Elan Financial Services

Customer service is a joke. I cannot talk to any representatives. They shut down my card for no apparent reason, and it is impossible for me to reactivate it or to know why they shut it down in the first place. They are not worth your time!

Let's start at the beginning:
The application process raises serious concerns. Communication begins via text message and then shifts to email, neither of which feels secure. Documents submitted with the application or by email are not thoroughly reviewed. Applicants are asked to provide two documents; however, only one is acknowledged unless you repeatedly follow up. Expect to spend up to two hours on hold, only to be told the documents cannot be found. Be prepared to state, multiple times, "I attached two documents; please open and review both," before the representative actually reviews them.

Afterward, you're informed the application must be sent to underwriting. Surprisingly, approval often arrives within an hour via text message, not email. Following approval, it takes an additional 5–10 business days to receive the card.

Setting up online access is an entirely separate and equally frustrating experience.

Overall, this process is inefficient and unnecessarily complicated. For credit card needs, Chase or Capital One are far better options, offering less hassle, higher credit limits, stronger card benefits, and superior customer service.

The most unprofessional credit organization out there. Elan serviced my previous bank, then dropped them after numerous complaints, including mine. My bank was bought out by Shore United, and now they are offering business cards from guess who—Elan Financial. Stay far away from this unscrupulous organization! You have been warned.

Customer Service, the worst in credit card companies. I got an Elan credit card through my financial company. Customer service is the face, ears, and mouth of any company. Elan's service practices make their employees seem like a bunch of incompetent bureaucrats. Elan practices do not follow the standard credit card protocol in case of disputes. They are deceitful and do not have the professional courtesy to deal with customer complaints. I may discontinue doing business with Elan.

Elan is rude and unprofessional. I don't receive bills from them; I just see charges when I get a credit card statement stamped with their all too familiar $40 late fee—one that so far has not been waived because I had one waiver last year. I purposely stopped using their card a long time ago. Now they are handling billing for Comerica where I have a card. Oh boy. I just read the first few reviews above and I saw a unanimous one-star rating. I added another to reinforce their company's reputation.

Other cards are more flexible about late fees. In my history, only Elan has made late fees a profit center. No other card has been more disliked by me than Elan.

If Elan's people would look up the word 'service,' they would see how poorly it describes their personality and how they conduct business.

It's time for a name change and a new spirit of pleasing and forgiving the customer.

Worst card and customer service in existence. I've had their BMW branded card (I drive a BMW) for four years but had never received a credit limit increase. I have never had a late payment and paid each month in full - with a credit rating of 800 and other card limits as high as 50,000. I called and asked out of curiosity why I had never received a credit limit increase; they said they rarely offered them randomly and it had to be on a request basis. I manually put in my request for a credit limit increase; it immediately got pushed to "review" status. After not having heard anything for a few days, I called to ask for an update on my request - REQUEST DENIED... why? Too few joint accounts! I'm single, not married, and I don't share my credit card with anyone - why would I have any joint accounts?! End result, card cancelled. What a bunch of buffoons!

My mom wrote me a check to pay off my BMW Black Card, and they questioned it because we don't have the same last name. They requested a ton of documents from her, such as bank statements, etc. I have no idea why. After they requested about 49 pages of documents from her bank, I faxed them in, and they are all legitimate, but they cancelled my card! What the heck even though I had the white card too?!

Absolute worst, most incompetent credit card issuer on Planet Earth. Despite providing irrefutable documented evidence that I never received anything for a $90 charge, these "geniuses" rebilled my credit card. I closed the account immediately and plan to take legal action if they damage my credit in any way or try to collect even one penny from me.

Awful. Elan Financial will close your credit card account for no reason. Our business credit card was open for four years before Elan randomly decided to shut it down on the day we used it for an everyday transaction. Over the phone, the supervisor claimed they had the right to do so because of the terms and conditions.

Elan Financial Services and Fidelity Investments (Fidelity Rewards Visa) clearly have serious issues. Like thousands of Fidelity Investments customers, I recently received a mailing promoting a 4.99% balance transfer offer with the Fidelity Rewards Visa. To make it convenient, three transfer checks were included. What is not made clear is if you deposit the check into a Fidelity Investments checking account, an 18 business day hold is placed on the funds. When I called Fidelity Investments customer service to inquire about the hold, they confirmed the policy for all Elan checks - even though Elan is the issuer of the Fidelity Rewards Visa. I called Elan customer service and received the same unhelpful indifference noted in so many reviews. I wish I had known this beforehand.

The worst credit card ever. I paid off my card in full and had a credit on my account when the due date arrived, and they still charged me interest. They are the worst. I would recommend everyone end their agreement with them. I was with them for 20 years, and their service is subpar now. Customer service representatives and supervisors are really mean. I spoke to a heartless supervisor named Bre who doesn't give out her full name. She should not be in management. Her attitude was terrible.

A few months ago, I received an invitation in the mail with an offer to apply for a Fidelity Rewards Visa Card, which could be linked to your Fidelity Investment or IRA account. The card offered 2% in rewards for all purchases, as well as an offer for 0% APR for 18 months. I applied online and entered the invitation code, at which point I was directed to sign into my Fidelity account to complete the process. The next day, I got an approval email and received the card the following week. I decided to use it for my everyday expenses and a few bills to obtain the 2% rewards to apply to my Fidelity IRA account. I assumed the 0% rate was in effect, but I still paid the full balance off each month.

Fast forward a few months, when making my regular payment, I decided to check the statement to confirm when the 0% promotion would end. However, it did not show any promotion info, only the regular APR of 18.24%. So, I called Customer Service and the representative stated he did not see any promotion assigned to my account. He then asked if I had the original invitation/confirmation number, which I had already discarded once I was approved and received my card. I then decided to check online to see if others had experienced the same thing I did, and sure enough, I found a thread on Reddit where several people, as recently as a few months ago and as far back as a couple of years ago, went through the same situation. I can't confirm if it was a deceptive tactic or if Elan Financial was unaware, but it appeared to be a "bait-and-switch" scenario. When an applicant would enter the invitation number or scan the QR Code, it would prompt them to sign into their Fidelity account to complete the application process, and this may have been when the 0% promotion would drop off. According to other Reddit posters, this also occurred with an offer for a cash bonus for applying.

I decided to call back and put in a formal inquiry with Elan, even though I did not have the original invitation. Surely, they would have some record of offers sent out to customers, especially for those that applied and were approved. I didn't expect to hear back anything positive, which they said would take up to 14 days, so I also decided to file with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, just so I can confirm I went through all the necessary steps. I have many other credit cards, which all offered some form of promotion or reward, so I'm pretty familiar with the process. Since this appeared to have happened to several people, I can't concede that it was just an oversight or misunderstanding. Luckily, my original plan was to pay off the full balance each month anyway to avoid interest. But had I made a large purchase or had an emergency and not checked my online statement with the assumption I was still on the 0% APR promotion, I would have unknowingly been charged interest. I don't expect anything to change, but we will see what the response will be.

I was recently invited to apply for an Elan Financial credit card after receiving numerous emails & mailings for their 0% APR on purchases & balance transfers for 21 billing cycles only because it is the card my bank uses (WASN’T MY FIRST CHOICE)!!! I applied for two balance transfers & was denied due to a ridiculous credit limit of < $1,000!!!! I called customer service a few times to speak to the underwriting dept. & was disconnected/hung up on each call. I finally called to CANCEL THE CARD (I didn’t activate), in disgust. Now I have a hard inquiry because of this. I to, would’ve given a “ZERO” STAR if I could’ve. Definitely deceptive! I only wish I had read these reviews first….Stay Away!

Check Your Credit Card Processor BEFORE You Apply
I paid my bill online on the due date and was still charged a late fee because Elan marked my payment as "pending" until the next day. When I called, they tried to push me toward autopay instead of taking responsibility for their processing delay. After 10+ minutes and escalating to a supervisor, they said the fee "should" fall off in 7 days - They provided no written confirmation or apology.
Here's what they don't tell you: Payment processors like Elan control the behind-the-scenes operations for many credit cards. Even if you love your bank or credit union, if they use Elan for processing, you're dealing with Elan's unsatisfactory customer service and questionable fee practices.
Federal law (CARD Act) states that payments made by 5 PM on the due date must be accepted as on-time. I paid on time. Their slow processing is not my problem, but they tried to make it mine.
WARNING: Before accepting any credit card, ask "Who is your payment processor?" If it's Elan Card Member Services, reconsider. There are plenty of credit cards out there that don't engage in these practices with your money.
I won't close this card (bad for credit), but I'll never use it again. Do your research before you end up dealing with this company.

How do you give less than one star? This is the worst-run company I have ever come across in a professional capacity. Their customer service, well, you can't even call it customer service. They will just hang up on you or stop talking, acting like the line went dead if you have any issues that are even remotely complicated. I'm the new Treasurer/CFO of a small business and it took my banker and me over a month to get me set as the principal account holder because they would just hang up on us.

Once I got access, I set up all the cards for auto-pay, and then one month later, one of my guys was hit with a late charge. I log in to see what's going on and it tells me that managing payment 'isn't possible with my role'. I'm the Treasurer/CFO, and I have the master Elan FS account. What do they mean, my role can't make payment or control funding sources? I'm the only one who can do that.