Best for cash rewards
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Best for cash rewards
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
- 2% Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases
Intro offer
Annual fee
Regular APR
More than just a bank, Wells Fargo provides several reasons to choose one of its credit cards for cash rewards or balance transfers. While its lineup of consumer credit cards isn’t as extensive as other issuers’ selections, you may be able to find the best Wells Fargo credit card that meets your financial needs.
Intro offer
Annual fee
Regular APR
Intro offer
Annual fee
Regular APR
Intro offer
Annual fee
Regular APR
Recommended credit
Here’s a look at the best Wells Fargo credit cards for 2023, according to our experts:
Card name | Best for | Bankrate score |
---|---|---|
Wells Fargo Active Cash Card | Cash rewards | 4.3 / 5 (Read full card review) |
Wells Fargo Reflect Card | Balance transfers | 4.7 / 5 (Read full card review) |
Wells Fargo Autograph Card | Rewards category variety | 4.0 / 5 (Read full card review) |
Hotels.com Rewards Visa® Credit Card | Occasional hotel guests | N/A (Read full card review) |
Read our Wells Fargo Active Cash Card review.
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Read our Wells Fargo Reflect Card review.
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Read our full Wells Fargo Autograph Card review.
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Read our Hotels.com Rewards Visa Credit Card review.
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Founded in 1852, Wells Fargo is a multinational financial services company headquartered in San Francisco, California. In addition to traditional banking services like checking and savings accounts, it offers loans, business credit cards, personal loans, business loans, consumer credit cards and more.
However, while it is a giant in the finance industry, it only advertises three consumer credit cards, including one of the best rewards cards, and three business credit cards available on its website. This lineup isn’t as impressive as other issuers, but it does mean that Wells Fargo loyalists have straightforward choices and less option paralysis for opening a new credit card.
While Wells Fargo doesn’t have a large portfolio of consumer cards, the ones they do offer are competitive.
For consumers who want the chance to earn cash rewards on all of their purchases, the Wells Fargo Active Cash is the best option to get the job done. This card offers one of the highest flat cash rewards rates available and you’ll be able to earn on all kinds of purchases while avoiding the hassle of tracking bonus categories.
One of the more recent additions to the Wells Fargo card portfolio is the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card. You’ll earn highly on travel-related categories like gas and transit, along with a few other niche categories like phone plans. While your earning categories are more expansive, your redemption options are not. You can earn points on qualifying travel purchases, but you can’t redeem those points for travel, and Wells Fargo’s lack of travel partners limits this card even more.
The Wells Fargo Reflect is the issuer’s flagship balance transfer card, offering one of the longest intro APR offers on the market. An extra plus is that this intro APR offer also extends to purchases, making the card a well-rounded debt management tool.
Wells Fargo’s hotel rewards credit card is unique, especially given that it has no ties to one hotel chain. If you’re not a hotel brand loyalist, this card lets you earn on purchases you make through a travel search engine instead.
Dominant presence: Because Wells Fargo has more than 5,000 branches and 13,000 ATMs, you can redeem cash rewards with the Active Cash card (in increments of $20) in various places.
Cellphone protection: The GoFar Rewards program does allow you to redeem your rewards for travel, but Wells Fargo’s credit card portfolio is more geared toward cash rewards.
Fewer card options: Wells Fargo currently offers very few credit cards. If you’re interested in comparing a selection of offers, you may be better off with a different issuer.
Not ideal for travelers: The GoFar Rewards program does allow you to redeem your rewards for travel, but Wells Fargo’s credit card portfolio is more geared toward cash rewards.
Someone who fits into one of the following consumer types might benefit from one of the best Wells Fargo credit cards:
The Well Fargo card portfolio might not be ideal for the following consumers:
Of Wells Fargo’s four consumer credit cards, only the Active Cash and Autograph cards seem to earn rewards in the Wells Fargo Rewards® program. However, you can redeem the cash rewards you earn with these cards in four different ways:
While the flexible redemption options are nice, it’s hard to compare Wells Fargo’s rewards program to other high-caliber programs like American Express’s or Chase’s programs. Wells Fargo offers a bare-bones points system with the Autograph card, but you can’t redeem the points for travel like you can with other issuer rewards programs.
One of the best Wells Fargo credit cards, the Active Cash, includes a notable variety of benefits that Wells Fargo and Visa offer. With the Active Cash, cardholders enjoy benefits like cellphone protection when using an eligible card to pay your phone bill (terms apply) and luxury hotel collection benefits, thanks to Visa Signature.
The Wells Fargo Autograph also cashes in on cellphone protection and Visa Signature benefits. This card even goes a step further to include travel and emergency assistance services, like emergency ticket replacement and lost luggage locator services among others.
Unfortunately, the other two Wells Fargo consumer credit cards do not have Visa Signature benefits attached, but still come with their own features. For example, the Wells Fargo Reflect card offers 24/7 on-demand roadside assistance, locksmith and towing services and deals at select merchants through My Wells Fargo Deals. With the Hotels.com Rewards Visa card, cardholders have access to perks like trip cancellation and interruption reimbursement.
The Active Cash and Reflect cards are the two best Wells Fargo credit cards that stand up in their respective categories — cash rewards and balance transfer. In these two categories, the cards lead the way.
The Active Cash offers unlimited 2 percent cash rewards back on purchases, toppling the Citi® Double Cash as the best 2 percent flat-rate card (1 percent when you make the purchase and 1 percent when you pay the balance). Additionally, the Wells Fargo Reflect’s potential up to 21-month intro APR from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers can out-perform Citi's two 21-month balance transfer cards if you make on-time payments during the promotional period.
However, if you’re looking for miles and points to maximize your rewards, Wells Fargo falls woefully short with its program compared to Chase Ultimate Rewards® and American Express Membership Rewards.
They can be. If you want one of the best balance transfer or cash rewards cards, then Wells Fargo is worth a look. If you hope to maximize your rewards with points and miles, Wells Fargo falls woefully short with its program compared to Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards. If you want a few more options, you may be better off searching through the card portfolio of another issuer with more variety.
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The information about the Hotels.com Rewards Visa Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.