Credit Card News
Wells Fargo Discontinues Its Unique Attune Credit Card
After just two years, Wells Fargo has pulled applications for the Attune card, making it no longer available to new cardholders.
About the Attune Card and Its Discontinuation:
Wells Fargo is no longer offering its Attune rewards credit card to new cardholders, removing applications from its website. While a page that explains the card’s unique categories is still live, links to the card’s page now redirect to the bank’s main credit card landing.
Launched in June of 2024, the Wells Fargo Attune card offered 4% cashback across a variety of uncommon categories: Self-Care; Planet-Friendly Purchases; and Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment. For example, Self-Care covered purchases such as gym memberships, exercise classes, salons, and spas while Planet-Friendly Purchases included EV charging, thrift stores, and public transit. As for the Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment category, it featured an array of eligible purchases. In fact, this category was actually broken down into sub-categories:
- Create and Collect (craft shops, camera supply stores, hobby and game stores, etc.)
- Gardening and Floral (florists, nurseries, etc.)
- Other Recreation and Leisure Activities (zoos, aquariums, museums, bowling alleys, billiards, tourist attractions, theme park tickets and parking, campgrounds, etc.)
- Pet Care (pet shops, pet supplies stores, miscellaneous pet services, etc.)
- Sports and Recreational Equipment (bicycle shops, boat rentals, marinas, RV rentals, sports apparel stores, sporting goods stores, etc.
- Sports and Live Entertainment Tickets (concerts, theatrical productions, sporting events, etc.)
- Streaming, Music, Movies, and Books (bookstores, cable or other pay television providers, digital media, streaming services, movie theatres, record stores, music stores, etc.)
With the removal of the Attune card, Wells Fargo’s current consumer credit card lineup (excluding co-branded cards) features the Active Cash card, the Autograph card, the Autograph Journey card, and the Reflect card.
My Thoughts:
While I never seriously considered getting the Wells Fargo Attune card for myself (mostly due to how many cards I already have), I’m sad to see it go. In my view, Wells Fargo tried something truly interesting with it — not just because of its odd collection of categories but also because said categories offered 4% back.
If I had to guess why the card may not have worked out, I have to imagine that it has to do with customer confusion. As I mentioned at the time of its announcement, I could see cardholders attempting to earn 4% on purchases and then being disappointed when something did not code the way they expected. I suppose the reason why so many rewards cards feature the same handful of multiplier categories is that they’re easy to remember. In contrast, I doubt anyone had the full list of the Attune card’s categories and subcategories memorized. That may not be a problem if the Attune was your only credit card… but I reckon that wasn’t the case for most.
Of course, we have seen cards disappear, only to come back — either in the same form or a tweaked version. Perhaps Wells Fargo can find a way to keep the spirit of Attune alive while making it a bit easier to understand. Or, perhaps, they’ll just let this one go. Personally, I hope for the former, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Author
Other Articles by Kyle Burbank
Personal Finance News
Credit Card Reviews
American Express Platinum Card: Assessing Its Value After 5 Years
It’s wild to me that it’s now been nearly seven years since I first got the American Express Platinum Card. In that time, I’ve seen the annual fee go from $550 to $895 (with a stop at $695 in between). Therefore, each time it is time to renew, I take a pause and dive into the numbers to see if the card truly still makes sense for me. This is...
Credit Card News
