A couple of weeks ago, we learned the details of a new travel card from Wells Fargo. Well, the new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is now open to applicants, for those who might be interested in picking up the card.
This is a product with a great value proposition, especially since the card earns a transferable points currency. However, is it worth applying for, given how competitive the credit card landscape is?
In this post:
Basics of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card
Here are the basics of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Visa Card, which has opened to online applicants as of March 20, 2024:
- The card offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $4,000 within the first three months
- The card has a $95 annual fee, not waived for the first year; however, this is offset by an annual $50 statement credit for airfare purchases, so I’d really consider this card to cost $45 per year to hold onto
- The card offers 5x points on hotels, 4x points on airlines, 3x points on travel and dining, and 1x points on all other purchases, with no foreign transaction fees
- The card offers a points transfer feature, which will go live as of April 4, 2024; you’ll be able to transfer your points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Choice Privileges
- The card offers a travel protection feature, plus access to Autograph Card Exclusives, a new feature providing cardholders with access to special concerts in small venues
Here’s how Krista Phillips, Head of Consumer Credit Cards and Enterprise Marketing at Wells Fargo, describes the card:
“Autograph Journey is Wells Fargo’s best travel rewards card to date, designed to help cardholders build journeys as unique as they are by earning points wherever they book travel. We continue to build up our consumer offerings with best-in-class rewards cards specifically created with our customers’ lifestyles top of mind. Autograph Journey’s highly competitive value proposition with rich rewards lets travelers enjoy more extraordinary adventures, more often.”
My take on the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card
Independently, the new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Visa Card is quite compelling. The card essentially costs you $45 per year out of pocket, and offers some great bonus categories with points that can be transfered to travel partners.
Those bonus categories are really well rounded for those who spend a lot on travel, as earning 3-5x points in many categories is a significant return on spending.
Arguably the challenge here is that the transferable points credit card landscape is already pretty crowded, and there are lots of great existing options. So is there merit to applying for this card for the great bonus and seeing how the value evolves? Absolutely.
But based on the current set of transfer partners, plus the general unknowns, I’m not necessarily sure this card is a slam dunk for everyone. A few thoughts:
- The Bilt Mastercard® (review) is also issued by Wells Fargo, has no annual fee, and offers 3x points on dining, 2x points on travel, and more; while that might not sound as compelling, there’s lots of other value to the card, and Bilt also has a much more robust set of transfer partners, with frequent transfer bonuses
- If you spend a lot in everyday categories, then something like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) might be more lucrative, as it offers 2x points on everyday spending
- Both American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards have a robust portfolio of cards that you can apply for to maximize your points, with lots of transfer partners, and many options for how to redeem your points; this includes cards like the American Express® Gold Card (review) and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (review)
More options are always a good thing, and I’m excited to see how this card evolves, along with the overall Wells Fargo points transfer ecosystem.
Bottom line
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card has just launched, and is a pretty compelling product. The card has a $95 annual fee offset by a $50 airfare credit, and offers 5x points on hotels, 4x points on airlines, and 3x points on travel and dining. Those points will be transferable to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus AerClub, and Choice Privileges.
It’s always nice to have more players in the market, and I’m looking forward to seeing how this plays out…
What do you make of the new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card?
Noticed that they are charging me foreign currency conversion fees of 3% despite this card supposedly having no foreign transaction fees.
Approved with a $2500 limit lol. Interested in the bonus as I can always use more Avios and for a low fee card with decent multiplier on hotel/airfare without needing to use the card's travel portal (a la Capital One).
Sounds about right for Wells Fargo. That was my limit for the BILT…
Not sure why the comments here are so negative. There are many *worse* cards out there. Worth applying for SUB alone although it’s still not clear to me if there’s a simple downgrade option after 13 months.
I don't understand why this card is compelling. It offers similar rewards and lacks additional benefits compared to other cards currently out there.
Do the points have a minimum value for travel, like a penny per point. If not, other cards offer better value.
The Wells Fargo Autograph Beyond will be the premium card with Priority Pass and a 10x hotel portal. Transfer partners will expand. Emirates, Singapore, and Virgin. Just keep your pants on.
You must be kidding. If that's all Wells can come up with their super premium card, they might as well go back to their drawing board. Singapore and Virgin partners with every bank, so that wouldn't be a surprise. Emirates Skywards miles? Who cares? Are they good for anything other than greater access to its own first class? Priority Pass isn't going to distinguish the card either, unless its annual fee is half of that...
You must be kidding. If that's all Wells can come up with their super premium card, they might as well go back to their drawing board. Singapore and Virgin partners with every bank, so that wouldn't be a surprise. Emirates Skywards miles? Who cares? Are they good for anything other than greater access to its own first class? Priority Pass isn't going to distinguish the card either, unless its annual fee is half of that of Capital One Venture X (and I don't see that as a possibility).
While 5x hotels may be unique, chain hotel cards are a way better value proposition where, for a fee that it usually offset by an annual FNA you get a higher earning rate than 5x (maybe not Hyatt, but Hyatt points are worth 3x the norm). So unless people are going to switch to WellsFargo for some non-chain hotel reasons, there's no uniqueness to this card that other cards don't match/beat. Plus, Amex, Chase, CapitalOne...
While 5x hotels may be unique, chain hotel cards are a way better value proposition where, for a fee that it usually offset by an annual FNA you get a higher earning rate than 5x (maybe not Hyatt, but Hyatt points are worth 3x the norm). So unless people are going to switch to WellsFargo for some non-chain hotel reasons, there's no uniqueness to this card that other cards don't match/beat. Plus, Amex, Chase, CapitalOne regularly offer transfer bonuses. Remains tbd if this card will do the same; if it doesn't then it's even less compelling
If you are a Wells Fargo Premier client, they will add 10,000 bonus points to the offer, FWIW.
There's opportunity cost. Personally, I wouldn't apply now, or at least until:
1. there're more transfer partners; and
2. there's a bigger signup bonus.
This card is fine. 5x on hotels is best in the business. If you have a lot of paid stays via work for example this card could be a good use.
I think the reality is that there’s not much that can be done these days to make a more compelling card than what’s already out there. All the banks can do is put out an unprofitable card and then slowly chisel away benefits to...
This card is fine. 5x on hotels is best in the business. If you have a lot of paid stays via work for example this card could be a good use.
I think the reality is that there’s not much that can be done these days to make a more compelling card than what’s already out there. All the banks can do is put out an unprofitable card and then slowly chisel away benefits to make it profitable. Wells Fargo is not interested in that.
Where this has a x-factor is if you have the old Wells Fargo Visa Signature and the points are combinable so you can cash these points out for 1.5cpp each.
I will get it for the SUB.
Would the transfer be at 1:1 and I'm not sure what makes this card so special....
This is great news. I hope it spurs US Bank and Bank of America to get with the times.
Any card adding transfer partners is a win. But this news is great for a couple of reasons:
1) It gives an easy option to newer people -- 5x hotels will be useful for the disloyal for for those that have to stay at an occasional Omni for business travel (I have one of these this month.
2) 4x airline without having to pay $695/yr or use a portal is pretty appealing to everyone....
Any card adding transfer partners is a win. But this news is great for a couple of reasons:
1) It gives an easy option to newer people -- 5x hotels will be useful for the disloyal for for those that have to stay at an occasional Omni for business travel (I have one of these this month.
2) 4x airline without having to pay $695/yr or use a portal is pretty appealing to everyone. Again, it benefits the disloyal the most.
3) I believe the news also came with notice that the no AF Autograph will also get transfer partner access in April. With the Active Cash, it creates a full no AF simple setup. This is a big deal for newer points people or for younger folks.
Right now, I don't expect this to be compelling to anyone deeper into points and miles, except if you want to keep a small stash of points that you can use to fill out a Flying Blue redemption or for a last minute Choice stay (which can be handy). They will add some transfer partners over time. In a year, this could be a more robust ecosystem. And they have a trademark filed for the Autograph Beyond already.
Even if you hate Wells Fargo, the news is good because it will force other banks to compete. Today the number of transferable currencies competing for spend increased by 20%, and WF has a clear option for beginners in this space. That's good for everyone.
Wells Fargo also lost two mobile check deposits of mine. Claimed the checks were deposited to Chase (which I've never banked with). One check was refunded while the other was not with no details provided. I''m out $8k.
Does this card have lounge access? Will Wells Fargo build lounges like C1, Chase and Amex?
Do the Citi Premier, Amex Green, Chase Sapphire Preferred have lounge access? This might answer your question.
AX Green, yes, albeit limited
Maybe for the SUB, but for many it may not even be worth the 5/24 slot. The 5x transferrable points on hotels is kind of industry leading, but I still would not use it much. For paid Hyatt stays, I would rather have 4 Hyatt points/$ on the WoH card than 5 of these. You could use a Citi Custom Cash card for 5 TYP/$ (which could become 10 Choice points/$). Unless the transfer partners...
Maybe for the SUB, but for many it may not even be worth the 5/24 slot. The 5x transferrable points on hotels is kind of industry leading, but I still would not use it much. For paid Hyatt stays, I would rather have 4 Hyatt points/$ on the WoH card than 5 of these. You could use a Citi Custom Cash card for 5 TYP/$ (which could become 10 Choice points/$). Unless the transfer partners greatly improve, or there are some other cards that can pair with this one, it just does not move the needle for me.
WF is promising they will be adding partners. Also, the Custom Cash is capped at $500 a month on one 5x category, a lot of hotel bills for more than 2-3 nights stay would blow right past that.
Oh, and the WF Active Cash (2x everywhere) partners with this.
@eponymous Do we know that earnings on the Active Cash can be transferred out to partners? I have not seen this confirmed, but that would be great. Still, 2x on everyday spend is just ok, given the current transfer partners. I can get that through Citi or Cap 1, and combine that with transfer bonuses, the Rewards + 10% back, etc.
Yeah, the Custom Cash is capped at $500, but if you have more than...
@eponymous Do we know that earnings on the Active Cash can be transferred out to partners? I have not seen this confirmed, but that would be great. Still, 2x on everyday spend is just ok, given the current transfer partners. I can get that through Citi or Cap 1, and combine that with transfer bonuses, the Rewards + 10% back, etc.
Yeah, the Custom Cash is capped at $500, but if you have more than 1, you could ask the front desk to split the charges. I have 3 Custom Cash cards at this point.
It's just not clear to me how this is a better card for most people than the no fee Autograph since it sounds like that card may also have the ability to transfer to partners. You would need to spend quite a lot on hotels and/or airfare and not already have a different card to put that spending on. And there's not really any good transfer partner that you can't also get from the other points programs.
40,000 additional points on SUB (Autograph is 20k right now, this one is 60k) which are at a minimum redeemable for $400 cash. If you consider the $50 off of airfare $50 of value, that's almost nine years of annual fees taken care of before you evaluate what getting 4x airfare and 5x hotels instead of 3x is worth or what 40k points is actually worth (maybe more than a penny a point).
And "but...
40,000 additional points on SUB (Autograph is 20k right now, this one is 60k) which are at a minimum redeemable for $400 cash. If you consider the $50 off of airfare $50 of value, that's almost nine years of annual fees taken care of before you evaluate what getting 4x airfare and 5x hotels instead of 3x is worth or what 40k points is actually worth (maybe more than a penny a point).
And "but this card has common transfer partners with AMEX/Chase/Citi/Capital One" is a feature, not a bug. More ways to get those Avios or Flying Blue balances fat with six figures is bad how?
Interesting. I guess I’ll apply for the SUB but I doubt the card will remain in play for long. Only problem is, not sure if there’s an easy downgrade path so I don’t want to be stuck, holding onto an annual fee card… tough one.
5X on Hotels & 4X on Airlines for an effective $45 AF with transfer partners from each of the big three alliances; sounds pretty good. Assuming there is no requirement to book through a WF Travel Portal.
Flying Blue (50k J with free stopovers, Avianca (low fees) and team Avios (five airlines) are solid programs.
5X on Hotels sounds great for those bookings outside of big four points hotels programs. The AMEX Platinum (1X Hotels),...
5X on Hotels & 4X on Airlines for an effective $45 AF with transfer partners from each of the big three alliances; sounds pretty good. Assuming there is no requirement to book through a WF Travel Portal.
Flying Blue (50k J with free stopovers, Avianca (low fees) and team Avios (five airlines) are solid programs.
5X on Hotels sounds great for those bookings outside of big four points hotels programs. The AMEX Platinum (1X Hotels), Sapphire Reserve (3X), Citi Premier (3X) & AMEX Green (3X) all have larger AFs.
4X on airlines is great but wonder about the insurance that comes with it (with AMEX Platinum, CSR).
Lol @ Avianca for *A redemptions. I would rather pay surcharges than have to deal with all changes via phone, $175-$200 change/cancel, horrible IT for redeeming more than 2 segments, milage expiration, ect. AV is great for last minute redemptions & nothing more.
The real problem here is that these transfer partners are all accounted for by the other major programs. Not a real need for additional ways to earn Avios, Flying Blue, Choice, Avianca, etc.
Honestly, a new travel card with high multipliers on spend, and something like a traditional "eraser" for travel purchases (kind of like how Capital One Venture miles used to work, and still do work), along with travel benefits, is kind of what is missing these days.
Nice option for AM pop-up jail, break from Chase churning, and can’t get C1 cause of too many HP inquiries for playing points game. Sure that’s lots of peeps who fit all 3 categories.
Good point. Sub still kind of sucks though. Best thing about WF is they pull Equifax. Helps stretch the EX/TU hard pulls & keeps spend on a sub that you can transfer to BA/FB.
"The real problem here is that these transfer partners are all accounted for by the other major programs. "
That's not actually a problem if you're chasing signup bonuses or making regular redemptions out of those programs. OH NOES I CAN TRANSFER MY AMEX, CAPITAL ONE AND WELLS FARGO POINTS BALANCES TO THE SAME AIRLINE AND GET A HIGHER BALANCE SO I CAN HAVE A BETTER REDEMPTION. WHAT WILL I DO?!!?!?!?!?
I feel like you just described US Bank Altitude Reserve. 3x points anywhere you can use mobile payments and then redeem those at 4.5% cash back through real time rewards on travel purchases. Super easy.
Gross, Wells Fargo is a sleazy company, no cars benefits will ever be enough to entice me back.
I banked there during the infamous "8 is great" years when employees were under such pressure to sell products that employees started opening fake accounts on customers accounts. Wells Fargo engaged in retaliation against employees by putting negative comments on their U-5 forms , which made it hard if not impossible for those former employees to...
Gross, Wells Fargo is a sleazy company, no cars benefits will ever be enough to entice me back.
I banked there during the infamous "8 is great" years when employees were under such pressure to sell products that employees started opening fake accounts on customers accounts. Wells Fargo engaged in retaliation against employees by putting negative comments on their U-5 forms , which made it hard if not impossible for those former employees to work at other financial institutions in the future.
I personally noted employees were constantly pushing products NOT in my financial best interest.
If you had an account with them in the past, you may already have this card. :)
"If you had an account with them in the past, you may already have this card. :)"
Well played, Rico, well played indeed... :) :) :)
Wow - So how exactly did WF retaliate against these employees? What the employees were doing was illegal - I don't disagree that that WF is a POS company, but just because they expected their employees to, you know, do their jobs, that certainly doesn't give employees a right to break the law. It sounds like the employees are lucky they didn't get sent to jail, a negative U-5 is a slap on the wrist...
Wow - So how exactly did WF retaliate against these employees? What the employees were doing was illegal - I don't disagree that that WF is a POS company, but just because they expected their employees to, you know, do their jobs, that certainly doesn't give employees a right to break the law. It sounds like the employees are lucky they didn't get sent to jail, a negative U-5 is a slap on the wrist and perhaps teaches them a lesson and will keep them out of an industry where they have unfettered access to financial PII data.
In my opinion, a nothing burger. 3 starts and stops in launching this product only to find plain non-fat yogurt. Add American, increase the sign up bonus and clean up your act and then we’ll talk.
I'll try to make this sound as un-un-hinged as possible.
Wells Fargo is the worst major US bank to work with in the United States. If you choose to take out an account with them, do so at your own peril.
There is no reason to give them money when there are perfect other options like Chase or Capitol One. I know, I'm sure everyone has their banking horror stories, but no bank generates horror like Wells Fargo. Avoid at all cost
I agree and disagree with you. I have an account at WF for over 20 years. As long as you don't need anything from them, it works fine. Their online system is great, easy to deposit checks, etc... Now, if you need to go to a branch for anything, you are toasted. Their staff is absolutely useless. They are nice people, with good intentions but they are robotic. You need to make an appointment to...
I agree and disagree with you. I have an account at WF for over 20 years. As long as you don't need anything from them, it works fine. Their online system is great, easy to deposit checks, etc... Now, if you need to go to a branch for anything, you are toasted. Their staff is absolutely useless. They are nice people, with good intentions but they are robotic. You need to make an appointment to talk to anyone. The branches are usually empty with a bunch of bankers sitting there doing nothing and you still need an appointment to talk to any of them. They have zero freedom to be flexible on anything, all they do is to call 1800 and talk to someone in front of you. Again, they are absolutely useless.
This is pretty much how Capital One works. "Computer says no" is pretty common from C1 CS. There's a TON of "I have an 800+ credit score but I can't get approved for a VentureX" stories out there.