Wells Fargo’s latest entry aims to be the best travel rewards credit card.
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A new credit card entering the market is a rare occurrence, and a new rewards program is even more uncommon. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card* will be available for online applications starting March 20th, coinciding with the debut of the company’s new travel rewards program. Both will provide Wells Fargo a competitive advantage in the travel credit card market, which was formerly dominated by Chase, American Express, and Capital One.
We’ve got the facts on this new card, as well as four exclusive recommendations to help you determine whether you should add the Autograph Journey to your credit card selection.
What you should know about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Visa Card.
Before we get into the hidden features and rewards, here’s a summary of what you can expect from the Autograph Journey when online applications start on March 20
:
Earn 60,000 welcome bonus rewards points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.
Earn up to 5x points on hotels, 4x points on airlines, 3x points on other travel and dining, and 1x on other transactions.
Get an annual statement credit with a $50 minimum airline purchase.
No foreign transaction costs.
Additional features include trip cancellation and interruption insurance, lost luggage compensation, roadside assistance, and cell phone insurance.
$95 annual fee
4 Important Details About the Autograph Journey
Here are four facts we learned about the Autograph Journey that you should know before applying.
1. You can transfer points with Wells Fargo’s point-based cards.
The Autograph Journey is Wells Fargo’s first transferable points program, joining other card issuers such as Chase and Capital One that have their own pooling systems.
Autograph Journey members can transfer points using the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, which has no annual fees. This is noteworthy since the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card provides bonus benefits in other categories than the Autograph Journey.
For example, the Autograph card earns unlimited 3x points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans, as well as 1x points on all other expenditures. So you can accumulate points in multiple categories and then transfer them to your Autograph Journey account to obtain premium travel redemptions.
2. It provides more opportunities for earning extra miles on travel compared to some competitors.
In terms of collecting more points on travel expenditures, the Autograph Journey will be more flexible than many other travel rewards cards. Cardholders can earn limitless 5x points on hotels booked directly with hotel brands and 4x points on airline tickets
.
This distinguishes the card from other popular travel credit cards, which only provide the greatest bonus points if you book trips through their portals. For example, the Capital One Venture benefits Credit Card* and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card* only provide the highest bonus benefits for trips booked through Capital One Travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card also provides the highest rate of 5X points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, while other travel purchases earn 2X points.