Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card review: One of the best flat-rate cash back cards

When choosing a cash back rewards card, it’s hard to beat the flexibility of a flat-rate rewards card that earns unlimited rewards on purchases without worrying about bonus categories or spending limits.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash is one of the most well-rounded cards because it earns easy-to-understand rewards and provides solid intro APR offers for purchases and qualifying balance transfers.

Rewards: Top-notch flat cash rewards rate

Although other flat-rate cards earn 2 percent cash rewards, the Active Cash is one of the few that wipes away caveats and spending caps while keeping valuable features like a welcome bonus. 

Compared to other cash rewards cards, the Active Cash also gives you an impressive variety of redemption options. You can redeem your cash rewards as statement credits for as little as $1, physical cash in $20 increments at Wells Fargo ATMs, direct deposits into Wells Fargo savings or checking accounts, gift cards, travel via Wells Fargo Rewards or as credit for your mortgage toward your principal balance if you hold a qualifying mortgage account with Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is one of the only issuers that lets you redeem cash rewards at ATMs.

Welcome offer: Quality cash rewards bonus

The Active Cash card’s $200 cash rewards bonus is solid for a no-annual-fee cash rewards card and comes with a low $500 spending requirement in the first three months. Other cash rewards cards’ welcome bonuses require you to spend at least twice as much to earn the same bonus.

However, it’s worth noting that you won’t be able to sign up for the Active Cash card or be eligible for its welcome bonus if you’ve opened a Wells Fargo credit card in the past six months. This buffer is standard for Wells Fargo credit cards, and several other issuers require a similar waiting period between credit card applications. 

Rates and fees: No annual fee to undermine rewards

The low ongoing cost of the Wells Fargo Active Cash makes it easy to fit into your rewards strategy. You won’t need to worry about shifting your spending, a penalty APR or earning enough rewards to offset an annual fee. There’s also no penalty APR to worry about. 

Just keep in mind there are a few fees to look out for, including the up to $40 late payment fee and a 3 percent intro balance transfer fee ($5 minimum) on each transfer completed within 120 days from account opening (up to 5 percent thereafter, $5 minimum), and a 3 percent foreign currency conversion fee. 

0% intro APR offer: Decent intro offers on purchases and balance transfers

The Active Cash card’s 12-month intro APR offers make it a good option if you want to transfer a qualifying balance to a Wells Fargo card or have big purchases coming up. The card’s ongoing APR (19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% Variable APR) holds steady with the current average interest rate. 

The intro APR offers and ongoing interest rates aren’t the best available on a credit card, but the combination of intro APR periods and rewards should still make the Active Cash a more enticing option than other low-interest flat-rate rewards cards. 

While the Wells Fargo Active Cash is a top-tier flat-rate cash rewards card, it has some disadvantages you might consider.

Perks: Better benefits available on competing cards

The Wells Fargo Active Cash carries a decent portfolio of benefits as a Visa Signature® credit card. It will also cover your cellphone against damage or theft for up to $600 per claim (subject to a $25 deductible, two claims per year) each month you pay your cellphone bill with the card. 

Visa Signature perks are common on no-annual-fee cash rewards cards and match perks offered with rival cards. Plus, the Active Cash card benefits aren’t as strong as those you’ll find on some other cash rewards cards. 

Rewards value: Limited potential

The Active Cash rewards work like other cash rewards programs: Your cash rewards are worth 1 cent, and you earn 2 percent cash rewards back for every purchase.

Cash back cards with tiered rewards above 2 percent can earn more cash back if you spend reliably in eligible boosted categories like gas, groceries and dining.  While you’ll always earn a solid rate with the Active Cash, you won’t have any opportunities to earn extra cash rewards.

Our credit card expert, Re’Dreyona Walker, applied for the Active Cash card when opening her first credit card account. The Active Cash card’s simple cash rewards program and generous intro APR offer are two features that made this card stand out for her as a first-time cardholder.

This card’s application was very simple since I’m already a Wells Fargo customer, so it was a great choice as my first credit card. My favorite feature is its high flat-rate cash rewards toward purchases because no matter what I buy, I can earn rewards for future expenses. Though I only use this card for emergencies and purchases that I would prefer to pay over time, such as travel booking fees or auto maintenance costs, it is quite useful for those situations. The card’s intro APR period was also a decent length and gave me enough time to save on interest while paying off my balance.

— Re'Dreyona Walker Editor, Credit Cards

The Wells Fargo Active Cash is an excellent cash rewards option for people looking for a no-annual-fee card with a generous welcome bonus and a simple rewards structure. However, you may find it lacks benefits typically found on other top cash back cards. 

The best way to maximize your flat-rate card is to pair it with other Wells Fargo cards that earn higher reward rates on your most significant spending categories. Then, use the Wells Fargo Active Cash card to earn more rewards on spending outside those categories.

*The information about the Wells Fargo Attune Card has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash could be a great addition to your overall earning strategy whether you prefer simplicity or strategizing. It's also a great choice for credit card newbies.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card remains one of the market's best flat-rate cash rewards credit cards because it’s a low-maintenance option that provides top-rate rewards and redemption options. The Active Cash card’s versatility fits into almost any rewards strategy.

Our proprietary card rating system takes into account a mix of factors when scoring balance transfer and low-interest cards, including each card’s introductory APR, intro APR period length, ongoing APR, balance transfer fee, perks and more.

While balance transfer and low-interest cards share a similar ratings rubric, we weigh features differently based on how a card is categorized. We categorize cards that carry an especially long intro APR offer on balance transfers as dedicated balance transfer cards, while cards that offer an especially low ongoing APR are considered general low-interest cards. 

Based on its features, we assigned this card a primary category of balance transfer and tailored our ratings accordingly. 

We analyzed over 100 of the most popular balance transfer and low-interest cards and scored each based on how its key features stacked up against those of other cards in its category. 

Here’s a breakdown of what gave this card its score: