Flagstar Apocalypse: What I think I have learned so far (Elan Max)

[TyrannicalDuncery3]

I have an Elan Max through Flagstar. I got a letter last week saying that they would be transferring their cardholders to FNBO and shifting us to a trash rewards structure. Planning to apply for another Elan Max in July.

I tried to dig into what the implications of the transfer might be on my future approval odds. Sharing some answers I found and some questions I still have. A lot of these are probably obvious but hopefully it helps some folks. I feel pretty confident about questions 1-8 and not very confident about 9-13. I'd love some feedback, especially if I'm wrong!

1. Q: Will my card continue to age as normal, or will the age drop? A: It will continue on as the same card, the age will continue to increment and will not drop. 2 separate CSRs said this.
2. Q: Will this show up on my report as a new card? A: It will not show up as a new card. 2 CSRs said this.
3. Q: Will my credit limit change? A: Yes, they will be re-underwriting everything. 3 CSRs said this.
4. Q: Will they hard pull my credit? A: Probably not. 3 CSRs said this and they were all wishy-washy about it. I'm not convinced.
5. Q: Is there anything I can do now to receive better treatment in the transition? A: No, but maybe you can P/C after the transition. You can also just close the card (LOL), and you can opt out of some data sharing after the card is converted. 2 CSRs said this.
6. Q: Since Elan is the issuer, are you sure that my card is transitioning like the rest of the Flagstar cards? A: Yes, it's definitely all moving. 2 CSRs said this, 1 from FNBO and one from Elan.
7. Q: Since Elan is the issuer, are you sure that my card is transitioning like the rest of the Flagstar cards? A: Yes, it's definitely all moving. 2 CSRs said this, 1 from FNBO and one from Elan.
8. Q: If I'm denied for Elan with one bank, could my odds be different with another bank? A: Based on my googling, no: Elan is the one underwriting these. Let me know if I'm wrong or there is a nuance.
9. Q: Will Elan see me as risky now because I "closed" my Elan card? A: No. 1 CSR from the Elan recon line told me this.
10. Q: Would my approval chances with Elan be better if I applied while my card is still with Elan? Maybe they will see me as "an existing customer"? All other things equal, of course. A: No. 1 CSR from the Elan recon line told me this.
11. Q: If I improve my "relationship" with US Bank or the bank that will issue my Elan card, will that help my approval odds? A: Called the Elan recon line and asked whether Elan is solely responsible for the underwriting. Their answer was "yes, but": They said that Elan is solely responsible for the underwriting, HOWEVER "if the banker submit the application" then "[Elan] can take your banking information into account, like your checking account, you've had $x with them for however many years, etc". I'm paraphrasing but they definitely mentioned checking account age and balance and the bank submitting the application. Interesting. That's consitent with this old post. Unless I learn more info to change my mind, I'll go ahead and dump some money into the bank that I want to issue my card.
12. If FNBO tries to pull my credit but my credit is frozen, what will happen? A: I won't get in trouble, they will contact me. Potentially they might close the card if I refuse to let them pull. CSRs don't really know whether it's a soft pull or a hard pull or nothing or what, the transition is pretty chaotic. 1 CSR from FNBO told me this. UPDATE: Another CSR said that it will definitely be a soft pull and that FNBO will be able to do it even with my credit frozen, since they "inherit" the pulling authority from Flagstar or Elan or whoever it was before.
13. Is there a way to get my Elan card shifted off of my bank and onto Elan directly? I know that sounds weird, but this post seems to suggest it might be possible? 2 CSRs from Elan said that this was not possible.
14. Are there any available retention offers from Flagstar to get me to keep my card? Obviously there's no way for y'all to know this, but I will be asking a Flagstar branch near me.

[TrapLine]

Could you get Elan to issue one of their unbranded accounts?

Know I had an Elan Card by one bank where I closed it and opened another Elan card on a different bank. The card on the different bank did not actually require an account at the financial. Is there any possibility here?

Closed my FNBO card as they get strange from time to time. Since the early 1980s I have left FNBO three times due to their behavior which has shown up recently. Liked them but never was sure about them?

Lots of fish in the sea?

[TyrannicalDuncery3]

Interesting @TrapLine, thanks!. I have my Flagstar Elan card (almost dead) with no other Flagstar accounts.

Are you suggesting that I could somehow convert my Flagstar Elan card to a "generic" Elan card or an Elan card with another bank? Or do you mean reapply with another bank or with Elan themselves?

[TrapLine]

Do not know if Elan's contract with Flagstaff would allow or not but it may be worth a try. There are a few posters on here who have had their Bank disappear or merged and they were able to obtain Elan generic cards. Do not know if you can but ... may be worth a shot.

FNBO has always been in their own world. Mostly a geo fenced bank (eight states) that does step out of their fence to issue other banks credit cards much like Elan or TCMB and assumes underwriting and receivable risks. Their products were more conservative than Elans but ok. Of late their 2% card has been all right. Likely, you are aware that a 2% rewards card are common today and many have been written up on this Forum so a solid replacement can be had. In fact, there may even be a thread on it or a call to the MF about some help?

Complaints on FNBO run to their sometimes eratic consumer behavior such as increasing rates (sometimes out of the blue) and reducing CLs or closing consumer credit cards often no warning (like some other lenders we know).

[TyrannicalDuncery3]

Wow, thanks TrapLine--that's amazing! I will call Elan and give it a shot.

You've already helped me so much, but do you have suggestions on how to search for these cases of people getting switched to the generic Elan card? I'm struggling.

[TrapLine]

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@TyrannicalDuncery3 wrote:

Interesting @TrapLine, thanks!. I have my Flagstar Elan card (almost dead) with no other Flagstar accounts.

Are you suggesting that I could somehow convert my Flagstar Elan card to a "generic" Elan card or an Elan card with another bank? Or do you mean reapply with another bank or with Elan themselves?

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Missed here ... you could take a run at trying to convert from Flagstar Elan to an Elan generic (do not know what the legal contract between the two financials would permit) or, you could apply at another financial that offers Elan Cards.

What I did was close the card at the one financial and open a new Elan Card at a different financial. Until writing to you ... did not think of asking if there was an option to transfer lenders? Suspect not as Elan is suppose to maintain their allegiance to the bank they have a contract with but, with that being said ...? Interesting.

Of note, Elan has started me with higher CLs than US Bank. Further, Elan gave me a higher starting limit with the next lender (previous Elan Card was open for one year). Food for thought and it is likely credit profile specfic but, I am guessing here?

[TyrannicalDuncery3]

Thanks TL, I'll let you know anything else I find. Most likely I'll just apply through a new FI once I'm 0/6.

This old post seems like an example of someone switching to generic Elan when their bank went under? (or stabbed them in the back like mine)

[coldfusion]

You can call Elan and ask if they'll PC the card to a generic Elan one.  The agreement reached between US Bank and FNBO may stipulate that they can't do it but you won't get if you don't ask so why not ask.

The transition isn't actually an application for new credit so a hard pull would be inappropriate.  Insofar as how transitions like this typical end result when an account is sold/transitioned from one issuer to another is that the CRAs simply update the account information with the name of the new issuer and the original opening date of the card (in this case, from when USBank/Elan first opened the card)  is carried over.

[Anonymous]

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@TyrannicalDuncery3 wrote:

Wow, thanks TrapLine--that's amazing! I will call Elan and give it a shot.

You've already helped me so much, but do you have suggestions on how to search for these cases of people getting switched to the generic Elan card? I'm struggling.

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I was switched to generic Elan when the issuer of my card (People's Bank) merged/were taken over by another bank that didn't work with Elan.  Eventually (perhaps at renewal time, perhaps earlier,don't remember) I got a new card that is the generic Elan.    But I didn't do anything, this was all automatic.

[TyrannicalDuncery3]

Thanks everyone for your help! I called Elan, Flagstar and FNBO and it sounds like I'm really a rat in a cage. No option to switch to Elan, no retention offers. I'll update the main post when I get some time.