topic Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative.. in Credit Card Approvals

Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

_bobby_lee — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 21:25:29 GMT

I made a recent post about what card to add to my collection in 2021, where I expressed interest in the US bank cash+ card becuase of the different 5x rotating categories it offers in comparison to the major 5x cards like Disco IT and Chase Freedom. I got many good suggestions and input, but the most interesting was @FormerCollegeDJ bringing the Max Cash card from Elan to my attention and pointed me to this thread:

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Elan-quot-Max-Cash-quot-vs-US-Bank-Cash/m-p/6238024#M1764263

After spending hours reading the 28 pages of discussion (good stuff, but long lol I recommend the read tho) I found the cards to be incredibly similar, and my recent app history and inquiries to be questionable with US Banks standards and in the acceptable range for Elan's standards, based on the data and experiences provided by users in this forum.

The differences in the cards:

US Bank Cash+

5x Back in 2 categories you choose eash quarter, $2000 combined

2x back on one of the following: gas, restaurants, or grocery stores

1x back on everything else

0% APR for 12 months, then 13.99 - 23.99 variable afterwards

No annual fee, but has foreign transaction fees of 2% if run as US currency and 3% for foreign currency

FICO of at least 670 is recommended (per US Bank website)

Recommended stats from other applicants were 0/6 and 1/12 for recent applications on revolvers, and previous relationship with US Bank seemed to give a slight advantage. As for the Max Cash card:

Elan Visa Signature Max Cash Preferrred

5x back in 2 categories of your choice, up to $2000 combined.

2x in one everyday category: gas and transportation, restaurants and fast food, grocery and grocery delivery

1x on everything else

$150 bonus if you spend $500 in first 90 days

No annual fee

14.49 - 23.49% Variable APR

0% APR on transfers for first 12 billing cycles

2% foreign transaction fee

Elan's Card Landing page did not have a suggested credit score and I don't have data on what other applicants have experienced with their credit scores.

Stats from other threads on myFico seemed to suggest that a rough average of 1/6 and 3/12 application history for revolving credit was acceptable for Elan (just based on what I read over the last couple days searching the topic) therefore, a little looser than US Bank.

Comparison of 5x categories:

Max Cash Cash+

TV, Internet, Streaming services TV, Internet, Streaming services

Fast Food Fast Food

Cell Phone Providers Cell Phone Providers

Department Stores Department Stores

Home Utilities Home Utilities

Furtiture Stores Select Clothing Stores

Electronic Stores Electronic Stores

Recreation Sporting Good Stores

Entertainment Movie Theaters

Gyms/Fitness Centers

Furniture Stores

Ground Transportation

I did notice that some of US Banks categories are lumped into one by Elan, so that can work as an advantage if they are to useful categories to you that can be optimized together rather than have to take up 2 separate categories. Also, Max Cash's entertainment includes theme parks which is cool.

Here's links to more details for each card's reward details:

US Bank: https://cashplus.usbank.com/merchants/index

Elan Max Cash: https://card.myaccountaccess.com/credit/elanmicro/pdfs/categories_max_cash_preferred_visa.pdf

So, I went for the Elan card since research suggested they had slightly looser standards and the cards are super similar when compared side by side, with the biggest difference being the Elan sign-up bonus is $150 as opposed to US Bank's $200.

I was instantly approved for a $12.5k credit line and 17% APR (2nd lowest of my 6 cards) having average income and a 770 credit score and 1/6 and 2/12 application history. No derogs and 1 inquiry. I don't know if they pulled TU, EQ or EX but I'll try to come back and update that when I find out.

I'm really excited about adding this card this year, and now I will garden for a little while since my wife and I are thinking about a construction loan late this year. In the meantime, I'll get 5x back on my cellphone bill and fast food! Thanks to all who provided helpful info!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

FormerCollegeDJ — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 05:18:35 GMT

I'm glad I could be of help! The various posters who commented in that US Bank Cash+ vs Elan Financial Max Cash Preferred thread really deserve most of the credit for the useful information they provided in that thread.

One other thing - you should post your approval information and credit card application profile (i.e. how many cards you had applied for in the previous 6 or 12 months and other pertinent information for credit card applications) in that other thread; from reading most of the thread there are various users interested in Elan Financial Services Max Cash Preferred card and your information will provide useful data points for prospective card applicants.

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

AllZero — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 05:57:48 GMT

Congratulations on your approval!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Aim_High — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 07:21:48 GMT

Congratulations on your Max Cash Preferred approval, @_bobby_lee!

And welcome to My Fico forums!
Great approval and thanks so much for providing your data points!
Lots of our members are eyeing this card so it helps us all!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

gdale6 — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 15:37:40 GMT

Didnt even know this card existed till recently, grats on getting it approved

Having an account with Elan does help with getting regular US Bank card offerings in the long run.

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

CreditMagic7 — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 16:25:44 GMT

Congratulations on your MAX approval!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

cashorcharge — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 16:57:39 GMT

That's terrific! Congratulations on your approval!! 🎉🥂

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Credit4Growth — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:03:52 GMT

Thank you for the DPs and Congratulations on your approval!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:16:51 GMT

Congrats

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Curious_George2 — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 22:22:52 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
Didnt even know this card existed till recently, grats on getting it approved

Having an account with Elan does help with getting regular US Bank card offerings in the long run.

This is interesting. I don't recall seeing this mentioned anywhere else. Would you mind elaborating? Does it turn "no" into "yes," or nudge SL higher or APR lower? Any additional info you can share would be great.

(Edited to fix stupid, confusing typo.)

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 23:43:31 GMT

@gdale6 wrote:
Didnt even know this card existed till recently, grats on getting it approved

Having an account with Elan does help with getting regular US Bank card offerings in the long run.

Really? Well...I would find out a few months later as I have a plan on applying for US bank Card. I have two Elan cards (thru Flushing bank) for the last 11 years with huge line of credit, and I also have a long term active banking relationship with Flushing bank for almost 13 years. Just recently...last week only..I used my debit card from Flushing bank on oversees site and they wanted to verify my account with them. They asked me whole bunch of questions and the last question was- the debit card I used with them is from which issuing bank- to which I answered- Flushing bank...because that's what written on the card and I got it from them anyway but they said that its not true and gave me very hard time...and eventually told me that in their system its coming up as US bank...Then I did some search online and found out that US bank owns now Elan Fianancial. I have my eyes on US bank cards for a while, so it would be nice if my relationship with Elan could help me out. I have only one inquiry in 24 months and I know that they are 1/12 most of the times but I still wanna wait a few more months....Hopefully, it would work out just fine...

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

M_Smart007 — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 08:37:08 GMT

Congratulations!

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 14:17:00 GMT

Great approval and thanks for taking the time to break down the Elan vs USB differences / why you went the way you did. It seems more and more people are going for this Cash+ alternative recently due to the solid communication and information on this forum.

Re: Approved for Elan Max Cash Rewards Card as Cash+ alternative..

CreditAggie — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 15:50:39 GMT

Congratulations on your Max Cash approval!

DPs from my Elan Max Cash Approval

_bobby_lee — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 03:03:20 GMT

Wanted to share my data from my recent application and approval for the Elan Max Cash Preferred card.

For those who don't know, the Max Cash is basically the US Bank Cash+ card with slight tweaks made to the reward categories.

I was considering US Bank first but had opened my Freedom Flex in October 2020, and also had a couple inquiries from an auto loan and mortgage loan, and I wasn't as confident about the approval from US Bank based on data shared in other threads about their stinginess.

After gathering some insight from the other thread about the Cash+ and Elan comparison, I did a search for Elan partners in my area and ended up finding a regional bank with a location 20 miles away (not a credit union) whose credit card web page had "Learn More" links that took me straight to the Elan Credit Card landing page. The name is Carter Bank & Trust and is a Virginia/North Carolina bank. I applied on Sunday, got an instant approval, got a confirmation email Monday night, and my card arrived today.

Here were some of my stats:

Score was reporting in the 770's for TU and 760's for Equifax. I had 1 inquiry on TU and 4 reporting on my Equifax.

Income is around $50k/year

Perfect payment history and no derogs, and keep cards between 1-2% utilization.

When I applied I had 5 revolvers total, I was 1/6, 2/12, 2/24 with total CL of $55,400

In the box with the vague wording that said something along the lines of "total amount of money held in your accounts here", I decided to interpret "here" as "in this box" and put an accurate balance of what I had in a different credit union account. Same with the retirement account box. I thought this may come up with more inspection by Elan, but approval was instant and no proof to a connection to the bank was required. I am considering joining the bank so I can deposit my rewards into an account there, but it does not appear that Elan viewed the relationship as a make-or-break element in the approval process. It's hard to know how much weight to give to the relationship as a factor, since there are many variables. It may also be different if you apply for a card through a credit union, since they are typically more member focused and exclusive. Maybe I got lucky by finding a bank?

I ended up with a $12,500 limit and 17.49% APR. Sadly, I didn't find anywhere where it said which bureau they pulled from. This bank only offered the VISA Signature, which I wanted more than the mastercard version anyway becuase I wanted one other card I could use at Costco. I downloaded the Elan App, which appears rudamentary compared to other cc apps and has pretty bad reviews, but it seemed decently easy to use after a first tour of the pages and features. Maybe I'll be leaving my bad review in a few weeks, we'll see.

Hope this helps someone out there! And if I forgot any DPs - just @ me!

Re: DPs from my Elan Max Cash Approval

AllZero — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 03:12:20 GMT

Congratulations on your approval! Thank you for sharing the data points!

Re: DPs from my Elan Max Cash Approval

JoeLuvsHisCredit — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 03:13:42 GMT

Re: DPs from my Elan Max Cash Approval

Ficoproblems247 — Sun, 31 Jan 2021 03:57:19 GMT

@_bobby_lee Much appreciation for all the DPs you shared along the way! Awesome approval!