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Wells Fargo Platinum card review: Intriguingly low interest, but it’s time to upgrade

Unless it’s key to your credit score, it’s worth upgrading this long-obsolete card to a stronger option.

 /  7 min
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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for and how we rate our cards. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.

Snapshot

4.0

Bankrate rating
Info
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Image of Wells Fargo Platinum card

Wells Fargo Platinum card
*

4.0
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Bankrate score
Info
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit

0% intro APR for 18 months from account opening

Purchase intro APR

Regular APR

N/A

Intro offer

Info

N/A

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

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The information about Wells Fargo Platinum card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer. The Wells Fargo Platinum card is no longer available.

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Bankrate Insight

As of Oct. 4, 2021, the Wells Fargo Platinum card has been retired in favor of the issuer’s balance transfer card: the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card. Fortunately, the Reflect is a major step up and stands as the best Wells Fargo card for balance transfers regardless, offering top-tier intro APRs and competitive terms compared to rival cards.

Wells Fargo Platinum card overview

The Wells Fargo Platinum card doesn’t offer any rewards, but can still hold a valuable place in your wallet. The card offered a generous 0 percent intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for a full 18 months, after which you’d pay a 16.49 percent to 24.49 percent variable APR.

Using your card during that time gave you the opportunity to make a large purchase and spread out the payments over time without any interest charges, or to consolidate other high-interest debts. An intro 3 percent balance transfer fee (minimum $5) applied to balances transferred to your new Wells Fargo Platinum Card within 120 days of account opening. After that, the balance transfer fee goes up to 5 percent (minimum $5).

  • Credit Card Cash Back

    Rewards

    • This card does not offer rewards, which is typical of balance transfer cards

    Expert Appraisal: Typical

  • Credit Card Apr

    0% intro APR offer

    • 0 percent intro APR on purchases for 18 months
    • 0 percent intro APR on qualifying balance transfers for 18 months
    • 16.49 percent to 24.49 percent variable ongoing APR

    Expert Appraisal: Good

  • Credit Card Search

    Rates and fees

    • No annual fee
    • 3 percent foreign transaction fee
    • 3 percent balance transfer fee within the first 120 days, then 5 percent ($5 minimum)
    • Up to $40 late and/or returned payment fee

    Expert Appraisal: Typical

  • Other cardholder perks

    • Cellphone protection (up to $600 per claim minus a $25 deductible, up to two claims per year)
    • Visa travel benefits like 24/7 roadside dispatch assistance, auto rental collision damage waiver coverage and travel and emergency assistance services
    • My Wells Fargo Deals

    Expert Appraisal: Unimpressive

Alternatives to the Wells Fargo Platinum

When choosing a balance transfer card, it’s crucial to consider the length of their offers, fees they charge and any valuable benefits beyond the intro APR. Although you can no longer apply for the Wells Fargo Platinum card, here are a few top-notch cards that focus on strong intro APRs.

Image of Wells Fargo Platinum card

Wells Fargo Platinum card

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

N/A

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Wells Fargo Reflect® Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Wells Fargo's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

N/A

Rewards rate

N/A

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Citi Double Cash® Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Citi's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

$200 cash back
Info

Rewards rate

1% - 5%
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Fair to Good (580 – 740)
Info

Wells Fargo Platinum card pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark

    The card doesn’t charge an annual fee, so it doesn’t have extra costs to stay in your wallet

  • Checkmark

    Provides cellphone protection against qualifying theft or damage if you pay your monthly cellphone bill with the card (up to $600 per claim, $25 deductible, up to two claims per year)

  • Checkmark

    It’s a stronger low-interest credit card than many other popular credit cards currently available

Cons

  • Since this card doesn’t earn rewards and the intro APRs have expired, there isn’t much incentive to continue using the card

  • If you need to transfer your balance from this card, you can’t transfer it to the superior Wells Fargo Reflect card

  • The ongoing interest rate isn’t much lower than that of several strong rewards cards currently available

Best cards to pair with the Wells Fargo Platinum

If you’re planning on keeping the Wells Fargo Platinum card, its primary function should probably be as a low-interest card in case you need a little more time to pay off a purchase — although we don’t recommend carrying a balance without a zero-interest offer if you can help it.

This opens the door to choosing any credit card that best fits your needs since the Wells Fargo Platinum doesn’t have any features that encourage you to pair it with another Wells Fargo card. You may consider a rewards card if you no longer have a balance to pay off. If you’re not sure where to start, Bankrate’s handy Spender Type tool could guide you in the right direction.

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Wells Fargo Platinum card worth keeping?

Considering there isn’t a rewards program or other unique legacy perks to keep the Wells Fargo Platinum Card relevant after its intro APR offers expired, there isn’t much reason to hold onto this card anymore except as a decently low-interest card.

Prospective applicants searching for a balance transfer card should look into the top-notch Wells Fargo Reflect card. If you have the Platinum card, you might want to consider upgrading it to the Wells Fargo Active Cash, a different Wells Fargo rewards card or a card from another issuer that suits your spending habits.

How we rated this card

Document
100+
cards rated
Credit Card Apr
400+
APRs tracked
Search
3000
data points analyzed
Credit Card Reviews
40+
perks evaluated

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 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 how its key features stacked up against those of other cards in its category. 

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

Frequently asked questions

Written by
Garrett Yarbrough
Writer, Credit Cards

Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers.

Edited by Senior Editor, Credit Cards

* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.