Personal Finance

I Need My First Ever Credit Card - Student

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  • Jul 29th, 2013 3:43 pm
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Aug 1, 2008
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dankup wrote: Ah I see, exclusive cards for current members of other cards. Interesting method by MBNA. Hopefully, I'll get the SC card. If not, well I don't have a second choice yet :razz: . Thanks for your help Webslinger!
you can always convert your SC to mbna rewards later.

But I would start with mbna rewards personnaly
I feel the need... the need for speed.
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Feb 10, 2013
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:) my credit union gave me a 0.5 cashback card. Not that good but cash back. With no income and only govt tax credits as income, they still gave me a 2.5k limit. High enough limit to pay tuition with in one go. my 1st serious cc had a 2.5k limit. Has perchase protection, extended warranty. Try your local credit union. After I moved my accounts to vancity, the rep helped me apply for a cc and gave me a 2.5k credit limit. Though maybe it helped that a classmate's mom worked there. LoL, vancity actually gave me two ccs in one day. a $500 0.5 cashback card "for online purchases" and a $2.5k for tuition. I got a rebates rewards card easily at td due to my parents having accounts there. Was my 1st cc ever. I guess they figured they can always yank the money out from my parents bank accounts if i don't pay up. If worst comes to worst, try signing up at your parents bank.
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Jul 8, 2010
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Bomberman07 wrote: you can always convert your SC to mbna rewards later.

But I would start with mbna rewards personnaly
I would but since I'm not going to be spending anything close to that limit on the SC card, I'll stick with it.
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Apr 1, 2013
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While I do think the MBNA Smart Cash and Student Rewards Cards are good options ([...]) you might also want to consider the Scotia Scene card. It's also a no fee credit card, and you redeem your points for Cineplex (and related brands) movie tickets. You get 4 free tickets when you apply, and approximately 1.35% back in the form of movie tickets for each dollar spent. The only draw back to the card is that you have to also be a member of the Scene program (which is free to be a member of and also provides you with great benefits as a stand alone loyalty program) but it just takes a little longer to apply.

I would also ignore any advice to apply for a student credit card from your retail bank. There's no benefit to it. MBNA and Scotia both have their own underwriting designed specifically for students with no or minimal credit history and lack of income. Also, all the banks will use the credit bureaus to make future credit decisions on products you may need in the future i.e. mortgage, line of credit, car loan, and don't rely on you having a credit history with their institution.
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Thanks greedyrates, but I'm not big on movies so I'm not interested in the Scene card. When applying for the Smart Cash card, do I put my income as 0 even if I still have some money in my bank account?
Newbie
Apr 1, 2013
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dankup wrote: Thanks greedyrates, but I'm not big on movies so I'm not interested in the Scene card. When applying for the Smart Cash card, do I put my income as 0 even if I still have some money in my bank account?
Welcome. The money in your bank are your assets not your income. Your annual income would be the money you earn every year, whether from a job, interest from savings and or dividend income.
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Jul 8, 2010
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Yeah you're right. Hope I get approved for the SC card..
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On this website atm http://www.mbna.ca/myschool.html#calcul ... 2/CashBack and it says cash back starts @ 5,000 points which equals $50. So there is a minimum amount I need to get cash back then it seems.

5,000 points = $5,000 spent = $50 cash back <-- Student Rewards MC
To get $50 cash back on the Smart Cash card, I'd need to spend $2,500 ($50/2%), assuming my spending is only gas/groceries and yes, I am aware it's $400 a month max but I won't go over that.

Don't see where it says 1% cash back.
Newbie
Apr 1, 2013
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dankup wrote: On this website atm http://www.mbna.ca/myschool.html#calcul ... 2/CashBack and it says cash back starts @ 5,000 points which equals $50. So there is a minimum amount I need to get cash back then it seems.

5,000 points = $5,000 spent = $50 cash back <-- Student Rewards MC
To get $50 cash back on the Smart Cash card, I'd need to spend $2,500 ($50/2%), assuming my spending is only gas/groceries and yes, I am aware it's $400 a month max but I won't go over that.

Don't see where it says 1% cash back.
The Smart Cash card gives 1% cash back on all purchases other than Gas & Groceries, but not beyond your earning cap. Yes there is a minimum amount to earn your cash back points, but the advantage over other programs, that some like, is that it is automatically sent to you when you reach your $50 and it is not applied against your balances. Some other programs do it once per year and then apply your cashback against your credit card outstandings...
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Jul 8, 2010
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Oh ok I see. Another question.. should I even bother applying for cards that have a minimum income level requirement? The AMEX Gold Rewards card is a great card but I won't meet the income requirement. Yet I have money in the bank and am willing to pay off the whole balance every month. Would it fail and I would be denied, thus hurting my credit score?
Newbie
Apr 1, 2013
12 posts
dankup wrote: Oh ok I see. Another question.. should I even bother applying for cards that have a minimum income level requirement? The AMEX Gold Rewards card is a great card but I won't meet the income requirement. Yet I have money in the bank and am willing to pay off the whole balance every month. Would it fail and I would be denied, thus hurting my credit score?
Not sure what your assets are, but you would likely fail if you don't have an income. One of the reasons for the minimum income requirement (aside from Network Rules and the Voluntary Code of Conduct), is that it helps issuers predict your spend on the card and place you with the right card, from their perspective. What they don't want is to approve people for the Gold Rewards card, which waives the first year annual fee, and gives you a free flight, to get those benefits, but never spend enough on the card to give them a chance to earn their up-front investment in you back.

[...]
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dankup wrote: On this website atm http://www.mbna.ca/myschool.html#calcul ... 2/CashBack and it says cash back starts @ 5,000 points which equals $50. So there is a minimum amount I need to get cash back then it seems.

5,000 points = $5,000 spent = $50 cash back <-- Student Rewards MC
Yes, and that can be dumped directly onto your credit card account whenever you feel like it as opposed to having to wait for a cheque to be issued.
Or, if you choose, you can also have a cheque issued to you, but most prefer not to.

Also you get $10 for your first purchase and $10 on your card's anniversary date.
To get $50 cash back on the Smart Cash card, I'd need to spend $2,500 ($50/2%), assuming my spending is only gas/groceries and yes, I am aware it's $400 a month max but I won't go over that.
Well, it's actually 5% on gas and groceries on up to $400/month spending for the first 6 months.
Then it's 2% on gas and groceries on up to $400/month spending thereafter.

And you have to wait for a cheque to be issued and mailed to you.
Don't see where it says 1% cash back.
On up to $1250/month spending

https://www.applyonlinenow.com/CACCapp/ ... P&lc=en_CA

Also visit http://forums.redflagdeals.com/mbna-sma ... ou-722828/ and read the first post in the thread.
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Jul 8, 2010
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Alright well after doing some more research I can conclude one thing.. At the moment I'm very limited in choosing credit cards because of no income :razz: MBNA Student Rewards and MBNA Smart Cash seem to be the best from what is available for people like me. I'll be choosing one of them over the weekend.
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The only problem with Webslinger's advice is that it's too future-planned, which you can't always do for credit products because they (and their rules) change all the time. You should only get what's good at the time and hope that if it's free, it remains free and also doesn't get cut down later down the road.

I genuinely believe that with your current low spend and (probably) young age, your FIRST card should be BMO SPC MC or MBNA Smart Cash. Extended warranty is very beneficial and so is purchase protection, so get a card that includes that! The caps are not important unless you plan to spend over $10000 a year on a credit card with no income. Don't co-sign a credit card..if you're worried about income requirements, you can put in your parents' income under "household income." Put in your tax credits as well down as income, that will help a little bit. Rewards aren't that important for you right now, the difference of 0.5% over $3600 of spend in a year (for example) is a whopping $18! When your credit history improves over time and you're ready for your second card, you can start looking at whatever is best at that time, or just getting a credit limit increase. There's no harm to getting more credit if you're credit-wise, it can only help your credit in the immediate future by decreasing your utilization.
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lhsonic wrote: The only problem with Webslinger's advice is that it's too future-planned, which you can't always do for credit products because they (and their rules) change all the time. You should only get what's good at the time and hope that if it's free, it remains free and also doesn't get cut down later down the road.

I genuinely believe that with your current low spend and (probably) young age, your FIRST card should be BMO SPC MC or MBNA Smart Cash. Extended warranty is very beneficial and so is purchase protection, so get a card that includes that! The caps are not important unless you plan to spend over $10000 a year on a credit card with no income. Don't co-sign a credit card..if you're worried about income requirements, you can put in your parents' income under "household income." Put in your tax credits as well down as income, that will help a little bit. Rewards aren't that important for you right now, the difference of 0.5% over $3600 of spend in a year (for example) is a whopping $18! When your credit history improves over time and you're ready for your second card, you can start looking at whatever is best at that time, or just getting a credit limit increase. There's no harm to getting more credit if you're credit-wise, it can only help your credit in the immediate future by decreasing your utilization.
Yeah that's what I'm saying. I like Webslinger's advice but who knows what type of promotions cards will come with in 5 years from now. So yes, I decided to work with what I need now. The SPC isn't that good compared to the Smart Cash card (which is what I'm most likely going to get). Extended warranty is a good perk but most of my spending will be gas and food. No electronics most likely, but it doesn't hurt.

$10,000 a year? Haha. I wish I could spend that much! Although with tuition hitting the mid 7,000s, that is actually a possibility...

I would prefer to put down my household income and be approved for almost any card that comes with sign up bonuses, better cash back, more rewards, etc, but all the card companies ask for personal/spousal income, which is $0 so I'm SOL.

Yeah I did the math, a whopping $10 over thousands of dollars of everyday purchases is nothing to lose sleep over.
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yulett wrote: I'm student and have $400+ biweekly income, coming directly to my RBC account and they denied my Student credit card application, as well as MBNA (Smart Cash) and CT. Then finally I got approved for Scotiabank's L'earn VISA
Yep, Smart Cash is not approved as often for students as some think, which is one reason I didn't bother listing it.
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Webslinger wrote: Yep, Smart Cash is not approved as often for students as some think, which is one reason I didn't bother listing it.
Yeah I've read some posts about that too. And then I read some where it was fine with no problems.. weird.
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dankup wrote: Yeah I've read some posts about that too. And then I read some where it was fine with no problems.. weird.
Some students are approved for it, but, as I said, I know three who were declined. And they were, instead, approved for the MBNA Student Rewards MC.

If you are declined for the MBNA Student Rewards MC, then I think you're going to have a very tough time in general.
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Webslinger wrote: Some students are approved for it, but, as I said, I know three who were declined. And they were, instead, approved for the MBNA Student Rewards MC.

If you are declined for the MBNA Student Rewards MC, then I think you're going to have a very tough time in general.
Well then I'll apply for the Student Rewards and if not, then the simple guaranteed approved card from a local bank will do.
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dankup wrote: Well then I'll apply for the Student Rewards and if not, then the simple guaranteed approved card from a local bank will do.
I don't want to dissuade you from applying to SC. I also did mention earlier you may be approved for it. There's nothing really stopping you from applying to SC and, if you're declined, MBNA Student Rewards MC. The other three students I mentioned did the exact same thing.

I am saying that you shouldn't think SC is a slam-dunk just because you're a student.

What I would start worrying about is applying for more than 3 cards within a 3 month period.

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