Wells Fargo Reflect® Card review: A leader among long intro APR offers

If you want to finance new purchases or transfer high-interest debt to a low-interest credit card and pay it off over time, the Wells Fargo Reflect Card is an excellent option. 

The Reflect card offers one of the longest intro APR periods available on qualifying balance transfers and new purchases, so it's terrific if you want some breathing room to pay down debt. On top of that, if you qualify for the card’s low-end APR, you could keep your interest charges low if you still have a balance on your card when the intro period ends.

Intro APR offer: One of the longest offers on the market

The Wells Fargo Reflect card offers a 0 percent intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers made within the first 120 days, with a balance transfer fee of 5 percent (or minimum $5). After your intro APR period ends, you’ll face a 17.74%, 24.24%, or 29.49% Variable APR  based on your creditworthiness.

Not many credit cards offer an intro APR that lasts this long — let alone on both purchases and balance transfers. This is especially uncommon on cards that earn rewards, with most offering a long intro APR offer on either new purchases or balance transfers, but rarely both.

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Card and the Citi Simplicity® Card are among the only cards that can compete with the Reflect card's intro APR offer on balance transfers, but both offer much shorter intro APR periods on purchases.  

So if you want as much time as possible to pay off new purchases and a transferred balance, the Wells Fargo Reflect Card may be one of the best options around.

Ongoing APR: Potentially lower than average

If you qualify for a favorable interest rate, this card can potentially have a lower ongoing APR range compared to rival balance transfer cards. That’s helpful if you may not pay off your full balance within the time period of the intro APR offer. 

Its low-end APR is below the current average credit card interest rate. Though there’s no guarantee you’ll qualify for the lowest rate, the Reflect card offers a chance at a lower-than-average APR, which gives it an advantage over some competitors. 

Though it offers impressively long intro APR periods, the Wells Fargo Reflect card falls short when it comes to long-term value. It may also save you less overall on balance transfers than a card with lower fees and a shorter intro APR period.

Fees: High balance transfer fee can cut into savings

Despite the very long intro APR offer, the Reflect card may not offer the best savings. When choosing which balance transfer card will help you save on interest, you should consider a card’s balance transfer fee.

You’ll pay a 5 percent (minimum $5) balance transfer fee on balances you transfer to the Reflect card, which is tacked onto your total balance. For instance, a $1,000 debt transfer has a $50 balance transfer fee, so you would have to pay off a total of $1,050 before the end of the offer period. A 5 percent transfer fee is not uncommon among balance transfer cards, but it is on the high end. A few competing cards only charge a 3 percent fee — a  difference that could add up to hundreds in savings on interest charges if you’re transferring a large balance. 

A card with a lower balance transfer fee might save you more even with a shorter intro APR period. That’s because 5 percent of your balance can easily be more expensive than the interest charges you’d face from carrying a balance for a few extra months. 

To see whether a longer intro APR or a lower balance transfer fee is right for you, try out Bankrate’s balance transfer calculator and credit card payoff calculator. 

Other fees to keep in mind include a 3 percent foreign currency conversion fee and a late payment fee of up to $40. Luckily, though, you won’t be charged a penalty APR. 

Rewards: Limited long-term value after intro APR period

If you're looking for a balance transfer card that offers rewards on purchases, then this card is not for you. The Wells Fargo Reflect Credit Card's lack of a rewards program is its biggest disadvantage.

As a simple way to pay down your debt, it’s a good option, but a card that earns rewards on everyday purchases like groceries and gas could help offset the cost of your balance transfer fee and provide long-term value. Keep in mind that you should avoid carrying a balance on a credit card, even if it’s a rewards card. Interest charges will always eclipse the value of the rewards. 

If you’re sure that you can pay off your transferred balance within the intro APR offer time period and you want a card that offers rewards too, take a look at the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. This card offers a high flat cash rewards rate on purchases, a decent welcome offer and a solid (though shorter) intro APR period.

Perks: Few benefits compared to other no-annual-fee cards

Balance transfer cards aren’t known for carrying a rich portfolio of benefits outside basics like FICO credit score access or account alerts — and the Reflect card is no different. While the Wells Fargo Reflect Card does offer cellphone protection and Wells Fargo Deals perks, these are not typically considered valuable benefits.

You do get decent cellphone protection, however. Phone bills you pay with the Wells Fargo Reflect Card are protected against eligible theft or damage for up to $600 per claim — minus a $25 out-of-pocket deductible. You can file up to two claims per year for up to $1,200 in annual coverage. Wells Fargo Reflect’s terms make it the best card for cellphone protection with a balance transfer offer, but it still might not be the most appealing perk.

The card also offers access to My Wells Fargo Deals, but these deals are mostly modest discounts like 5 percent cash back at Starbucks or 20 percent back on eligible Kindle purchases that usually come with small reward caps (less than $10). So the value of these perks is fairly limited.

The Reflect card also carries a few standard Visa Traditional benefits, common to most Visa cards. But they aren’t the most helpful benefits. If you want more network features, a few cards with shorter zero-interest periods, like the U.S. Bank Cash+®Visa Signature® Card, feature cash back programs and Visa Signature or World Elite Mastercard perks.

Learn more: Wells Fargo Reflect benefits guide

Staff Experience: Here's what our experts say

Bankrate senior editorial director John Puterbaugh used a similar Wells Fargo card when he and his wife replaced their home’s furnace and air conditioner. The long intro APR offer allowed them to effectively treat a portion of the overall project cost as a low-interest loan to keep more cash in savings.

We put about $2,000 on a Wells Fargo card that had an intro APR for 24 months. The card’s lack of rewards and other perks wasn’t an issue for us since we use other cash back cards for daily purchases. We literally never even took the card out of the envelope it was mailed in, just made monthly payments that would pay off the balance before the intro APR period ended and kept using our rewards cards for other purchases.

— John Puterbaugh, Senior Editorial Director, Credit Cards

The Wells Fargo Reflect’s intro APR on both purchases and qualifying balance transfers can easily outperform many other intro APR card offers, but the card’s high balance transfer fee means you may save more with another card.

Here’s who could benefit the most from the Wells Fargo Reflect Card.

People who need to keep interest at bay for as long as possible on not only their previous balance but any new purchases coming their way will find the Wells Fargo Reflect one of the most worthwhile options out there.

However, though the cellphone protection perk is a practical benefit, the Reflect's long-term value is limited compared to rival cards.

Dig deeper: Is the Wells Fargo Reflect Card worth it?

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring balance transfer and low-interest cards, including each card’s introductory APR, intro APR period length, ongoing APR, balance transfer fee, perks and more.

While balance transfer and general low-interest cards share a similar ratings rubric, we weigh features differently based on how a card is categorized. We categorize cards that carry an especially long intro APR offer on balance transfers as dedicated balance transfer cards, while cards that offer an especially low ongoing APR are considered general low-interest cards. 

Based on its features, we assigned this card a primary category of balance transfer and tailored our ratings accordingly. 

We analyzed over 100 of the most popular balance transfer and low-interest cards and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category. 

Here’s a breakdown of what gave this card its score:

*The information about the BankAmericard® credit card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

*The information about the U.S. Bank Cash+®Visa Signature® Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.