Elastic offers unsecured personal lines of credit up to $4,500 to borrowers who may struggle to get financed elsewhere. The company makes clear that the credit it offers is high-cost — it’s not intended to satisfy long-term loan needs, and other options may be less expensive.
How a line of credit works
A line of credit is similar to a credit card. They’re both revolving forms of credit, and you can borrow up to the amount of your credit line. However, you can’t use a line of credit like a credit card — you won’t carry it in your wallet and tap it at stores, for example. But you can typically use it to pay off bills, write checks, withdraw money, or transfer money to your bank account.
A line of credit is also sometimes confused with a personal loan. But unlike a line of credit, a personal loan provides a lump sum upfront that’s equal to the amount borrowed (minus any origination fees). Another difference is that the annual percentage rate (APR) on a personal loan generally tops out around 36%, while it can be in the triple digits with an Elastic line of credit.
How an Elastic line of credit works
Elastic does not have a minimum credit score requirement to qualify for a line of credit, and instead of charging interest, it charges cash advance fees and carried-balance fees. If approved, your credit line could be as high as $4,500 — Elastic will determine that based on your financial profile.
Cash advance fees
Once approved, you can request money up to the amount of your credit limit. Cash advance fees are either 5% or 10% of the amount borrowed, depending on whether you choose a bimonthly or monthly billing cycle, respectively. They’re deducted from your credit line. If you pay off an Elastic cash advance within the first billing cycle, you’ll only pay the cash advance fee.
For example, if you borrow $1,000, and choose a monthly billing cycle, Elastic would add a $100 cash advance fee (10% of $1,000) to your balance, plus the amount you borrow. If you pay that $1,100 off within the first monthly billing cycle, the APR would be 120%.
Minimum required payments
Like a credit card, Elastic requires minimum monthly payments if you carry a balance forward after the first billing cycle. The amount you’re required to pay depends on your billing cycle type and outstanding credit limit, as follows:
- Biweekly or semimonthly billing cycle: The greater of $50 or 5% of your outstanding balance, plus the carried-balance fee. Balances less than $50 are due in full.
- Monthly billing cycle: The greater of $100 or 10% of your outstanding balance, plus the carried-balance fee. Balances less than $100 are due in full.
Past-due amounts are due in addition to your minimum monthly payment, but they’re not considered when calculating the minimum payment for the current billing cycle.
Carried-balance fees
If you carry a balance beyond the first billing cycle, you’ll be charged a carried-balance fee for each cycle, based on your balance and the billing cycle you chose (monthly or bimonthly). Elastic’s carried-balance fees are below. Note that you can only maintain a balance for up to 10 months. And that’s a good thing, because doing so can get extremely expensive.
Let’s continue our example to illustrate. The minimum required payment on a $1,100 balance on a monthly billing cycle would be $200 — $110 (10% of $1,100) plus a carried-balance fee of $90. But let’s say you decide to pay the entire balance plus the fee off instead, for a total of $1,190. The APR would be approximately 164%.
View all of Elastic’s carried-balance fees.
Important
If you open a credit line with Elastic, plan to borrow only what you can pay off within the first billing cycle to avoid very high APRs, and a potentially debilitating cycle of debt.
Elastic pros and cons
Elastic line of credit details
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What to consider before applying for an Elastic credit line
If you need a repayment term longer than one month, compare rates and see if you can qualify for a personal loan for bad credit first. Personal loan interest rates are generally capped at 36% (and could be much lower). Loan repayment terms can extend to seven years or more.
All APRs reflect autopay and loyalty discounts where available | LightStream disclosure | SoFi Disclosures | Read more about Rates and Terms
Here’s a closer look at the terms and conditions that accompany Elastic lines of credit.
Expensive fees
Elastic credit lines can get expensive, especially if you need multiple billing cycles to repay an outstanding balance.
Availability
Elastic credit lines are available to borrowers in 35 states. They currently aren’t available if you live in California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia.
Cooling-off period
If you have an outstanding balance for 10 consecutive months, Elastic will put your account in a “cooling-off period.” While in a cooling-off period, you can’t request any cash advances. To regain access to your credit line, you’ll need to pay down your balance to $0 and maintain the $0 balance for 20 consecutive days.
How to qualify for a credit line from Elastic
Elastic doesn’t require applicants to have a certain minimum credit score. However, it does require you meet the following criteria:
- Age: You must be at least 18 years old.
- Location: You must live in a state that Elastic serves.
- Income: You must have a steady source of income.
- Bank account: You must have an active checking account.
- Email address: You must have an active email address and are willing to receive disclosures electronically.
- Government ID: You must be able to verify your identity.
- Not a Covered Borrower: Covered borrowers under the Military Lending Act are not eligible.
Along with the above, Elastic will consider your credit scores and reports to determine if you meet its underwriting guidelines.
How to get a credit line with Elastic
Getting a credit line with Elastic can be easy. Simply visit the company’s website and click “Apply Now.” After providing basic information about yourself and consenting to various notices, Elastic will review your application and perform a soft credit check.
Upon prequalification, the lender will present you with the credit line amount it expects to approve you for. From there, you can complete the rest of the application, which involves steps like providing your bank account information. If all goes well, the funds can be sent over as soon as the next business day. Note that upon formally applying for the loan, Elastic will conduct a hard credit check, which could lower your score temporarily.
How to contact Elastic
If you need help or have questions, you can reach Elastic via a variety of channels, including:
- Customer support phone line: (888) 225-0080
- Online contact form: On the lender’s contact page
- Fax number: (866) 766-8160
- Physical address for written correspondence: 4030 Smith Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209
The company’s business hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET, and weekends from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
How Elastic compares to other lenders
Elastic FAQs
What types of personal loans does Elastic offer?
Elastic offers unsecured personal lines of credit. Credit line amounts range from $500 to $4,500 and repayment terms extend up to 10 months (though paying off immediately is advisable to avoid high fees). When you take a cash advance, Elastic charges a cash advance fee of 5% or 10%, plus additional fees if you carry a balance beyond the first billing cycle.
How does an Elastic credit line affect my credit?
Elastic may report information about your account, such as late payments, missed payments, and defaults, to the consumer credit bureaus. The company doesn’t mention reporting positive account activity.
Can I repay a credit line from Elastic early?
Yes, you can repay a credit line from Elastic at any time without prepayment penalties. While you won’t be able to avoid or reduce the initial cash advance fee of 5% or 10%, you can avoid fees incurred by carrying a balance by paying off your balance as soon as possible.
Methodology
Credible evaluated personal loan lenders based on factors such as customer experience, rates, loan amounts, funding times, loan terms, fees, discounts, the availability of secured loans, and whether cosigners are accepted. Credible’s team of experts gathered information from each lender’s website, customer service department, directly from our partners, and via email support. Each data point was verified by a third party to make sure it was accurate and up to date.
