Wells Fargo Launches The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card And Introduces Points Transfers

Starting March 20, 2024, the Autograph Journey will be open for online applications. The card carries an annual fee of $95 and offers a welcome bonus of 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. It earns 5 points per dollar on hotels, 4 points per dollar on airlines, 3 points per dollar on other travel and restaurants and 1 point per dollar on other purchases. The card also comes with a $50 annual statement credit to cover airfare purchases.

The Autograph Journey’s annual fee is reasonable for a travel rewards card and the $50 airline credit can offset it by more than half. This credit can be used for airline purchases of at least $50, proving to be more flexible than similar credits on other cards that require you to select an airline before the credit is applied.

Like most travel cards, it will not charge foreign transaction fees, and travelers will benefit from travel protections such as trip cancellation insurance of up to $15,000 if the trip is canceled for a covered reason. The card also includes cellphone protection covering up to $1,000 (subject to a $25 deductible). That’s $400 of more protection than is offered with the Autograph Journey’s no annual fee sibling, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card.

Wells Fargo is also adding “Points Transfer” as a redemption option with each of its point-based rewards cards, including the Autograph and Autograph Journey. Wells Fargo issues the co-branded Bilt World Elite Mastercard® (rates & fees), which also includes transfer partners, but this is the first time that points transfers have been offered on Wells Fargo-branded cards.

Transferring points went live on April 4, 2024. The initial list of partners is slim, but Wells Fargo promises more will be added throughout the year. These are the partners that will be available starting April 4:

Airline Partners:

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca Lifemiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Iberia Plus

Hotel Partner:

• Choice Privileges Rewards

All transfers will be made at a 1:1 ratio with the exception of Choice Privileges Rewards, where 1 Wells Fargo point will be worth 2 Choice Privileges Rewards points. Citi is the only other issuer that offers Choice Privileges points at that 1:2 ratio with the Citi Premier® Card.

Consumers who spend heavily on travel could earn serious rewards with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card. Its earnings rate on hotels, in particular, puts it near the top. Importantly, you don’t need to use a travel portal to qualify for the card’s travel bonus categories. Simply book directly with the hotel, airline or other travel company to earn the card’s relevant bonus rates.

Wells Fargo confirmed that rewards from its other general purpose cards can be combined with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card. This means if you also hold the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card or the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card along with the Autograph Journey, all points can be combined. The benefit of owning multiple Wells Fargo cards is that it enables you to earn higher rates on everyday spending categories that the Autograph Journey misses.

For example, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card earns 3 points per dollar at restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans. Plus, earn 1 point per dollar on other purchases. Add the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card to the mix, and your earnings on all purchases can be elevated to at least 2 points per dollar. Combining the Autograph Journey with either or both Wells Fargo cards can create a powerful credit card combination.

At this point, the list of transfer partners that Wells Fargo is offering on its non-co-branded cards is underwhelming. That could change in the near future if the bank is able to quickly add more partners. But in the meantime, the Autograph Journey might still appeal to a segment of the market who spend a lot on travel but prefer to redeem points for cash back. In a recent Forbes Advisor survey conducted by OnePoll, 70% of respondents said that “cash back or statement credits” was the type of credit card rewards that appealed to them most.

It’s exciting to see Wells Fargo step into the travel rewards arena and the Autograph Journey Card seems to be a solid first entry. Its earning potential for travel expenses is impressive and we expect the card to get even more appealing as Wells Fargo adds more transfer partners over time.