Which Student Credit Card to pick?

[pinkcandii]

Hello

I was wondering if any fellow students (college or university) would know which credit card is the best for...well students?

From my observations, here in Vancouver most students have the CIBC student card...



EDIT: I currently bank with 3 different banks (TD, HSBC, CC) and have a part-time job income (approx. 20-30 hours a week).

[Milfman]

From my observations, here in Vancouver most students have the CIBC student card...


Well uh... there you have it

[smolek]

Get a card that is linked to the bank you hold your main account with.

This makes it easier to do online payments, check your balances, and keeping it all within one bank makes it that much simpler.

[drowsy]

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722828

[sachinator]

Get a card that is linked to the bank you hold your main account with.

This makes it easier to do online payments, check your balances, and keeping it all within one bank makes it that much simpler.

+1. If you start off with the same bank as a student, it helps you down the road, as the bank sees that you use them for your banking, credit card, etc., it becomes much easier for you to apply for LOC, loans or mortgage, depending on how your credit activity is on the credit card, no nsf's in the bank account, etc.

[tng11]

+1. If you start off with the same bank as a student, it helps you down the road, as the bank sees that you use them for your banking, credit card, etc., it becomes much easier for you to apply for LOC, loans or mortgage, depending on how your credit activity is on the credit card, no nsf's in the bank account, etc.

There's some element of truth to this as the bank has its own internal scoring systems for clients. But in reality that doesn't matter too much if you have a stellar credit file, banks will be chasing after you to do business with them and they will give you their best rate for LOCs and mortgage. If your credit is borderline then that's where it probably helps the most but people with long lasting relationships with a certain bank will still get turned down if their score is bad or have ratios out of line.

OP: I'd just get a credit card where your main bank is now, use it for a while to build up some history and you can move on to better cards once there's more history. If you have an account you should quite easily get a $500 limit even if you have no income. (In my case, I was banking with 5 banks when I turned 18 and I was able to get a card from all of them without much problem).

[brunes]

If you have income, there is no need to get a "student" card.

Student cards suck and generally have little or no rewards. When I was a student, I had co-op income, and thus got a "normal" no-fee card with rewards.

If you don't have any income or have little/bad credit and thus HAVE to get a student card, then go with the BMO SPC card. At least it gives you some benefit (saves you the $10 cost of buying an SPC card, and also you only need to carry 1 thing in your wallet)

I see no benefit to the CIBC student card at all.

[applecheeks]

If you have income, there is no need to get a "student" card.

Student cards suck and generally have little or no rewards. When I was a student, I had co-op income, and thus got a "normal" no-fee card with rewards.

If you don't have any income or have little/bad credit and thus HAVE to get a student card, then go with the BMO SPC card. At least it gives you some benefit (saves you the $10 cost of buying an SPC card, and also you only need to carry 1 thing in your wallet)

I see no benefit to the CIBC student card at all.

Good point, I didn't realize that. I'm on a RBC student card, but I realized that I would qualify for many of the "normal" cards too. I might consider switching.

[mada726]

There's the BMO SPC Mastercard (which I currently have). There's no annual fee unless you want to opt in for a low-rate option. You can get student discounts plus you can either get cashback or the Air Miles option.

For my situation, I have the one with Air Miles on it. You earn one Air Miles reward mile per $20CDN spent. For cashback, its 0.5% cashback on every card purchase.

RBC has a Student VISA, so does TD. Even Scotiabank has one too.

My advice - do you research.

[ditachan]

I'm with RBC student and I get the $1/1pt deal. RBC is really good with customer service, no wait times on the phone and they deal with chargebacks and fee adjustments promptly.

I also have a savings account with them and their online banking interface is really straight-forward and convenient.

The only thing I am not too fond is their $1500 credit limit for students, makes it hard during the summer when I go on vacation.

Another card that you may look into is the MBNA smart cash card, I recently got mine and the cash back ratio beats RBC. (RBC is about $12,000 for a $100 gift card at a retailer, while MBNA is $10,000 for $100 cash back (referring to the 1% cashback, even more with the 3% groceries))

[jyeung]

Student cards are generally pretty bad. I primarily use HSBC, so I originally had an HSBC Mastercard.

Since then, I got a MBNA SPG Mastercard, MBNA Platinum Plus 0% BT/18months, a Business Gold Amex, a Airmiles Amex (getting rid of this one) and a Blue Sky Amex.

I prefer the SPG Mastercard over everything else and that's my primary card, along with the Amex Blue Sky. Amex and MBNA have both given me ridiculously high credit limits.

So if you end up getting a student card, use it for a bit until you have some credit. Then switch to something more useful.

- Jason

[Corvillus]

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=722828

+1. Since you're a student, the easiest way to do this is get whatever card your university is hawking, since it's probably MBNA that's issuing it, and you're pretty much guaranteed to get it. Once you have it, call in and get it converted to the Smart Cash MC. Much better than most student cards, as you'll have much better rewards, platinum benefits, and a signifcantly lower interest rate than most student cards.

[boyoflondon]

I asked this question last week. It came down to the advice given here. Just go with what bank you're currently with as a student you should not be thinking about debt...

:confused:


I would refrain from giving any further advice.

[Corvillus]

I asked this question last week. It came down to the advice given here. Just go with what bank you're currently with as a student you should not be thinking about debt...

Perhaps not debt, but there's other reasons for getting a credit card. First of all, debit cards that can be used widely online are expensive, what with activation and balance reloading fees. Not to mention unsafe, if your card gets compromised, that money is gone. So for online purchases, a credit card makes much more sense.

In addition, credit cards are the easiest way for a student to start building a credit score from a young age. They're revolving accounts, which increase available credit, which provided aren't heavily used, increase credit score.

[tiger_handheld]

When I was a student, i applied for a RBC Classic II Student card. A No fee card because i had an account with RBC. It gave me 1pt for $1 spent, and after about 1 year and half, i went to Toronto with my points (converted 20k points for $200 off the air ticket) :). Since then i've switched over to an RBC Avion, and have accumulated enuff points for a trip to hawaii :). By the way I'm still a student.

I also have a BMO SPC Student Mastercard. Only got this so i have 1 of each card type, and i get to save on 5-25% at SPC retailers, and get to collect points when i pay for the goods with my Avion. One of the few times you'll get to double dip in life.

[guessaaa]

The only thing I am not too fond is their $1500 credit limit for students, makes it hard during the summer when I go on vacation.

$1500 credit limit? I've got $5000 which they say is the most anyone can get on a student card.

[cybo]

$1500 credit limit? I've got $5000 which they say is the most anyone can get on a student card.

I have the same limit, and was told the same. $1500 isn't the max for RBC's student cards...

[ditachan]

I have the same limit, and was told the same. $1500 isn't the max for RBC's student cards...

Oops yeah my max is 1500 because they only let me increase my limit every 6 months and I thought 1500 was enough (not for vacation!)