In March 2024, we saw the launch of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card. This is a card with a reasonable annual fee, some amazing bonus categories, and it even earns transferable points.
Arguably, this is the most underrated card out there, in the sense that it doesn’t get talked about much, but it has an almost unrivaled rewards structure. Increasingly, people are suggesting that this is the go-to card that everyone should have, given how the credit card space has evolved.
In this post, I want to take a closer look at the card. Yes, this is a great card, and it’s one that people should be aware of. However, I’ll also share why I struggle a bit with figuring out how this fits into my credit card strategy.
In this post:
Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card basics
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Visa Card is a surprisingly great product, which can easily compete with cards like the American Express® Gold Card (review) Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review), and Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (review). Let’s cover all the basics of the card, and then I’ll share my take.
Welcome bonus of 60K points
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has a welcome offer of 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 within the first three months. That’s a solid bonus, but nothing earth shattering.
$95 annual fee (before $50 credit)
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has a reasonable $95 annual fee, which isn’t waived for the first year. This is in line with the annual fee on other mid-range cards. The card also offers a $50 annual statement credit with a minimum of a $50 airline purchase annually.
I’d basically factor that into the math on the annual fee, and as I see it, that means the card costs $45 per year to hold onto. So that’s really attractive pricing.
Valuable 3-5x points bonus categories
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has an incredible rewards structure. It offers:
- 5x points on hotels
- 4x points on airlines
- 3x points on travel and dining
- 1x points on all other purchases
There are no foreign transaction fees, so the card is useful for purchases in the United States and abroad.
Points redemption options
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has its own transferable points currency. As of now, points earned on the card can be transfered to the following programs:
- Aer Lingus AerClub at a 1:1 ratio
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio
- Avianca Lifemiles at a 1:1 ratio
- Choice Privileges at a 1:2 ratio
- British Airways Club at a 1:1 ratio
- Iberia Club at a 1:1 ratio
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio
Alternatively, you can redeem points for one cent each toward a variety of purchases, like travel bookings through the portal.
Is the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey worth it?
Many people argue that we should forget about most other card issuers, and instead focus on the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey. I mean, essentially paying $45 per year to earn 3x points on travel and dining, 4x points on airlines, and 5x points on hotels, is a bonus structure that’s tough to beat… no?
So why isn’t this the most popular card on the market? I can only speak for myself, but as I see it, there are two main issues — the value of the points, and just overall credit card fatigue.
Wells Fargo points are rather limiting
I appreciate that Wells Fargo has a transferable points currency, but the transfer partners are the most limiting of any of the major programs. Essentially, you have Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca Lifemiles, Choice Privileges, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and various flavors of “Avios.”
These are the programs that most frequently belong to transferable points currencies, so those are rewards that are easy to earn. Here’s the thing, though. Not only are those currencies really limiting, but Wells Fargo also doesn’t offer transfer bonuses, while we frequently see bonuses of 20-30% with other programs.
Actually, the programs that Wells Fargo partners with are consistently those that have the most transfer bonuses with other currencies. It’s one thing if Wells Fargo partnered with Emirates Skywards or Singapore KrisFlyer, where we almost never see transfer bonuses, but that’s not the case here.
My point is to say that I’d estimate that I value other transferable points currencies at somewhere around 25-40% more than Wells Fargo points. That factors in both the lack of transfer bonuses, and the lack of partners.
So while I value other points currencies at 1.7 cents each, maybe I value Wells Fargo points at 1.3 cents each, give or take (I might have to put more thought into that, but that’s the initial number that comes to my mind).
Credit card fatigue also factors into this
I’ve written about the concept of credit card fatigue, and about how with all the changes we’ve seen to other cards, managing a credit card strategy increasingly feels like a chore. To me, the issue is that if earning Wells Fargo points isn’t a “one size fits all” solution, then it kind of feels like a chore to add yet another card to my portfolio, which will only offer limited incremental value.
Perhaps I’m just too much on the “hamster wheel” with other card issuers, but where do we really come out ahead here? The way I view it:
- I do better on airfare spending with The Platinum Card® from American Express (review)
- The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is industry leading for hotels, but with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (review) now offering 4x points on direct hotel bookings, that’s pretty lucrative as well
- The American Express® Gold Card (review) is better for dining spending
- I think we can all agree that the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey isn’t a good card for everyday, non-bonused spending, since it only earns 1x points in those categories
- If anything, it’s the 3x points on non-hotel and airline spending that’s most compelling on this card
I guess to sum it up, my issue is that the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey very much feels like it should be a “one size fits all” card in terms of the rewards structure. The issue is that redemption options are so limiting, and that makes it hard to figure out where this would fall into my strategy.
Maybe if I cancel a vast majority of my credit cards and just give up, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey would be an easy option. But I’m just not quite there yet, I guess? And I’d also be kind of sad if I were primarily earning points that could be transfered to so few partners.
Bottom line
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey is a lucrative card, no doubt. It has a reasonable $95 annual fee that’s largely offset by a $50 airfare credit. The card also offers 5x points on hotels, 4x points on airlines, and 3x points on travel and dining.
That’s an incredible value rewards structure, though the issue is that Wells Fargo partners with a very limited number of airlines, and we almost never see transfer bonuses. Yes, I absolutely think that for some people, this is a great option. I just struggle to figure out how this card would fit into my overall credit card strategy.
What do you make of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card?
Being able to get 5x on hotels and 4x on airfare without having to go through a travel portal is an advantage (benefits of booking direct, avoid the frequent horror stories about portals), as is being able to cash out points a 1cpp if you want. Also, the effective annual cost is $45 after the $50 airfare credit compared to much higher numbers on some other cards.
It has travel insurance although not quite as good as the CSR.
Wish there were more cards with transferable points to united
The cash redemption option seems to be broader than what you wrote. On its website, WF says you can redeem your Journey points as a statement credit, or redeem them in 2500 point increments for a check, at a 1¢/point value. So if you don’t feel like jumping through the point-transfer hoops or using the company travel portal, you still get decent basic value.
Also, it appears that you can combine Autograph Journey points with...
The cash redemption option seems to be broader than what you wrote. On its website, WF says you can redeem your Journey points as a statement credit, or redeem them in 2500 point increments for a check, at a 1¢/point value. So if you don’t feel like jumping through the point-transfer hoops or using the company travel portal, you still get decent basic value.
Also, it appears that you can combine Autograph Journey points with other WF credit card points. So if I’m reading this correctly, you could use an Autograph Journey/no-fee Autograph combo to get 3x points on categories Journey doesn’t support, like rail fares, tolls, streaming services and phone bills. It doesn’t specifically say you can swap all these points for airline miles, but it doesn’t specifically say you can’t, either.
Yes, the rewards T&Cs for the $0 AF Autograph card list points transfers as an available redemption option, just like on the Autograph Journey. One of the rare $0 AF cards that offers transfer partners.
Will you comment on the ATL situation? Seems annual now for Delta
Awww… thanks Ben. I’ll shut up now ;)
I know this card isn’t for everyone but it’s a fantastic, underrated option nonetheless. Especially for those of us who value point multipliers above all else.
I have decided to go after several of these smaller cards with no AF or $100 max to replicate csr when it was $300. Then drop csr when it's time comes later this year. It will simplify my life a lot. No more monthly homework to chase Chase credits. The trade-off is good enough because I do have cc fatigue.
As a CSR holder since inception, I don’t feel it is reasonable to compare the WF card to the CSR. With WF, I wouldn’t need to do much to keep it to a $45 net annual fee, but with CSR someone would have to approach that like trying to manage a three ring circus, where the main act is good, but the side rings really suck for most travelers. So far, I’m cancelling the CSR...
As a CSR holder since inception, I don’t feel it is reasonable to compare the WF card to the CSR. With WF, I wouldn’t need to do much to keep it to a $45 net annual fee, but with CSR someone would have to approach that like trying to manage a three ring circus, where the main act is good, but the side rings really suck for most travelers. So far, I’m cancelling the CSR when my renewal approaches in 2026. I’d prefer limited opportunities with the Wells card more than matched by a negligible net annual fee compared to Chase wanting $795 from me and another $195 for my wife’s card. $990 up front isn’t going from my pocket to Jamie Dimon’s, even if I manage to net that down to $690.
Yeah, how about also that WF is just a shady, shitty company that we shouldn't support?
And chase is not? I agree wf is trash but I do bare minimum business with them because as someone who used to work for the federal reserve most banks are awful. Without the feds intervention banks would only lend money to wealthy folks living in the wealthiest neighborhoods. Everybody else would be treated like the lowest class citizens.
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6851727
It’s going to be a few more years before I stop viewing WF as a sketchy bank. So it really doesn’t matter to me what the credit card rewards look like, I don’t want an account there.
@Lucky: Points can also be transferred to Aer Lingus.
@ Daniel B. -- Somehow that disappeared when I created a bulleted list. Fixed, thank you!
@Lucky: the sad thing is, Aer Lingus only has 1 business class seat available when the schedule opens up (for 50k Avios + around $180 tax) and ONLY in 2 out of 12 US cities it flies to.
Ben, thanks for covering this card. One thing to note is that the Autograph Journey does not have the same broad travel category earnings as the CSR (until October), Amex Green, or, oddly, the no-AF Autograph card. So if the “other travel” at 3X is the most compelling part of this card for a certain person, they should seriously consider the free Autograph instead.
I’m not sure what is truly included in the other travel category. I used it on the trams and metro in Prague last month, and they didn’t trigger the 3%. I just assumed they would be considered other travel.
Once transferred to Avios, my understanding is that points can be transferred between Avios programs including Aer Lingus and Qatar (?).
@ Klaus_S -- That's correct, so if you have access to one Avios currency, you have access to all of them.
@Klaus-S, yes, that is my understanding too.
Expanding its base of transfer partners is the number one priority for this card. Air Canada, Emirates, and Singapore to round out the standard set.
If it offered a 3X grocery store bonus then this would be my default card.