How the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card Compares to the Competition
It’s a top contender in the 2% cash-back arena, mainly because it offers other incentives that its competitors do not match.
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The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is making a splash among the growing list of 2% flat-rate cards on the market. The $0-annual-fee card offers the following:
Rewards: Unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. That's a higher ongoing rate than the standard 1.5% flat rate that many rewards cards offer.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Interest rate: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 12 months and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers 12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR.
Cell phone insurance: A minor but useful perk, not often found on 2%-back cards.
Taken together, that's an impressive and hard-to-find combination of perks that most other 2% cash-back credit cards just can't match.
Here's a closer look at how the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card stacks up to the market.
Citi Double Cash® Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2% cash back on all spending: 1% when you make the purchase and another 1% when you pay your bill.
Sign-up bonus: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
APR: 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-28.24% Variable APR.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: The Citi Double Cash® Card has long been considered best in its class among cards offering flat-rate cash-back rewards for no annual fee. It has been named NerdWallet's best flat-rate cash-back credit card on multiple occasions.
It earns 2% back in the form of 1% when you make a purchase and 1% when you pay it off. However, the card's standard offer doesn't include a welcome bonus like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. Plus, with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, you’ll earn your cash back all at once, not in pieces like you would with the Citi Double Cash® Card.
Although the Citi Double Cash® Card has not traditionally offered a sign-up bonus, the card currently has this offer in effect: Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
If you want to use your rewards for travel, the Citi Double Cash® Card offers more options. That's because you can choose to convert your cash rewards into Citi ThankYou points and then use those points to redeem for travel, or transfer to a host of travel partners.
Although both cards do offer introductory APR periods, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card wins out with an interest-free window for both purchases and balance transfers. The Citi Double Cash® Card offers an intro APR promotion only for balance transfers.
Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2.5% cash back on everything, up to $10,000 in qualifying purchases per billing cycle.
Sign-up bonus: N/A.
APR: The ongoing APR is 12.24% - 12.24% Variable APR.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: If you meet the account balance requirement, the Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card features rewards that can potentially top what most flat-rate rewards cards offer: 2.5% cash back on up to $10,000 in purchases per billing cycle, and 1.5% cash back on all other purchases after that. Although most everyday spending won’t get you near the card’s monthly cap, it does limit how much you can earn — especially if you’re a big spender. By comparison, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns unlimited cash back.
While the Alliant card could earn more rewards, that ability comes with a caveat: You have to maintain a minimum daily account balance of $1,000 in an Alliant High-Rate Checking account to earn the card's 2.5%-back. Cardholders who don't meet this requirement can only earn an unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases. There are no such balance requirements to earn rewards with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card.
Another caveat of the Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card is the fact that you are required to join the Alliant Credit Union to get it. Although joining the credit union is as simple as becoming a member of an eligible charity, it's another hoop to jump through.
The Alliant Cashback Visa® Signature Credit Card doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, whereas the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card does — which can make it costly to travel with.
PayPal Cashback Mastercard®
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 3% cash back on PayPal purchases, 1.5% back on all other purchases.
APR: The ongoing APR is 19.24%, 30.99%, or 33.99%, Variable APR.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Another potentially high-earning, $0-annual-fee flat-rate card is the PayPal Cashback Mastercard®, which offers 3% cash back on all PayPal purchases. However, it earns just a so-so 1.5% back on all other purchases. Plus, you’ll only be able to earn those rewards if you have a PayPal account, and you’ll have to redeem them directly into your PayPal balance. If you already have a PayPal account, this won’t pose much of a hurdle. On the other hand, if you would prefer fewer restrictions and more flexibility when it comes to redeeming your rewards, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is a better bet.
Unlike the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, the PayPal Cashback Mastercard® doesn’t consistently feature an introductory interest-free period.
SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2 points per $1 spent on most purchases, plus 3 points per $1 spent on travel booked through SoFi Travel.
Sign-up bonus: Earn a $200 statement credit welcome bonus after you spend $2,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of account opening.
APR: 10.99% intro APR on balance transfers for 6 months from date of first transfer, for transfers that post to your account by February 10, 2024. After the intro APR expires, your APR will be 28.24% Variable.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: With the exception of higher rewards on very specific travel purchases, the rewards on the SoFi Unlimited 2% Credit Card are virtually identical to those you'll earn on the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. For most people, choosing between the two cards will come down to whether you'd rather bank with SoFi or Wells Fargo.
Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2% cash back on all purchases.
Sign-up bonus: None.
APR: The ongoing APR is 13.99% Variable.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: The $0-annual fee Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card earns 2% cash back on all purchases, but to get the full cash back, you must deposit rewards into an eligible Fidelity account. Unless you have a qualifying account — such as a retirement account, 529 college savings plan or an health savings account with Fidelity — you’ll earn a paltry points value for non-cash back redemption options with the card.
Conversely, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card earns the same 2%-back rewards rate without redemption requirements. It also features a useful welcome bonus, unlike the Fidelity® Rewards Visa Signature® Card.
What's next
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Travel
Earn 5X points on certain flights (up to $500,000 per calendar year) and hotel stays, hundreds of dollars a year in credit for travel and shopping, and a suite of perks for high-end lifestyles.
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