Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card: A solid pick for everyday purchases

If you like the Autograph card's mix of everyday categories, but want additional value for travel redemptions, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could be a stronger option. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed toward travel with Chase via the Sapphire Preferred, but Bankrate estimates they could be worth around 2.0 cents per point or higher if you redeem with the right Chase transfer partner. Wells Fargo Rewards are only worth around 1.0 cents per point, regardless of how you choose to redeem them.

While the Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, its stellar benefits and outstanding rewards on both everyday and travel categories could more than justify the price tag. The Sapphire Preferred could also offer much more value if you have multiple Chase cards since you can pool your points together. That said, the Sapphire Preferred doesn’t measure up to the Autograph as a standalone everyday rewards card. 

The Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards card lets you earn 3 percent cash back in a category of your choice: online shopping (including cable, internet, streaming and phone services), gas, electric vehicle charging, dining, travel and more. You also earn a fixed 2 percent back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs and can swap your choice category once per calendar month. The Autograph card offers 3X points in many of those categories, offering a better overall return potential. However, if you have Preferred Rewards status with Bank of America, your earning rates can be boosted by up to 75 percent.

Unlike the Autograph card, the Customized Cash card limits its 2 percent and 3 percent rewards rates to your first $2,500 in combined category purchases per quarter (after which you’ll earn 1 percent back). 

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card would be a great choice to supplement the Autograph’s lacking travel benefits. You’ll earn 5X points at hotels and 4X points on airline purchases, and rewards can be combined with the Autograph card. The Autograph Journey also provides excellent travel benefits, which can be handy if you travel frequently. You can also get a valuable welcome offer worth up to $600 (60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months) and a $50 annual statement credit towards a minimum airline purchase of $50, which can help justify the $95 annual fee. 

Meanwhile, if you want a card that earns more back on general purchases, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, which earns 2 percent cash rewards on purchases, would be the best choice. Cash rewards can be combined with your Autograph’s rewards. If you prefer cashing out your rewards, this ensures a minimum of 2 percent cash rewards on every purchase. The only downside is you won’t gain any additional card perks you don’t already have on the Autograph. 

The Wells Fargo Autograph card’s rewards on everyday travel are especially impressive, making it easy to earn rewards regardless of how you commute. Its transit and fuel categories mean you’ll earn points whether you drive or take public transportation, and you can even earn rewards in harder-to-find categories like electric vehicle charging stations, passenger railways, taxis, tolls and parking. 

The Autograph card can be a great pick if you want the flexibility to redeem rewards in a variety of ways. Points are worth a flat 1 cent each, no matter how you redeem them. You can also combine your rewards with other Wells Fargo rewards cards to boost your balance.

You can also choose from several methods of cash rewards redemption, including a direct deposit to an eligible Wells Fargo account or as a statement credit for eligible purchases. This is also one of the only cards that let you redeem rewards automatically as a direct deposit or paper check (issued in $25 increments) or withdraw your rewards in $20 cash increments via a Wells Fargo ATM.

In terms of travel, you can redeem points for typical options like airline tickets, hotel stays and other activities, or call Wells Fargo Rewards Customer Service and put your rewards toward sporting events, vacations and other special events or custom travel packages. You can also transfer rewards to any of Wells Fargo’s travel partners.

The Wells Fargo Autograph doesn’t offer any of the premium travel perks you’d find in a card designed for frequent travelers, such as airport lounge access, travel protections or airfare credits.

However, you can earn 3X points on purchases with the Autograph card’s general travel category, which is wider-reaching than the travel categories you’ll find on many competing cards. You’ll earn rewards on everything from rental cars and hotel bookings to discount travel sites and timeshares. It's a solid pick if you travel occasionally and is also useful abroad since it doesn’t charge foreign currency conversion fees.

The primary criteria for a rewards or cash back card’s rating is its rewards value. This includes the card’s average rewards rate, estimated annual rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value and reward redemption value.

To estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings, we first calculate its average rewards rate based on how much it earns in different bonus categories and how closely its categories align with the average person’s spending habits, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The most recent BLS data estimates average total spending in 2022 was $72,967 per consumer. We then narrow our focus to which purchases are likely to be put on a credit card and earn rewards, subtracting expenditures like housing, vehicle purchases and education. This gives us a total “chargeable” annual spend of around $22,500.  

Some of the major spending categories that contribute towards the annual spend include:

• Groceries: $5,700
• Dining out: $3,600
• Entertainment: $2,400
• Gas: $3,100
• Apparel and services: $1,900

Using this data, we assign a weighting to each of a card’s bonus categories. For example, a card’s grocery rewards rate receives a 22 percent weighting based on how much of the average person’s budget is spent on groceries. We also estimate the redemption value of points or miles from various issuer, airline and hotel rewards programs.

This weighting and rewards valuation allows us to estimate a card’s average annual rewards earnings — how many points or miles you’d earn with a given card if your spending was about average and you used the card for all of your purchases, as well as what those points are worth. We also use point valuations to determine a card’s sign-up bonus value.

With these calculations complete, we assign each card a score based on how its average rewards earnings, sign-up bonus value, rewards rate and redemption value stack up against other rewards cards.

We also rate cards based on how much it costs to keep them in your wallet or carry a balance. 

To start, each rewards or cash back card is scored based on whether it offers an intro APR and how its ongoing APR compares to the rates available on other rewards or cash back cards. 

We also score each card based on how its annual fee influences its overall value. 

We consider a card’s annual fee in two ways — how it ranks relative to the fees you’ll find on other cards in the category and how it impacts a card’s overall rewards value. Cards with an annual fee will always be at a slight disadvantage in our scoring system since annual fees inherently cut into your rewards value, but if a card offers terrific value via its ongoing rewards and perks, it can earn a high score even if it carries a high annual fee. 

With this in mind, we rate a card based primarily on how its ongoing rewards value and ongoing perk value (such as annual credits or bonuses) stack up against other cards in the category when you subtract its annual fee.

We rate each card’s flexibility based on the restrictions it imposes on earning and redeeming rewards and factor this rating into a card’s overall score. 

Flexibility factors include whether a card only allows you to earn a high rewards rate on a small amount of spending or requires you to meet a certain earning threshold before you can redeem rewards. We also examine whether your points are worth less when you redeem for some options versus others and whether a card gives you the flexibility to transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners. 

We also score each card’s set of features – its perks and benefits — against five tiers of features to provide a rating. 

We break down these tiers as follows:

• Tier 1 has less than standard card features (an ultra-streamlined card that offers basic utility and next to nothing in the way of ancillary benefits. 
• Tier 2 includes the benefits you’d expect on standard Visa or Mastercard credit cards, such as free access to your credit score, car rental insurance and $0 liability for fraudulent charges. 
• Tier 3 includes “prime card” or better-than-average card features like cellphone insurance, lost luggage insurance, concierge services and purchase protection. 
• Tier 4 includes luxury features such as airport lounge access, elite status with an airline or hotel and credits for expedited security screening membership programs. 
• Tier 5 includes the sort of exemplary benefits you’ll find on top-tier luxury cards, such as high-value travel credits, cardholder memberships and other unique and valuable perks.

For the best approval odds, you should apply for the Wells Fargo Autograph with good to excellent credit — a FICO score of 670 or higher, or a VantageScore of 661 or higher.

The Wells Fargo Autograph card could be a decent choice for occasional travelers since it earns rewards on a wide range of travel-related expenses and doesn’t charge foreign currency conversion fees.
However, the Autograph card doesn’t give you a way to earn more than 1 cent value per point toward travel, and it doesn’t carry any notable perks for frequent travelers. You’ll probably want a specialized travel card if you travel frequently and desire more benefits.

If you have a Wells Fargo card that is a Visa card, you typically can switch without having to reapply or undergo another credit check. You can make this change through your Wells Fargo account, choosing your current card and selecting “Switch My Credit Card.” The specific navigation may vary depending on whether you’re using your desktop or laptop, the mobile browser or the app. Please note that switching cards will not make you eligible for the welcome bonus or the introductory APR offer. If you do not see this as an option online, you can also call a Wells Fargo customer representative to see if you are eligible.