Credit Card News
Wells Fargo to Launch New Autograph Journey Credit Card
Wells Fargo will roll out its latest rewards credit card starting later this week
About the card:
In the coming weeks, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey will make its debut. Designed for frequent travelers, the Autograph Journey will offer rewards in a number of key categories — and will feature travel transfer partners.
Speaking of rewards, the card will earn 5x points on hotel bookings as well as 4x points on airline purchases. All other travel purchases will earn 3x. Additionally, cardholders can earn 3x points on dining. Per usual, all other purchases earn 1x points.
Notably, the new card will carry a $95 annual fee. However, it will include a $50 annual statement credit that can be used for airfare purchases.
For comparison, the Wells Fargo Autograph card earns 3x points on dining, travel bookings, gas, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans (as well as 1x on all other purchases). Also, unlike the Autograph Journey, the Autograph card has no annual fee.
The Autograph Journey is will available at Wells Fargo branches beginning March 9th and will be available online starting March 20th.
About Points Transfer:
With the arrival of the Autograph Journey comes the introduction of Points Transfer. Now, all Wells Fargo-branded rewards cards that earn points — including both the Autograph Journey and regular Autograph cards — will allow customers to transfer their points to select travel partners. This new option will be available starting April 4th.
At launch, these travel partners will include Choice Privileges, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, avianca lifemiles, British Airways Executive Club, AerClub, and Iberia Plus. However, the bank is expected to add more partners throughout the year.
My thoughts:
At just $95, the Autograph Journey sounds like it could be a great contender for a beginner travel card. What jumps out to me is that the 5x and 4x categories (seemingly) don’t require you to book via a travel portal. To me, that’s a pretty big plus as there are times when booking direct is preferred. What’s more, that $95 fee is pretty easily cut in half thanks to the airfare annual credit perk.
The only thing holding the card back currently is that the Points Transfer roster isn’t fully fleshed out yet. However, it’s worth pointing out that many of the announced partners are also partners with Bilt. Considering that Wells Fargo issues the Bilt Mastercard, it wouldn’t be surprising if the bank were looking to bring more of that product’s partners on board.
Before I get too excited, I will want to take a closer look at the Autograph Journey card’s terms. But, from what we’re seeing so far, it certainly sounds promising.