Wells Fargo has been out of the "points" & rewards credit card scene for a bit, but they're coming back into the game strong with some new, exciting credit card offerings.
Their first play is with the no annual fee Wells Fargo Autograph Card, which from first glance, seems to offer a lot of potential. This article will cover our take on the card, including its benefits and what we're looking forward to for its companion, the Autograph Journey.
Elegant Entry: The Welcome Bonus
For a no annual fee card in the points space, the Autograph card has a pretty standard welcome bonus matching its comparable offerings: earn 20,000 bonus points after just $1,000 spend in the first 3 months. However, the card is also offering a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases, providing a flexible and attractive option for managing finances within the first year of card membership. This introductory offer is a great first step into its other benefits.
Excellent Spending Multipliers
The Autograph card is coming in hard with some fantastic spending multipliers that will give a lot of its competitors a run for their money:
- 3x points on restaurants, travel, gas, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans
- 1x points on all other purchases
To put it simply, this is fantastic. It's unheard of to see a card offer 3x points on this many categories, let alone a no annual fee card. For context, here's how the Autograph card stands against its immediate no annual fee competitors:
The most comparable card here is the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, which also has a slew of high value 3x earning categories.
Protections and Peace of Mind
Beyond rewards, this no annual fee card extends a suite of protection benefits, including cell phone protection against damage or theft, auto rental collision damage waivers, and even emergency assistance services. These benefits are particularly impressive, as it is rare to see a no annual fee card be able to offer benefits like these. We will have to see how they turn out in practice in comparison to top tier insurances offered by the likes of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or The Platinum Card® from American Express.
For the time being, however, some of the only cards that come near to this type of insurance offering for a $0 annual fee is the Bilt® Mastercard... which happens to be issued by Wells Fargo.
Auto collision rental insurance can be extremely useful when renting cars
Visa Signature Perks
Interestingly, this card also comes with Visa Signature® perks, such as concierge services, premium hotel collection access, and luxury travel benefits, enhancing every step of your journey. It's again rare to see Visa Signature cards for no annual fee since its is typically given to cards with an annual fee (e.g. the Chase Sapphire Preferred).
No Foreign Transaction Fees
In a good model established by Capital One and Bilt, this card will not charge any foreign transaction fees, making it a good card to bring along for your travels.
How This Card Stands Up Against Competitors
Several credit cards on the market offer the ability to combine your points to then transfer them and get maximum value. However, it's rare to see a single credit card offer this many high value earning categories.
For example, the popular Chase Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5x on all purchases and 3x on dining & drugstore purchases. None of the classic Chase cards come with easy gas spending multipliers. However, the Wells Fargo Autograph card covers dining and gas spending, which is huge.
The Capital One SavorOne stands up well against this card, as it offers 3x on grocery, dining, entertainment, and streaming. The Wells Fargo Signature card does not offer multipliers on groceries, which is definitely a calculated, intentional move. If it offered grocery multipliers, that would make the card the definite answer among all no annual fee cards.
In summary, the Autograph card stands up well against competitors, and has the potential to be a very popular travel card.
Conclusion
This new card is far from disappointing; it offers tremendous earning potential and has the potential to soar among credit card rankings. With 3x earnings on 6 different categories, it definitely stands out amongst competitors and has the potential to shake up the credit card space. I'm particularly interested in seeing how other options react to the launch of the Autograph card. Keep Wells Fargo on your radar as you continue to look for exciting points card.
Get the free daily email of the latest award flight deals.
