topic Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved in Credit Card Approvals

Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Curious_George2 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 16:55:40 GMT

I applied for Elan's Max Cash Preferred Visa, through a small, local credit union I joined a few months ago with a token amount on deposit. I answered the question about how much I have on deposit "here" with just that small amount. Received instant approval for $20k at their lowest advertised APR of 11.99%.

They pulled TU, which surprised me a little. All prior MCP apps I had seen from my state, California, resulted in an EX pull. Perhaps I should have expected TU, since that's what US Bank pulled for my Cash+ app six months ago. TU8 was 792. Util is 1%. New cards were 1/6, 1/12, 4/24. TU inquiries were 1/6, 1/12 and 3/24.

One thing about the application process surprised me. After the wheel of death spun for several seconds, up popped a screen that showed the SL and APR they were offering, and it gave me the choice of accepting or declining. I happily accepted. It wasn't apparent whether declining would have prevented the HP.

(Edited to correct new card numbers. I was 4/24, not 2/24.)

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

CreditAggie — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 07:15:35 GMT

Congratulations on your Max Cash Preferred approval!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Rebuild2019 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 07:37:51 GMT

Congratulations 🎊🎈🎉 on your Max Cash Preferred approval!!!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

4sallypat — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 16:02:44 GMT

How do you get "membership" thru another CU ?

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Curious_George2 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 16:53:38 GMT

@4sallypat wrote:
How do you get "membership" thru another CU ?

The relationship between Elan and the banks, credit unions and other organizations it issues cards for is one that I struggle to explain clearly.

What I mean, and what I did, is that I found a CU that uses Elan to issue its credit cards, then I joined that CU in the usual way, deposited a little cash, waited several months to let it all age a bit, and eventually clicked the Credit Cards link on the CU's website. That prompted a warning that I was going to a third party's site -- Elan. From there, the application and everything else was Elan's. The only vestige of a connection to the CU was their logo at the top of some pages on the Elan site.

It's not clear that being a member of such a CU has any bearing whatsoever on the chances of getting a card approved, or the terms of the approval. This has been discussed at some length in @Aim_High's master thread, with no clear conclusions.Plenty of posters have received MCP cards bearing logos of FIs they have zero connection to. I chose to proceed in a more conventional way, partly because having an account at the "partner" FI is necessary for receiving the rewards as a deposit straight into a bank account.

I hope that answers your question. If I missed the point of it, please let me know. 😁

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

gdale6 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 17:30:02 GMT

Grats on your Max Cash approval, excellent SL too!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Aim_High — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 02:34:08 GMT

Congrats on a great Max Cash Preferred approval, @Curious_George2!

Data points are also appreciated!

I note that Elan tends to give a little higher SLs for many of our members and you got $20K versus $10K on C+.

I'm glad my MCP thread has been so helpful to the community.

What's your plan for using this one along with your Cash Plus?

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

PullingMeSoftly — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:48:01 GMT

Nice pickup, great that you now have the MCP/Cash+ duo!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Aim_High — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:13:59 GMT

@Curious_George2 wrote:
@4sallypat wrote:
How do you get "membership" thru another CU ?
The relationship between Elan and the banks, credit unions and other organizations it issues cards for is one that I struggle to explain clearly. What I mean, and what I did, is that I found a CU that uses Elan to issue its credit cards, then I joined that CU in the usual way, deposited a little cash, waited several months to let it all age a bit, and eventually clicked the Credit Cards link on the CU's website. That prompted a warning that I was going to a third party's site -- Elan. From there, the application and everything else was Elan's. The only vestige of a connection to the CU was their logo at the top of some pages on the Elan site.

@4sallypat, Elan Financial Services is an "agent" card issuer affiliated with US Bancorp (US Bank). They are the largest "agent" card issuer in the US, as described in the original Elan Max Cash Preferred master thread. Agent card issuers handle card accounts for many smaller banks and credit unions that choose to outsource their card services instead of processing in-house. Another large "agent" card processor is First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) which operates the "First Bankcard" financial services. In both cases, as @Curious_George2 described, the financial institution provides a link to the third-party agent's website which is a clue that you're dealing with an agent processor.

Originally, we thought that an applicant might need to be within the geo-footprint of the financial institution where they applied for the Max Cash Preferred. Consequently, I provided links in the master thread to lenders all over the country that offered Elan products. Since then, data points I've seen appear to indicate that it's unnecessary to be in geo-footprint (OR) to have deposit accounts with a lender where one applies for the Elan cards. It's mainly helpful in allowing a cash redemption option for rewards. In lieu of a deposit account at the original FI, cash rewards on the MCP must be redeemed for statement credits. And, of course, some members find it more convenient to have their credit card accounts where they do their banking.

Incidentally, I'll note that Elan appears to provide end-to-end client services including underwriting the card application. However, some credit unions outsource a portion of their servicing, such as payment processing. I've noted that my AOD FCU (Anniston, AL) card payments are serviced by PSCU (Payment Services for Credit Unions; St Petersburg FL) even though they personally underwrite their credit applications. You can read more about PSCU's services on this wikipedia article.

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:17:52 GMT

Congrats on a nice card and great SL!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

4sallypat — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 19:23:37 GMT

@Curious_George2 wrote:
@4sallypat wrote:
How do you get "membership" thru another CU ?
The relationship between Elan and the banks, credit unions and other organizations it issues cards for is one that I struggle to explain clearly.

What I mean, and what I did, is that I found a CU that uses Elan to issue its credit cards, then I joined that CU in the usual way, deposited a little cash, waited several months to let it all age a bit, and eventually clicked the Credit Cards link on the CU's website. That prompted a warning that I was going to a third party's site -- Elan. From there, the application and everything else was Elan's. The only vestige of a connection to the CU was their logo at the top of some pages on the Elan site.

It's not clear that being a member of such a CU has any bearing whatsoever on the chances of getting a card approved, or the terms of the approval. This has been discussed at some length in @Aim_High's master thread, with no clear conclusions.Plenty of posters have received MCP cards bearing logos of FIs they have zero connection to. I chose to proceed in a more conventional way, partly because having an account at the "partner" FI is necessary for receiving the rewards as a deposit straight into a bank account.

I hope that answers your question. If I missed the point of it, please let me know. 😁

Yes, thank you for the explanation along with @Aim_High - I had no idea some banks and CU did this - guess I am still a credit newbie...

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

M_Smart007 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:02:20 GMT

@Curious_George2, Elan Max Cash Preferred is a nice CC .. Congratulations!!

May I ask what Credit Union?

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Curious_George2 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:13:56 GMT

@M_Smart007 wrote:
@Curious_George2, Elan Max Cash Preferred is a nice CC .. Congratulations!!

May I ask what Credit Union?

Thanks Smarty!

I prefer not to name the CU. Their geographic footprint is approximately the size and location of my kitchen. 😂

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

cashorcharge — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 21:32:46 GMT

@M_Smart007 wrote:
@Curious_George2, Elan Max Cash Preferred is a nice CC .. Congratulations!!

May I ask what Credit Union?

LOL! I see you @M_Smart007 .....HAHAHA....needing another?

That's terrific @Curious_George2 !! Congratulations on your ELAN Approval!! 🥂🎉👏🏻

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 22:11:06 GMT

Congrats!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

KingRue8500 — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 23:54:34 GMT

Congrats on your Elan Max Cash Preferred approval

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Curious_George2 — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 02:41:53 GMT

@Aim_High wrote:
Congrats on a great Max Cash Preferred approval, @Curious_George2!
Data points are also appreciated!
I note that Elan tends to give a little higher SLs for many of our members and you got $20K versus $10K on C+.
I'm glad my MCP thread has been so helpful to the community.
What's your plan for using this one along with your Cash Plus?

Thanks! I don't have a detailed plan for how I will use the new card. I share your fondness for lender diversification and I have come to value flexible cash rewards with no categories or fixed categories that I use. This card and Cash+ both check those boxes.

Every time I think I have The Plan worked out, something changes and I need (ok, want) to revise it. The emergence of Citi's Custom Cash was one such disruption, albeit a positive one. Another was my recent experience with Amex. In a mood to cut costs, I downgraded my Gold to Green. But then... (plot twist!) they dangled a generous 40k MR upgrade bonus just a few weeks later and now I'm back to the Gold.

I figured getting another two selectable 5% categories, on a no-AF card from a new-to-me lender will be helpful in any setup I choose. So, welcome to my wallet, MCP!

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

ChargedUp — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 03:11:13 GMT

@Curious_George2 wrote:
I applied for Elan's Max Cash Preferred Visa, through a small, local credit union I joined a few months ago with a token amount on deposit. I answered the question about how much I have on deposit "here" with just that small amount. Received instant approval for $20k at their lowest advertised APR of 11.99%.

They pulled TU, which surprised me a little. All prior MCP apps I had seen from my state, California, resulted in an EX pull. Perhaps I should have expected TU, since that's what US Bank pulled for my Cash+ app six months ago. TU8 was 792. Util is 1%. New cards were 1/6, 1/12, 4/24. TU inquiries were 1/6, 1/12 and 3/24.

One thing about the application process surprised me. After the wheel of death spun for several seconds, up popped a screen that showed the SL and APR they were offering, and it gave me the choice of accepting or declining. I happily accepted. It wasn't apparent whether declining would have prevented the HP.

(Edited to correct new card numbers. I was 4/24, not 2/24.)

First off, Congrats on the new Max Cash card!

Second, Elan has always been a solid TU user for me in Southern CA as well. I don't recall hearing of them using EX around here.

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

LP007 — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 03:34:26 GMT

@Curious_George2 wrote:
@4sallypat wrote:
How do you get "membership" thru another CU ?
The relationship between Elan and the banks, credit unions and other organizations it issues cards for is one that I struggle to explain clearly.

What I mean, and what I did, is that I found a CU that uses Elan to issue its credit cards, then I joined that CU in the usual way, deposited a little cash, waited several months to let it all age a bit, and eventually clicked the Credit Cards link on the CU's website. That prompted a warning that I was going to a third party's site -- Elan. From there, the application and everything else was Elan's. The only vestige of a connection to the CU was their logo at the top of some pages on the Elan site.

It's not clear that being a member of such a CU has any bearing whatsoever on the chances of getting a card approved, or the terms of the approval. This has been discussed at some length in @Aim_High's master thread, with no clear conclusions.Plenty of posters have received MCP cards bearing logos of FIs they have zero connection to. I chose to proceed in a more conventional way, partly because having an account at the "partner" FI is necessary for receiving the rewards as a deposit straight into a bank account.

I hope that answers your question. If I missed the point of it, please let me know. 😁

Hear hear. I too am contemplating Elan. Talking with the reps, they say it doesn't matter to them if you have an account. On the apps you can leave the 'relationship' box with a $0 and go finish the app.

I called the rep because I noticed that Elan was the 3rd party backing these beauties:

Connexus FCU Intro 0% APR on buys & BTs for 20 mos.

Spectra FCU...same.

Mechanic's Bank...same.

Busey Bank...same.

Bremer Bank...same.

I told her I was going to punch 3 at once and...would it flag me? She said it shouldn't because they'd be from 3 different institutions.

DYOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mission Control, get ready for launch. T minus...

Re: Elan Max Cash Preferred Visa Approved

Curious_George2 — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 04:00:31 GMT

@ChargedUp wrote:
First off, Congrats on the new Max Cash card!

Second, Elan has always been a solid TU user for me in Southern CA as well. I don't recall hearing of them using EX around here.

Oh. Maybe I got it twisted. It says EX on @credit_is_crack's Which Report Will They Pull? table. I'll post your info and mine over there. Thanks!