How the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card Compares to the Competition
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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 $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Interest rate: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 15 months and 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers 15 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 19.49%, 24.49%, or 29.49% 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: None
APR: 0% intro APR on Balance Transfers for 18 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-28.49% 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.
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 widow 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, 2% back on all other purchases.
APR: The ongoing APR is 19.24%, 28.24%, or 31.24%, Variable APR.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Another high-earning, $0-annual-fee flat-rate card is the PayPal Cashback Mastercard®. The card will get you an unlimited 2% back on all of your purchases, with the exception of purchases made via PayPal, which will earn you 3% back. However, 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 feature an introductory interest-free period.
SoFi Credit Card
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 3 points per $1 spent on eligible purchases for a year when you set up direct deposit with SoFi, then 2 points per $1 after that.
Sign-up bonus: Earn up to $200 when you fund an Invest account as well as a Checking and Savings account after getting approved for the SoFi Credit Card (See Terms).
APR: The ongoing APR is 17.49%-29.49% Variable.
How it compares with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card: Rewards earned on the SoFi Credit Card come with some conditions. The $0 card can potentially earn 2-3% on all purchases. However, to earn that full rate, you’re required to redeem points in a SoFi account or toward an eligible SoFi loan. Redeeming rewards points for cash back as statement credit will only get you a value of 0.5 cent per point.
The $0-fee card offers a sign-up bonus like the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, but again, earning it is tied to opening and funding a SoFi Checking and Savings and a SoFi Invest account.
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.
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