks are more inclined to track and map your spending and might be more likely to recognise fraudulent transactions faster than credit card companies.

Debit cards are directly linked to your current account and money is debited immediately (almost) when you purchase things with it. Sort code and account number are used for transfers and standing orders, not purchases. Unless you own the account with proof of ID you can’t use these to withdraw money. Obviously you can only spend what you have with a debit card and there are no longer-lasting credit implications - unless you get deep into your overdraft and can’t pay it back, but you already said you don’t want an overdraft.

There are very few banks that don’t offer a bank card (not credit card) with their accounts. Exceptions would be savings accounts or children’s accounts which mature into current accounts when the child reaches a certain age - maybe this is what you have which is why you don’t have a card? If you download the banking app that comes with whichever bank you choose you can also log in and stop payments, stop the card, transfer money and contact them through the app if you suspect any fraudulent activity.

I would simply open another current account - preferably a student one - with another bank and transfer my money into it online to use for spending with the card. Then you don’t have to use cash, but your original account remains protected as you’re only transferring money from it to another account you own.

If this is too long. Basically don’t get a credit card at 18, especially one with a high APR, just apply for another bank account and use the card that comes with that.

AND if you’re worried about online fraud: DON’T buy from dodgy online stores. Keep to the main ones, use PayPal if buying from friends or unknown people (you won’t be able to use the credit card anyway as you’ll be charged for balance transfers) and be careful and responsible with your spending.