Student Credit Card

Everybody knows that being a student is tough.

Assignments, exams, student loans, rent, work (and let’s not forget a social life), are all things that students have to juggle that can sometimes make it a little hard to make ends meet.

Australia’s banks have recognized this and have decided to make things just a little bit easier for all you students out there. All you need to do is first decide whether you need a credit card or a debit card. Will you need a bit of extra cash from time to time? Or do you just need the ability to make purchases online and over the phone?

Remember that with a credit card you will be subject to credit history checks, and with a debit card you’ll only be able to spend your own money and won’t be able to rely on credit if the need arises. So weigh up your options and make the choice that’s best for you.

Editor's Choice - Student Credit Cards

Student Credit Card Reviews

Citibank Visa Debit Card

FEATURES SUMMARY

    • Apply online
    • Fee-waive option
    • Visa Entertainment
    • Australia Post Bank@Post service


Citibank’s debit cards are pretty well hidden on the bank’s website so is a little harder to find than most. But when you do find it you’ll see that you can apply for a Citibank Visa debit card through a Citibank Plus Transaction account.

The fee for this account and debit card is $5 per month.

This is yet another fence sitter in Australia’s debit card range – not quite expensive, but it’s definitely not free either! But there is some good news… If you arrange to have your regular salary of $3000 or more (per month) credited directly to your Citibank Plus Transaction account, that $5 fee will be waived, and you’ll be $5 richer!

With free internet and phone banking, as well as a monthly statement, you’ll have no problem keeping track of your purchases made online, over the phone, and in retail outlets anywhere in the world.

So not only is it convenient but it’s cheap too, with no ATM fees at Citibank, Westpac, St.George and BankSA ATMs around Australia. Although it is important to note that this excludes St George ATM’s at BP station outlets.

With this bank debit card you’ll also be able to link up to three other high interest savings accounts free of charge. So when you want to use money from these savings accounts to make a purchase online or over the phone, simply transfer the funds from your high interest savings account to your Transaction account you’ll be away laughing.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

Suncorp Visa Debit Card

FEATURES SUMMARY

  • $0
    • Eftpos
    • Phone/Internet banking
    • Suncorp ATM’s
    • Apply online
    • Visa Entertainment
    • Visa Zero Liability
    • Australia Post Bank@Post service
    • Secondary cardholders linked for free
    • Card can be linked to multiple accounts



Suncorp is another Australian bank that offers no fees for their debit cards, and absolutely no fees for transactions. All you have to do is make sure that you remember to press credit when making purchases.

This debit card also has an aesthetically pleasing feature called Suncorp Bank Card Skins. When you apply for your Suncorp Visa debit card you can choose an image of your own or from the Suncorp image gallery to have on the front of your card.

This feature is a smart move on Suncorp’s behalf, because with so many cards on offer from a number of banks, features such as this can really sway someone’s debit card choice. And while it does cost $15 it is an optional extra, if you don’t want it you don’t have to have it.

A Suncorp Visa debit card offers it’s cardholders a savings account that yields high interest, but its also available on the Everyday Options, Everyday Basics, Cash Management and 55 plus accounts so the choice is there if you need it.

Unfortunately you do have to take the good with the bad, so there are a few downsides to this card. The first is that it does allow you to go into overdraft rather than just declining your purchase, at which point you will get stung not only with fees but interest as well.

The second is that Suncorp is not linked with any other ATM networks so you will have to pay fees at all other bank’s ATMs.

See our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

NAB Classic Banking Visa Debit Card

FEATURES SUMMARY

  • $0
    • Apply online
    • MasterCard Applause
    • Transaction monitoring
    • No minimum opening balance
    • Australia Post Bank@Post service


NAB has three different debit cards available for their customers, with just one being tailored to the needs of students, and that is the NAB Classic Banking Visa.

There are a number of benefits for a student using the NAB Classic Banking debit card, starting with the monthly fee. For most people this debit card has a monthly fee of $5, but for full time students that are 18 years or older, this fee is waived every month.

So you’ll get unlimited free access to your cash through Eftpos, ATM’s, phone and internet banking and of course branch transactions. You’ll also get the choice of 4 card colours, full access to Visa Entertainment’s exclusive offers and 90 day Purchase Protection insurance.

So if you’ve just bought a new laptop for school using your NAB debit card and it’s lost, stolen or accidentally broken, NAB’s got you covered. You’ll get it replaced or fixed free of charge.

And don’t worry if you’re a bit too strapped for cash to open the account just yet, there’s no minimum opening balance. So you can open your account with as little as $1 and deposit your funds later.

See all our top credit card picks in the Editor’s Choice category

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Disclaimer - Information found on this website is current and up to date at the time of publishing, with reasonable efforts being made to maintain its accuracy. The Credit Card Guide features a limited selection of the credit cards available in Australia and recommends seeking independent financial advice to suit your circumstances. At times we receive a small commission from some credit card companies if you sign up after clicking the "Apply Online" buttons on this website. The content is provided as general information and should not be taken as professional financial advice.