@kdm31091 wrote:I'm not sure but I would think underwriting is going to be pretty similar since it's the same underlying issuer. Your local bank offers the card, via a third party. Since the third party is the same, I would think the underwriting will also be the same, but who knows?
@Saeren wrote:
It's cool that there are all of these options but I have never seen any evidence that Elan is much looser than US Bank.
I know what you're saying guys, but while Elan and US Bank are both subsidiaries of US Bancorp, they are not the same from data points I've seen on My Fico. So IMO, we should stop treating them like they are exactly alike. US Bank's 1 or maybe 2/12 standard is pretty well known and when we see denials, we tell people "See, we could have told you." On the other hand, even in the pandemic, Elan has played more loosely with the Fidelity card. And I think US Bank has been conservative for a long time but apparently Elan used to be VERY loose. Two to four years ago, they were very easy on approvals. Even this year with the economic downturn, it appears that they'll allow 3-6 cards in 12 months as opposed to only 1-2 for US Bank.
Here are some data points I've researched before I posted the thread that show how Elan's underwriting may be different. (*There have been several approvals in the past six months also. Some stated they were exiting the garden or didn't specify, so I didn't include them since they don't show what Elan's limits are for a denial.)
10/01/20: @Anonymous was denied for Fidelity with 6/12. On recon, Elan CSR said that 6/12 wasn't the issue. It was that she had 4/6, with less than six months of reporting history.
03/27/20: @Anonymous was denied for Fidelity for unspecified new accounts but CSR said up to 3 in twelve months would have been okay. Not sure of his age of credit but later postings showed about 29 open cards possibly opened in less than 18 months.
01/25/19: @12njoy was approved for Fidelity and reported TU FICO 720, 6 Inq's in 12 months and 9 new accounts in 12 months.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Welcome-back-Fidelity/m-p/5479676#M578968
09/03/18: @jacetx was approved for Fidelity. Data points on linked Wells Fargo approval: 23 inqs (4 in the last 6 months), 6+ new accounts in the last 12 months
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Fidelity-2-17-5k/m-p/5347511#M558261
08/21/18: @Anonymous approved for Fidelity with "Bunch of recent inquiries and few new accounts"
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Fidelity-2-Visa-surprise/m-p/5334353#M555937
07/19/18: @EvilR-T was approved for Fidelity. New accounts not mentioned but they pulled TU with TU-3, EX-3, and EQ-2 which would imply potential for more than 1/12.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Rollercoaster-ride/m-p/5302448#M549384
07/05/16: @CreditCuriosity was approved for Fidelity with 21 TU inquiries, 12-14 in last 12 months. (New accounts not stated.)
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Approvals/Approved-Fidelity/m-p/4680342#M438370
I think all of these data points give support to Elan being a little more gentle on approvals than US Bank. I wouldn't apply to them with more than a few in 12 months, but the odds look much more favorable than with US Bank. I'm also interested in seeing approval data points once we have a few members apply to these different lenders. I don't recall seeing any Elan approvals except for Fidelity, so even though the cards are out there, our members haven't been pursuing or posting data points on them. So we don't really know how much approvals or terms may vary from US Bank.
Do Elan cards show up on your reports as a tradeline with Elan or a tradeline with the particular associated FI?
@Saeren wrote:
@Aim_High wrote:... while Elan and US Bank are both subsidiaries of US Bancorp, they are not the same from data points I've seen on My Fico. So IMO, we should stop treating them like they are exactly alike.
I think it's clearly a case of YMMV like always. People who want to YOLO it should feel free to do so as long as they're okay with possibly burning a HP for a denial but there are plenty of Elan denials too, they're just harder to find because people don't post them as Elan denials but as (insert CU name here) denials.
This is a recent Elan denial that has some interesting DPs that seems to suggest 2/12 is their limit.
https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Card-Applications/BMW-World-Elite-MC/td-p/6124230
Agreed that things are always a lot more complicated than a single number like credit score or new accounts or inquiries. YMMV always applies and proceeding with caution is a good thing. Still, it appears to me a mistake to treat Elan and USB exactly alike, which data points don't seem to always support.
In the linked example, OP was told 3/12 was too many and was reporting credit scores of 725-738, AAoA 6yrs 3mos, Inquries: TU6/EQ7/EX6, Utilization: 7%. And small-giraffe was reporting EX-9 inquiries but scores up to around 800, and was told the problem per her profile was more what was showing in six months, not twelve. Perhaps AAoA, the higher scores, or utilization comes into play? Or perhaps the BMW card referenced has a different underwriting standard than the Fidelity Rewards? That's why it will be interesting to compare some approval or denial data points between different lenders on the Max Cash Preferred. Fidelity may even vary the approval standards depending on the specifications of the sponsoring financial institution.
I'll be 2/12 in less than 2 weeks, so it will be interesting to see if any DP's or new apps come from this thread. If 2/12 seemed to be safe for approval, I'd give it a shot be sure I've coveted the 5% utilities CB for a while now. I wouldn't mind throwing my local bank a bone either.
