The Elan Reserve Rewards+ Visa Infinite credit card is aimed at being a relatively high-end all-in-one card. It’s a newer Visa Infinite, issued by Elan Financial Services, released around mid-2023.
This credit card is available at dozens of credit unions, including Spectra and Valley Bank. Card details are the same regardless of which bank you work with. Other Elan cards include the Max Cash Preferred and Everyday Rewards+.
Considering the high annual fee, people will wonder if this card is right for them, and if the benefits outweigh the costs. It’s very subjective in this case.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- $390 annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- 6x points on travel booked through their Rewards Center (flights, hotels, car rentals)
- 2x points on everything else
- $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (usually once every 4-5 years)
SIGN UP BONUS
You can earn 50,000 points ($500) after spending $4,500 within the first 90 days of account opening. This is a relatively low Return on Spend (RoS) of 11%.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE RESERVE REWARDS+ CARD
- Visa Infinite benefits, including:
- Trip Cancellation and Interruption (up to $2,000 per person)
- Trip Delay Reimbursement (up to $500 after 6 hours)
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement (up to $3,000)
- Travel Accident Insurance (up to $500,000)
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (Primary Coverage)
- Visa Infinite Concierge plus Travel & Emergency Assistance Services
- Purchase Security (up to $10,000 per claim within 90 days)
- Return Protection (up to $300 per claim within 90 days)
- Extended Warranty Protection (1 extra year on warranties of 3 years or less)
- Free NortonLifeLock ID Navigator
- Annual lifestyle credits: “Up to $240 in credits for eligible sports & fitness, personal care, entertainment & streaming services, and dining” — this is applied as $5 per month in each of the four eligible categories, up to $20 per month total
- $100 annual travel credit (on travel booked through their Rewards Center)
- Priority Pass Select (limited to 8 free visits per year)
- Free Priority Wine Pass membership ($60 annual credit)
- Metal card
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 740+
As a Visa Infinite card, you’ll need to be eligible for a credit line of at least $10,000.
There are no known restrictions on this card. You just have to join a credit union which will accept your application. Some local banks may have restrictions on who can join, but Elan-issued cards are available at a lot of places, so this shouldn’t be a roadblock.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE RESERVE REWARDS+ CARD
The $390 annual fee is offset by up to $400 in annual credits ($240 lifestyle credits, $100 travel credit, $60 wine credit) plus Priority Pass and the $100 Global Entry reimbursement. Reserve Rewards+ technically pays for itself, but you should first double-check that you’ll actually get full value out of everything that’s offered.
Note that unused points expire after 5 years.
The $240 lifestyle credit is spread out across four separate categories and calculated in $5 increments, which isn’t ideal for figuring out the value of the credit. Their terms and conditions state:
“Purchase categories include: (1) Eligible Sports and Fitness purchases, such as sporting goods stores, golf courses, annual/monthly workout subscriptions, and fitness centers. (2) Eligible Personal Care purchases, such as salons, barbers, spas, drug stores, and most merchants classified as pharmacies. (3) Eligible Entertainment and Streaming purchases, such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, and tickets to movies, sporting events, and concerts purchased directly through the venue or from qualifying ticket sellers such as Ticketmaster® and StubHub®. (4) Eligible Dining purchases, such as restaurants, restaurant delivery, fast food restaurants, and bars. A single purchase transaction of at least $5 per month at eligible merchant(s) must be made to receive the credit in each category.”
The credit isn’t hard to use if you have a gym membership, get a haircut or prescription filled each month, have a streaming subscription, and eat out at least once a month. These are normal expenses which many people have, often adding up to less than $100 in spending.
The value compared to other cards is less clear. Reserve Rewards+ gets 2% cash back plus a $5 monthly credit per category. In using all of the card’s $400 in credits, your net gain is just $10 for the whole year compared to the $390 annual fee. If you spend $3,000 per year in the 4 lifestyle categories and use all the card’s annual credits, you get $60 cash back at 2% plus the $10 in remaining credits—and $70 out of $3k equals 2.33% cash back. If you have a fee-free credit card which gets 3% back in each category, you’d get $90 out of $3,000 in spending, beating the Reserve Rewards+ by $20. Everyone’s personal situation is different and you’ll have to run your own numbers, but in general, it doesn’t seem like this particular credit card is a great value in most circumstances.
For the $60 Priority Wine Pass credit, you simply buy their one-year “Wine Pass” and get reimbursed. Their pass, according to their website, “will slash costly wine tasting fees and unlock our wine tasting concierge service. Simplify your trip planning, find wineries you love, and save hundreds.” It seems to mostly apply to the west coast: “Visit our 350+ winery partners in California, Washington & Oregon.” You may be able to find events and deals in other regions, though; “Our discounts include those at hand-picked wineries, wine bars, hotels, restaurants and transportation companies.“
As with all cards that have an annual fee, you MUST get enough benefits and cash back to outweigh that annual fee. Otherwise that card is useless for you.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE RESERVE REWARDS+
This card appears to be trying to compete most directly with the Capital One Venture X, based on their respective earning structures. However: the VX gets up to 10x points on travel, it pays for itself more easily, and the Visa Infinite benefits are slightly better (more travel accident insurance, plus cell phone protection). Also see: the no-fee Signature Federal Credit Union Visa Signature.
6% back for flights, hotels, and car rentals isn’t enough on its own to justify a high annual fee anymore. A number of no-fee cards get 5% back for doing the same thing, and not booking directly with an airline/hotel/etc can have downsides. If you spend $5,000 per year on these categories (which is far above average) then 6% back nets $300, versus getting $250 back with a 5% card. An extra $50 per year may not be worth the hassle of the Reserve Rewards+ and its annual fee. Especially when high spenders will prefer cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Venture X to get more than 10% back on select travel expenses.
Over two dozen cards earn at least 2% back on everyday non-category-based purchases, including the Venture X, so the Reserve Rewards+ isn’t doing much to differentiate itself. Its main draw is that it can be a potential everyday card for people who spend between $100 and $300 per year on flights and hotels, which is unusually niche.
Most premium cards focused on travel offer a higher overall value than the Reserve Rewards+, including more perks and/or higher cash back rates. The Reserve Rewards+ is only great when compared to bad cards like the Mastercard Black Card.
CONCLUSION
The Elan Reserve Rewards+ Visa Infinite technically pays for itself if you use all of its credits and perks. The annual fee can get down to $-10 with relative ease—thus, banks are paying you to have the card. However, not everyone will find its credits and perks useful, especially compared to alternatives. Its lifestyle credit dripping out in $5 increments is also off-putting for higher spenders who prefer to use credits in one shot. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X both have $300 annual travel credits that can be used up in a single transaction.
If you’ll use all of the credits every year, and enjoy wine tastings, then Reserve Rewards+ can be a good card for you. For everyone else, it’s too niche to widely recommend. There are better options for most people.
We rate the Reserve Rewards+ card 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in June 2023. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!