Opinions on elan max cash visa?

[FicoMike0]

I was looking at an offer for an elan max cash visa. Anyone have experience with it? Are the 5% categories usefull?

[ptatohed]

Only you would know if the categories are useful.  What offer did you find?  I've noticed the Elans are usually $150 welcome bonus and the USB Cash+ is $200.

It seems like a nice card with some useful categories but the one thing that has always turned me off from this card is that they separate out fast food (5%) from restaurants (2%).  I don't know of another card issuer that does that.  I want (expect) 5% on all dining so that eliminates the otherwise potentially nice 5% fast food category.  I am still considering the card(s) for 5% on utilities/cell/Internet/etc.  I had been content with 3% AOD (but maybe I shouldn't have been).  

[coldfusion]

If you're a homeowner look at your electric/natural gas/water/sewer, cell phone, and TV/internet monthly spend  as you can pick 2 out of these 3 categories to get 5% back on up to $2000 spend per quarter and compare your potential cashback with a standard 2% cards

If you don't have a deposit account with the co-branded financial institution advertising the card you can't redeem rewards for cash back but statement credits work.

The Elan website is unsophisticated but it is functional .

[markbeiser]

It is a great card for home utilities and cable/internet!

[FicoMike0]

Thanks! I got the offer from Wes banco. I don't know where they got the name, they re an old bank, based in wheeling wva. I have an account there because they bribed me $400 to open it, lol. The card has a $150 sub for $500 spend. I'm trying to go for cards I will actually use, rather than just go for the sub. I'm presently maxed out with usb, two cards in three months. I'll likely pc my shoppers card to a no af cash+ next year. 

I kind of like going from checking sub to cc sub with the same bank. Fewer apps on my phone.

[DoppelgangerD]

As long as you can handle the card and hit to your credit, I advise going for it.

It's a super useful card that earns 5% CB, and one of the few cards that you don't even need to carry in your physical or digital wallet, because you can just pay utilities / mobile / internet etc... right from home, or even on autopay.

 For me personally, some of my utilities charge fees for online payment, but not egregious enough that I don't still get cash back.

There are also set fees per payment from two of my utilities, so I like to pay 2-3 months worth to offset the fees even more.

For me it's an easy average of twenty-something  dollars a month of free money.

[Anonymous]

Are they

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@FicoMike0 wrote:

Are the 5% categories usefull?

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Are they?

5% Choose 2
Home Utilities
Cell Phone Providers
TV, Internet & Streaming Services
Gyms/Fitness Centers
Ground Transportation
Electronics Stores
Fast Food
Furniture Stores
Department Stores
Select Clothing Stores
Sporting Goods Stores
Movie Theaters

2% Choose 1
Grocery Stores
Gas & EV Charging Stations
Restaurants

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Edit: My bad. These are for the Cash+

The Elan Max Rewards are very slightly different

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Should-I-choose-U-S-Bank-Cash-or-Elan-Max-Cash-Preferr...

[TrapLine]

The card is a close relative of the US Bank Cash+ and works well for the categories offered. Others already posted what you really need to know.

What I can say for my own experiences, Elan tries to offer good CLs without the relationship. Many financials that use Elan are not so tied that you can't get around their geo-restrictions and so on (and it has been noted you may be required to take statement credits if no financial relationship). US Bank tends toward a more conservative relationship based customer although many on here have done well.

The Max Cash really does well on utilities. Also, do not understand the splitting of fast food from dining?

[Anonymous]

Another good thing about the card (compared to the Cash+) is that the categories are sticky, you don't have to enroll in them again every quarter (you can change if you want but you don't have to).  Not huge, but useful.  Imagine if Freedom/Flex/Discover/etc just enrolled you automatically in the quarter's 5% without you having to....

[DakotaM]

I have 3 of them!  One was product changed from a Rewards+ that wasn't as useful as I thought.

One is utilities/internet and never taken out of my drawer.

Another is electronics/department stores - mostly to get 5% at Newegg, Best Buy, and some other computer stores

Third is recreation/entertainment - admittedly used rarely, but I do get occasional use from it.