Credit One Bank Wander® Card review: Earn travel rewards with fair credit

Having the option of a travel card with fair credit is an opportunity that you should explore. The Credit One Wander Credit Card is a great choice for people who want flexibility without waiting until they have better credit. Also, offsetting the annual fee is easier because it rewards everyday expenses like gas and dining.

Recommended credit score: An accessible travel card

Since nearly all competing travel cards require applicants to have at least good credit for approval, the Credit One Wander Card may make sense for people working on their score but still want to earn rewards while traveling. Even if you only have a 600 credit score, the Credit One Wander Card could be a good fit. This is especially true if you spend a lot of time on the road or in hotels, thanks to its elevated rewards rates on eligible hotel and rental car bookings, as well as eligible travel and gas.

Welcome offer: Decent intro bonus

The Credit One Bank Wander Card currently offers 10,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 90 days on eligible purchases with the card. These points are worth 1 cent each, giving this bonus a value of $100 if you redeem for a statement credit, gift cards or travel.

Sign-up bonuses are hard to find on cards available with only fair credit, and this bonus can completely offset its annual fee in the first year. Assuming you spend $1,000 over 90 days on everyday purchases or have a large purchase planned, this bonus could make the Wander card a better option than many unsecured credit-building cards that charge a lower annual fee but offer no bonus or rewards.

Rewards rate: Big on travel and shopping

Credit One Bank Wander cardholders earn 10X points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel partner, 5X points on eligible travel, including flights, dining, and gas purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. For a credit card available to consumers with fair credit, the Credit One Bank Wander Card offers very generous rewards rates — perhaps the highest and widest-reaching rates available in a credit-building card category. The card’s rates even rival those of some of the premier travel rewards cards on the market, making it a competitive rewards option for frequent travelers who don’t prioritize travel perks like credits for expedited security screening or transferring points to travel partners (neither of which are available with the Wander card).

Credit One Bank Wander cardholders earn 10X points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked using the Credit One Bank travel partner, 5X points on eligible travel, including flights, dining, and gas purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. That’s an impressive set of rewards rates and a solid mix of bonus categories, which could help you rack up a lot of points.

The Credit One Bank Wander Card also comes with a bonus program called the More Cash Back Rewards Program that lets you earn up to 10 percent more cash back with participating merchants (depending on the offeror's terms). New offers are frequently added, similar to other issuers’ card-linked offer programs, such as Amex Offers, so you can always check in and see which stores are available.

While the rewards rate and accessibility of this card are great, the $95 annual fee is still high for this card, mostly due to the lack of benefits. Plus, redeeming the points you earn with this card can be difficult because of its redemption limitations.

Annual fee: A bit high for what’s included

The Credit One Bank Wander Card charges a $95 annual fee, which is higher than what you'd find on many credit cards for fair credit (some cards charge no fees at all). This fee is worth factoring into your budget ahead of time since it has the potential to offset a big chunk of your yearly rewards.

If your main goal is building credit, you can find a lower-cost card option, even if you want to avoid a security deposit. Still, the fee may be worth it if you want to earn rewards and think you’ll spend enough in the Wander card’s categories.

Benefits: Back to basics

This card includes essential card protections and features, including zero liability, contactless payments and access to free credit scores. These perks can provide you with considerable peace of mind  and it’s easy to use,, especially if you’re just getting the hang of using a credit card.

However, all these perks are industry standard for nearly any credit card, so they’re not a unique perk to hinge your card decision on. Considering the annual fee of this card, these benefits are lacking.

The only standout feature is Credit One’s Credit Protection Program. It can waive your card’s minimum payment for up to six months if you’re involuntarily unemployed or disabled if you pay 96 cents per $100 of your new monthly balance. For example, if you have a $1000 balance on your card, you’ll only be required to pay $9.60 during the Protection Program.

However, there's a notable catch. Rather than activating immediately, it will take 30 days for your policy to take effect, which then freezes your account while allowing compound interest to keep accruing. Since this element can snowball your balance when you might not be able to make your minimum payment to begin with, you might want to consider a more cost-effective debt management plan that won’t pose the risk of over-extending and closing your account.

Redemption: Not the best with travel

When redeeming your rewards, quite a few options are on the table. You can redeem your points for statement credits (in 1,000-point increments), gift cards, merchandise and travel.

However, while the statement credit, gift card and merchandise options are pretty cut and dry, travel redemptions come with a few caveats.  While many travel card rewards programs guarantee at least 1 cent per point in redemption value when you opt for travel, the value you get from your Wander card points will vary based on your booking details.

Plus, you can only redeem for travel through Credit One Bank’s travel portal, which partners with Aspire Loyalty Travel Solutions, LLC, so you can’t use or transfer your points to book directly with airlines, hotels and other travel vendors for a better deal.

When choosing a credit card to apply for, you should compare at least two or three of the top options. In this case, it’s best to compare the Credit One Wander card to other cards that accept people with fair credit. Here, we can see what features the Wander card may be missing and what benefits it has over other options.

If you’re still working on your credit score, it may be better to hold off on applying to multiple credit cards while you build your credit. Doing so can make it easier to keep your balances low and avoid unnecessary dings to your score courtesy of hard inquiries. If you’re feeling confident in your score and are ready to optimize your rewards strategy, having a second card can help you earn more rewards but also help you lower your credit utilization ratio via more available credit.

If you fall into either of these consumer categories, the Credit One Bank Wander Card might be the perfect addition to your wallet.

The Credit One Bank Wander Card is worth a look if you’re set on earning travel rewards while you work on your credit score. Its generous earning rates in several categories are a huge advantage to cardholders along with its standard card protections.

However, you’ll have to pay a $95 annual fee with the card. Meanwhile, the fact you only earn 1X points on regular spending also makes the Credit One Bank Wander Card slightly disappointing. Considering the lack of perks, you may be better off building your score with a more cost-effective credit-building while working your way up to a more flexible and potentially more rewarding travel card.

*The information about Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring credit cards for students and people building credit, including each card’s cost, APR, credit-building tools and more.

We analyzed over 50 of the most popular cards designed for students and people with no credit history, bad credit or a fair credit score and scored each based on where its key features stood in relation to others in its category. 

Here are some of the key factors that gave this card its score: