Student Credit Cards

As well as student credit cards issued to complement these bank accounts, there are a few credit card issuers in the UK who actively promote their credit cards to students. You can expect to see these companies around university campus fairs, and you will see their adverts in publications targeted at young people.

The issuers that provide standalone student credit cards offers are Barclaycard, Capital One and MBNA. Barclaycard specifically offer the Barclaycard Student and Barclaycard Graduate cards, whilst Capital One and MBNA offer standard credit cards, but are prepared to market these to students (how often have students seen Capital One stalls at 'freshers fairs'?).

It is often felt by university counsellors that many students are, at best, reluctant to review their financial position, particularly when living away from home whilst studying at university. This can often be due to a hectic schedule during the term, followed by the joy of receiving a student loan cheque (combined with temporary work), that helps students shy away from making any significant decisions during the holidays.

However, although most students face an irregular income (infrequent student loan payments, temporary work during holidays, some spare cash from parents and possibly part-time work during term-time), this should act as an incentive, not a disincentive to calculate the cheapest way to maintain your finances.

Students are likely to fall into debt while at university (often for a sustained period of time), and the source of this borrowing, and the interest paid, must be given the attention it merits. If you rack up £1000 of credit card debt and carry this over a term, how much will the interest set you back for the term? If, say, you acessed your funds with frequent ATM withdrawals, expect to be paying 20%+ in interest charges. Including cash advance fees (also known as credit card 'loading'), you'll probably be looking at around £70-£100 of interest and fees over a single term!

So why not look for a cheaper alternative? Not only could you consider a student credit card such as the Barclaycard Student, but you could look around for low interest credit cards, many of which you will be able to apply for, although acceptance, as always, will be dependent on your credit score. It may also be worth taking a look at cards with balance transfer offers, although with many of these you will require an income. A good idea would be to take a look at the chance of credit card acceptance' column in our card review section, which should help you understand your chances of a successful application. Students should probably not look at cards that have less than 3 stars on our acceptance scale.

We provide you with further information on student credit cards, with the aim of helping you make an informed decision when it comes to your finances:

Interest rates on student credit cards - Typical APRs of some student credit cards.

Barclaycard Student - As well as our Barclaycard Student Review, we provide a little more information on this card.

Pros and Cons of a student credit card - We look at the advantages and disadvantages of possessing a student credit card.