After 6 weeks of waiting, USPS tells me my bank-branded card is in the mail today! Of course, Elan sent me an approval email with no details on limit, etc.
After 10 years as an AU on two cards but then 2 without, my FICO scores dropped off and I cold-apped on a number of cards (so far, instant approve Discover, Blispay denied, Amex still in limbo) for my first line of credit in my own name. Figured my own bank would be a good start with 6 years of business with them, as a high earner with a good chunk of savings. Turned out they were serviced by Elan, then read on here about how hard Elan/USBank are to get a card with, and more generally that income and assets are less swaying than credit history. After getting approved for Discover, I forgot about it and wrote off the application in my mind.
Well, they say on their website they take member bank relationships into account, and it paid off! Not the best rewards structure out there, but it's a start. And I can kind of pretend to be in the Amex club until that BCE app finally pulls through.
