One Key+™ Card: Great for the deal-hunting traveler

The card has a first-year value of just over $900, assuming you secure your welcome offer and make the most of your rewards categories and its Global Entry/TSA PreCheck statement credit. However, the ongoing value dips to just over $600 every following year following year, provided you keep the same spending patterns. This value includes the annual anniversary credit, which can help you offset the annual fee. 

* Yearly rewards are calculated using an assumed annual spend of $22,500 based on average consumer spending from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

** Yearly value assumed based on the cost Global Entry, which is $120 (which includes TSA PreCheck) 

The One Key+ Card is a unique entry into the travel card landscape because it generously rewards purchases that are popularly excluded on most travel cards: third-party travel sites like Expedia. If you shop around for deals on Expedia, Vrbo or Hotels.com, this card carries a lot of value without a substantial fee.

Rewards: Boosted rates in several purchase categories

The One Key+ Card offers a ton of value for customers who shop with Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com. It’ll also prove valuable for foodies who dine out and cook at home often, but it isn’t the best pick for those categories. 

When it comes to rewards, you’re limited to a singular redemption option: OneKeyCash, which is redeemed exclusively for purchases on Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com. This is a restrictive redemption option, but the card could be worth it because you want to earn rewards solely for purchases you make with those services. However, if you shop through airlines or hotels directly, you should consider a more flexible rewards card.

Welcome offer: Great value if you have travel plans

This card’s welcome offer is solid for its low spending requirement — about on par with the bonus offers you'll find on other mid-tier travel cards. On a card with a $95 or $99 annual fee, you'll often see credit card bonuses  worth $500 to $700 with a $4,000 spending requirement in your first three months.

For a limited time, the One Key+ Card is carrying a welcome offer worth $600 in OneKeyCash after you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. You can use OneKeyCash on Expedia, Vrbo or Hotels.com purchases. This is a solid offer compared to competing cards, and $600 in OneKeyCash is enough to cover some hotel stays or a solid chunk of airfare.

Perks: Make the card easily worth it

You won’t need to lean on just your annual rewards earnings to make the card worth it. Every year on your account anniversary, you'll receive a $100 OneKeyCash anniversary credit. This credit, along with the rest of your rewards earnings and welcome offer, will go directly into your OneKeyCash balance. This makes the card a lucrative pick for devoted Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com customers.

You’ll also qualify for the Gold tier in the One Key rewards program, which is Expedia’s rewards program offering unique perks and benefits for members across varying membership tiers. As a Gold member, you’ll qualify for the following:

• Savings of up to 20 percent or more with Gold Member Prices on over 10,000 hotels worldwide
• Priority traveler support
• An extra perk when you stay at select VIP Access properties, such as food and beverage extras
• Room upgrades when available at VIP Access properties
• One Key Price Drop Protection at no additional cost on select flights on the Expedia app

If you don’t use Expedia, Vrbo or Hotels.com you really can’t make the most of this card and should look elsewhere. You can only redeem your OneKeyCash through those three providers. It’s also missing intro APR offers, so it lacks value outside of its restrictive rewards program.

Redemptions: Restrictive redemptions limit rewards value

You cannot redeem OneKeyCash — this card’s rewards currency — for cash and can only use it on Expedia®, Hotels.com® and Vrbo®. Although this card has a strong rewards rate and substantial welcome offer, its rewards currency is notably inflexible so it might lack value for a majority of travel rewards enthusiasts.

On top of its already restrictive redemption terms, the One Key+ card doesn’t even allow you to redeem for cash, which is a feature widely available on other rewards cards. Even though you’ll typically exchange points for cash at a lower exchange rate, it's a flexible and consumer-friendly benefit that helps cardholders make the most of their rewards earnings. This limitation can be a thorn in your side if you want to plan a trip outside of these third-party providers.

For a less rigid rewards program, consider another travel rewards credit card. Many alternatives have flexible redemption options to help you access the rewards you spent hard to earn.

Intro APR: No interest-free period

Although not everyone can benefit from an interest-free period provided by introductory APRs on purchases, balance transfers or both, it’s still a welcome feature on any credit card. The One Key+ Card skips this feature.

Many rewards and cash back cards have intro APR periods of up to 15 months, sometimes longer. These offers allow you to skip interest on purchases and balance transfers, so they’re often a valuable lifeline when your budget is thin but your needs are high — or, in the case of travel cards, when you want to pay off a trip over time instead of all at once. 

If you want to explore options for cards with intro APRs, consider some of the top low interest credit cards or a handful of the best rewards credit cards. Many of the cards on both of those lists are there because they provide value, convenience and affordability. 

Annual fee: May not be worth it for occasional travelers

Expedia and other third-party travel websites provide access to budget-friendly travel deals for savvy shoppers who find ways to save on every leg of their travel itinerary. If you’re a cost-conscious traveler who uses these websites, you might be skeptical of a credit card’s annual fee.

The One Key+ card’s annual fee is not much higher than annual fees from competing cards, and it shouldn’t be too hard to justify given the value of the anniversary credit and the rewards rates. However, an annual fee reflects a spend-oriented credit card strategy, which is adverse to a saving strategy that would normally drive someone to providers like Expedia in place of paying first-party prices directly through airlines or hotel chains.

Unless you’re among the most devoted Expedia, Vrbo or Hotels.com customers, you might want to skip this card because of its high annual fee. However, if you’re already poised to spend at least $100 at any of the above providers, the card’s annual $100 OneKeyCash credit will help justify the card’s annual fee every account anniversary.

Travel cards are typically the most competitive of all credit cards, so you’re likely to find more incentives, perks and generous rewards rates on them. But sometimes the most understated benefits of a travel card are its convenience and flexibility.

The One Key+ is a unique entry into the landscape and compares favorably to some of the top travel cards because of its perks and boosted rewards rates. However, its niche redemption option makes it an inflexible option that might not appeal to most travel enthusiasts. 

The One Key+ Card is really only going to benefit people who don’t book travel directly and don’t mind losing flexibility in exchange for the chance to hunt for travel deals. You’ll like this card if:

• You’re familiar with Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com and are comfortable using these services for all of your travel arrangements
• You travel enough to take advantage of the card’s anniversary credit and offset the annual fee

However, if you’d rather navigate credit card reward portals and have the option to transfer your rewards to partner airlines and hotels, you’ll want to skip the One Key+ Card.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

*The information about the Citi Custom Cash® Card and Citi Rewards+ Credit Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

The annual fee for the Wells Fargo One Key+ Card can be a dealbreaker for budget-conscious travelers. Here are a few travel cards to consider if you don’t want an annual fee but still want to get rewarded for third-party travel: 

Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card

Best for cash back in the category you choose, including travel

Discover it® Miles

Best for flexible redemptions and flat-rate cash back

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest). 

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review: