Wells Fargo Rewards® Card review

Two smiling Asian women posing for cell phone selfieImage: Two smiling Asian women posing for cell phone selfie

In a Nutshell

If you bank with Wells Fargo and want a rewards credit card that doesn’t charge an annual fee, the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card may be a good fit for you. But if you’re interested in maximizing your rewards, you should look elsewhere.
Editorial Note: Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse our editorial content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Wells Fargo Rewards® Card is no longer available. For other options, check out more rewards credit cards.


What you should know about the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card

These key features are important to consider before you apply for the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card.

Low base-rewards rate

The Wells Fargo Rewards® Card offers five points for each $1 spent on purchases at gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores, and one point on all other purchases. The five points in select categories is a nice boost, but it lasts for only the first six months from the date your account is opened — and you’ll earn five points only at gas stations, grocery stores and drugstores on up to $12,500 in purchases (or 50,000 points). And after the six months are up, you’ll earn only a low, flat rate of one point for each $1 spent on all purchases.

Intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months

If you’re looking to consolidate and pay down credit card debt, the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card’s intro APR for both purchases and balance transfers can save you money on interest for big purchases, and help you make progress on paying off your debt for good.

The Wells Fargo Rewards® Card offers an intro 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months from account opening. After that, you’ll be charged variable APRs of 12.49% to 25.49% for purchases and balance transfers, based on your creditworthiness. But be aware: Balance transfers must be requested within 120 days of your account opening to qualify for the intro balance transfer APR offer, and they’ll carry an intro balance transfer fee of 3% (minimum $5) for the first 120 days from account opening. After 120 days, you’ll have to pay a fee of 5% for each transfer (minimum $5).

The 15-month intro APR on purchases and balance transfers makes the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card a solid option, but there are better balance transfer offers out there. If a low-interest card is your primary goal, make sure to shop around to see if there are any cards with a longer intro 0% APR timeframe that may be a better fit for you. Compare balance transfer offers on Credit Karma to learn more.

Not great for international trips

The Wells Fargo Rewards® Card is a Visa credit card, which makes it easy to use around the world. Just beware of the 3% foreign transaction fee, which is charged each time you make a purchase outside of the U.S. If this is a deal breaker for you, there are plenty of other travel cards that don’t charge a foreign transaction fee.

But if you’re traveling domestically and need to rent a vehicle, the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card could be a good card to use. If you pay for an eligible car rental with this card, it offers a rental car collision damage waiver. You can use it for roadside dispatch, travel-accident insurance and travel-emergency assistance, too.

Cellphone protection

If you use the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card to pay your monthly cellphone bill, the bank will reimburse you up to $600 — which is subject to a $25 deductible — if your phone is damaged or stolen. Although this is a nice perk, you must meet certain requirements in order to gain this benefit, so make sure to read your credit card’s fine print to learn more.

Who this card is good for

If you’re a dedicated Wells Fargo customer looking to keep all of your finances with one bank, the Wells Fargo Rewards® Card could be a good fit for you. The card could also be appealing if you’re hunting for a competitive intro APR period for balance transfers.

But if you’re looking for a great cash back or travel rewards card, you should look elsewhere. You can find cards that offer more competitive rewards rates on many bonus-category purchases.


About the author: Eric Rosenberg is a finance, travel and technology writer in Ventura, California. He has an MBA in finance from the University of Denver. When he’s away from the keyboard, Eric enjoys exploring the world, flying small… Read more.