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

One of the best balance transfer credit cards on the market, the Wells Fargo card offers one of the longest intro APR periods available on both purchases and qualifying balance transfers, a decent go-to APR and solid cellphone protection against damage or theft (subject to a deductible). 

Yet, with no rewards program or much ongoing value via perks, it may not be your best option long term. The card’s balance transfer fee is also relatively high at 5 percent (minimum $5), which could end up costing you more than you’d save with a card that offers a shorter intro APR period but lower balance transfer fee.

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 a great place to start if you want some breathing room to pay down debt. If you qualify for the card’s low-end APR, you may even be able to keep your interest charges low after you pay off your debt.

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 on qualifying balance transfers made within the first 120 days, with a balance transfer fee of 5 percent (minimum $5). After your intro APR period ends, you’ll face a 18.24%, 24.74%, 29.99% variable APR.

Not many credit cards offer an intro APR that lasts this long — let alone on both purchases and balance transfers. This is especially common on cards that earn rewards, with most offering a long intro APR offer on either new purchases or balance transfers, but not 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’re looking to get 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 rate, this card can potentially have lower ongoing interest rates compared to rival balance transfer cards. That’s helpful if you think you may not pay off your full balance within the time period of the intro APR offer. 

Its low-end APR is a notch 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 an impressively-long intro APR period for qualifying balance transfers, the Wells Fargo Reflect card falls short when it comes to long-term value. It also may save you less overall than a card with lower fees and a shorter intro APR period.

Fees: High balance transfer fee cuts into savings

Despite the very long intro APR offer, the Reflect card may not offer the most overall savings. When deciding which balance transfer card will best help you tackle debt and save on interest, you should consider the cost of doing a balance transfer, determined by a card’s balance transfer fee.

For the Reflect card, you’ll pay a fee of 5 percent (minimum $5) on balances transferred to the Reflect card, which is tacked onto your total balance. 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 which 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 makes more sense 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. But keep in mind, it never makes sense to carry 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 Cash 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 perks are not typically considered that valuable.

You do get decent cellphone protection, however. Phones tied to your Reflect bill can be 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. They aren’t the most helpful benefits for day-to-day spending. If you want more substantial network features, a few cards with shorter zero-interest periods feature cash back programs and Visa Signature or World Elite Mastercard perks.

Learn more: Wells Fargo Reflect benefits guide

The Wells Fargo Reflect’s intro APR on both purchases and qualifying balance transfers can easily outperform many other intro APR card offers, but intro APRs are ramping up. Nowadays, a lengthy intro APR on purchases or balance transfers isn’t that rare.

Here are a couple of other options to consider:

Cardholders that 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.

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.