Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card: A top pick for everyday travel

The Wells Fargo Autograph Card could be a great fit if you’re looking for a no-annual-fee card that earns rewards at a solid rate in popular everyday categories like restaurants, gas stations, transit, travel and more. This card also comes with a generous intro bonus and above average perks for a no-annual-fee card. The Autograph particularly stands out from the crowd because of the breadth of its reward categories. With rewards on commuter transit, select streaming services and select phone plans, the Autograph truly lives up to its reputation as a rewards card for the cardholder on the move. 

That said, if you’re a frequent traveler looking for the most valuable and flexible points, you may need to find an alternative or pair this card with another rewards card or travel card to maximize your earnings.

The Wells Fargo Autograph card is an excellent fit if you’re someone who spends a lot on everyday purchases thanks to its unique mix of popular bonus categories. You’ll earn bonus points on both everyday spending and travel purchases, including on local transit such as subways, rideshares and more. 

Rewards: A terrific mix of everyday bonus categories

The Autograph card carries an excellent variety of bonus categories that can get an unlimited 3X points. Many other rewards cards feature categories like gas, dining, travel and transit, but the Autograph card is one of the only rewards cards that earns points in all of these lucrative everyday categories year-round at the same boosted rate. The card’s phone plan bonus category is also unique and potentially valuable, as some families spend as much on their phone plan as others spend on dining out. And the uncommon streaming service bonus category rounds out the Autograph as an excellent choice for racking up points.

The My Wells Fargo Deals program is a nice addition to the Autograph as it lets you earn additional points on purchases with eligible retailers. Using this program requires you log in to your Wells Fargo account or app, but can greatly boost your overall point earnings.  

These points enter the same pool as your typical category rewards earnings. You’ll need to activate any bonus deal prior to purchase to earn the bonus rewards rate however.

Your Wells Fargo rewards are also fairly flexible. The card offers a good variety of cash rewards redemption options and allows you to redeem points at the same value whether you opt for cash rewards or travel. Many competing no-annual-fee travel cards make your points less valuable when you redeem as cash rewards. The Autograph is also one of the only rewards cards that lets you withdraw rewards from an ATM or automatically redeem rewards.

That said, the Autograph card’s travel rewards rate is low compared to competitors like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card and Citi Premier® card, and its travel redemption options leave a lot to be desired. The Autograph card is also missing a grocery rewards category — one of the average person’s biggest spending categories — so it could fall short if it’s the only rewards card in your wallet.

Welcome offer: Solid value for no annual fee

The Autograph card’s 20,000-point intro bonus (after $1,000 in purchases in your first three months) is worth about $200 in redemption value. That’s par for the course as far as no-annual-fee rewards cards go, as many competing cards offer bonuses worth $200 as well. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card both offer a $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months. 

That said, the Autograph card’s bonus spending requirement skews higher than some competitors, at $1,000 in your first three months, double the spending required to earn the Freedom Flex and Quicksilver card bonuses. Still, spending at least $334 per month for three months should be easy to reach if you use the card for most of your everyday spending.

Though it offers solid rewards rates and a nice mix of bonus categories, the Autograph card is missing useful travel benefits like airport lounge access and credits for expedited security screening. As such, it may not be the best choice if you’re looking for premium travel perks or want to maximize your rewards on flight or hotel bookings. 

The Autograph card also falls short with its intro APR offer, which is shorter than you’ll find on some competing rewards cards.

Perks: Limited value for travelers

Although the Autograph card earns rewards at a solid rate on both everyday and travel purchases, its other benefits are a bit lacking — especially for frequent travelers. In fact, the card doesn’t include any notable travel perks other than common Visa Signature features.

The Autograph card comes with Visa Signature Concierge, which gives you complimentary 24/7 assistance in booking travel, event tickets and dinner reservations, as well as Luxury Hotel Collection perks, including automatic room upgrades (when available), complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, breakfast for two, a $25 food and beverage credit and more.

Although these benefits can come in handy, they’re often beneficial only when something goes wrong, like collision damage waivers for auto rentals, paypay-per-use roadside dispatch and other travel and emergency assistance services (Terms apply). There’s little proactive value in the card’s perks.

That said, the card’s cellphone protection perk offers great value, especially considering this benefit is becoming harder to find on credit cards. The Autograph card’s protections make it one of the best cards for cellphone insurance: If your phone is damaged or stolen, you can be reimbursed up to $600 for the cost of repair or replacement (up to $1,200 per 12-month period, subject to a $25 deductible per claim). To use this benefit, you must consistently use the Wells Fargo Autograph Card to pay your monthly cell phone bill.

Redemption: Limited value for travel bookings

Though the Autograph card offers a nice mix of redemption options, Wells Fargo Rewards points carry limited value when redeemed for travel. Points are only worth 1 cent toward travel redemptions, and you can’t transfer your points to airline and hotel partners. Other cards slightly boost the value of points when you redeem points for travel, rather than cash back. This drags down the card’s overall value compared to other travel-oriented rewards cards. 

Competing travel cards from issuers like Capital One also offer several airline and hotel transfer partners, allowing you to move your points to another loyalty program and sometimes squeeze more value out of them. Some point transfers can even double the value of your points with these cards. 

The Autograph is also the issuer’s only card that earns Wells Fargo Rewards points. This means that, unlike competing no-annual-fee rewards cards, the Autograph card won’t let you pool your points with a premium travel card for potentially more redemption value either.

It’s also worth noting that several redemption options require you to earn a minimum number of points before you can redeem. You can manually redeem for several rewards options starting at just 1 point, but automatic cash reward and paper check redemptions have to be in $25 cash rewards increments (2,500 points). Similarly, Wells Fargo ATM cash reward withdrawals can only be completed in $20 cash rewards increments (2,000 points). These restrictions aren’t a big issue unless you’re in a pinch, though, since your rewards don’t expire.

APR: Subpar introductory offer

The Autograph Card comes with a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening (20.24 percent, 25.24 percent, or 29.99 percent variable APR after that). While this is a welcome feature, the intro APR length is a bit short even for a no-annual-fee rewards card. Several competing rewards cards offer intro APRs of 15 months or longer, including the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, which comes with a 0 percent intro APR on both purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (19.24 percent to 29.99 percent variable APR thereafter).

The Autograph card is also missing an intro APR on balance transfers, so it won’t be of much help if you need to chip away at existing debt. If that’s your goal, another Wells Fargo card, such as the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card, would be a better fit since it offers one of the longest intro APR periods on the market.

On the bright side, the Autograph card’s fees are relatively low. There is no annual fee and no foreign currency conversion fees, which is great if you frequently travel abroad. Many cards charge a foreign transaction fee of 3 percent.

This card offers some nice perks that make it worth considering if you’re looking for a new rewards card, but it’s not without flaws. Consider these alternatives, which offer rewards in other popular categories and more benefits.

The best way to take advantage of this card is by pairing it with another rewards card that earns bonus rewards on groceries (one of the only major spending categories missing from the Autograph card) or a flat-rate cash back on all purchases (like a no–annual-fee 1.5 or 2 percent cash back card). This way, you can earn 3X points at restaurants, gas stations, transit, and more, then use your other card to earn bonus cash back in a major spending category or on everything else you buy throughout the year.

With no rewards limits and no annual fee, the Wells Fargo Autograph Card could be a great addition to your wallet if you spend heavily on everyday travel and transit, dining or phone plans. It offers a great mix of practical bonus categories and a simple rewards program that makes it ideal for newbies and minimalists alike.

That said, it’s not the best choice if you’re interested in an intro APR since competing cards carry far better offers. And though the card’s bonus categories are a key part of its appeal, frequent travelers will likely find Wells Fargo’s rewards program and perks cannot compete with those of Chase, American Express or Citi in terms of rewards or value or travel features. If you’re looking for more flexibility in rewards, transfer options and travel benefits, you might benefit more from a dedicated travel card with cash back redemption options.

The Autograph is a great card to add to your collection if you’re looking for broad category coverage and value simplicity when earning rewards. However, if you’re looking for more flexibility in rewards, transfer options and travel benefits, you might benefit more from a dedicated travel card with cash back redemption options.

Dig deeper: Is the Wells Fargo Autograph worth it?

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express, please click here

The information about the Chase Freedom Flex℠ has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.