Wells Fargo launches the brand new Active Cash Card

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Published on July 01, 2021 | 3 min read

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Card issuers have not stopped adapting and revamping their credit card offerings based on recent changes in consumer spending. For example, Wells Fargo has quietly been working on sprucing up its credit cards, and the first of its new card offerings—the Wells Fargo Active Cash℠ Card—has arrived.

With unlimited 2% on purchases, the card can securely take its place among the top-tier flat-rate cash rewards credit cards. Even with no annual fee, the card offers impressive benefits like cellphone insurance and travel perks, along with a welcome bonus and introductory APR offer.

What the Wells Fargo Active Cash card offers

Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first three months
Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with no category limitations or quarterly activations
No annual fee
Get 0 percent intro APR for 15 months on purchases from account opening and qualifying balance transfers from account opening; 14.99 percent, 19.99 percent or 24.99 percent variable APR thereafter

Earning and redeeming rewards

Earning rewards with the Wells Fargo Active Cash card is easy. Simply use your Active Cash card to pay for purchases, and you’ll earn 2 percent cash rewards. Unlike some cash rewards cards, you don’t have to track certain categories or activate anything to get your rewards. Just spend, and the rewards rack up.

Like the Wells Fargo Cash Wise Visa®, you have flexible options for redeeming your rewards that include:

Cash redemption in $20 increments at Wells Fargo ATMs with your Wells Fargo ATM or debit card
Direct deposit into your eligible Wells Fargo savings or checking account
Travel through the Go Far Rewards site
Gift cards and travel through the Wells Fargo Earn More Mall
Apply as a credit to your qualified Wells Fargo mortgage, credit or loan account

Sign-up bonus

Wells Fargo is sweetening the deal on this card with a cash rewards bonus—earn $200 after spending $1,000 in the first three months of opening the card. Plus, if you’d like to transfer high-interest debt or preserve your cash with larger purchases, you can take advantage of the 0 percent introductory APR for 15 months.

Other perks

There’s a growing list of perks and benefits the Active Cash Card offers that you don’t often see without an annual fee:

Cellphone protection (must pay your monthly cell phone bill with your Active Cash Card)
Advanced security features, including voice verification and two-step verification at digital banking sign-on
Access to Visa Signature Concierge Service and Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection
Credit education tools like access to your FICO score

How to get the most from the Wells Fargo Active Cash card

Depending on your current spending habits, the Wells Fargo Active Cash could either be a great go-to card for all of your spending or a backup card when you’ve maxed out earning rewards on your other categories like grocery, travel or dining.

If you are getting a great cash back rate on groceries with, say, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which offers 6 percent back on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $6,000 per year, then 1 percent back), you’d reserve the Active Cash Card to get at least 2 percent back for other purchases that don’t earn as much.

Another way to maximize this card is to use it for larger purchases. For one, you can use both your welcome bonus and the 2 percent cash rewards to offset the cost of the purchase. Secondly, you can get 15 months of same-as-cash financing through the 0 percent introductory APR offer.

Should you get the new Wells Fargo Active Cash card?

If your goal is to save on a big purchase or simplify your cash rewards earnings, the Wells Fargo Active Cash offers a lot that could help. It’s a good card for everyday spending, too.

The only downside is that Wells Fargo is still revamping its lineup of cards, so there’s not yet a strategy to combine cards and boost rewards through card pairing like with Chase or American Express cards.

If you’re already a Wells Fargo client, perhaps with other credit cards or loans, you might benefit from the redemption options the Active Cash Card offers that could help pay down those balances faster.

The Active Cash Card should be a consideration for anyone looking to offset the cost of a large purchase or pay down high-interest debt or searching for a flat-rate rewards card to add to their wallet.