Though it offers solid rewards rates and a nice mix of bonus categories, the Autograph card is missing useful premium travel benefits like airport lounge access and credits for expedited security screening. It also may not be the best choice if you want to maximize your rewards on flight or hotel bookings. The Autograph card's intro APR offer is also shorter than what you’ll find on competing rewards cards.
Perks: Limited value for travelers
Although the Autograph card earns rewards at a solid rate on both everyday and travel purchases, its other benefits are a bit lacking — especially for frequent travelers. In fact, the card doesn’t include any notable travel perks other than common Visa Signature® features.
The Autograph card comes with Visa Signature® Concierge service, which gives you complimentary 24/7 assistance in booking travel, event tickets and dinner reservations, as well as Luxury Hotel Collection perks, including automatic room upgrades (when available), complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, breakfast for two, a $25 food and beverage credit and more.
Although the travel protections attached to this card can be useful, they’re only beneficial when something goes wrong, like collision damage waivers for auto rentals, pay-per-use roadside dispatch and other travel and emergency assistance services (Terms apply).
However, like all Wells Fargo cards, the Autograph offers some of the best available cellphone protection among all cards. If your phone is damaged or stolen, you can be reimbursed up to $600 for the cost of repair or replacement (up to $1,200 per 12-month period, subject to a $25 deductible per claim). To use this benefit, you must consistently use the Wells Fargo Autograph Card to pay your monthly cellphone bill.
Redemption: Limited value for travel bookings
The Wells Fargo Autograph’s redemption options are all worth one cent per point. Many competing no-annual-fee travel cards make your points less valuable when you redeem them for cash rewards. Plus, the Autograph is also one of the only rewards cards that lets you withdraw rewards from an ATM or automatically redeem rewards.
That said, though the Autograph card offers a nice mix of redemption options, including the ability to transfer to Wells Fargo’s travel partners, Wells Fargo Rewards points carry limited value when redeemed for travel. For other cards, points typically get a slight boost in value when you redeem points for travel rather than cash back. This drags down the card’s overall value compared to other travel-oriented rewards cards.
It’s also worth noting that several redemption options require you to earn a minimum number of points before redeeming. You can manually redeem for several rewards options starting at just 1 point, but automatic cash reward and paper check redemptions have to be in $25 cash rewards increments (2,500 points). Similarly, Wells Fargo ATM cash reward withdrawals can only be completed in $20 cash rewards increments (2,000 points).
APR: Subpar introductory offer
The Autograph Card comes with a 0 percent introductory APR on purchases for 12 months from account opening (19.74%, 24.74%, or 29.74% Variable APR after that). While this is a welcomed feature, the intro APR length is a bit short when compared to other cards.
The Autograph card also doesn’t have an intro APR offer on balance transfers, so it won’t help you chip away at existing debt. If that’s your goal, the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card would be a better fit since it offers one of the longest intro APR periods on the market.
On the bright side, the Autograph card’s fees are relatively low. There are no annual fees or foreign currency conversion fees, which is great for traveling abroad.