The Most Valuable Perks of the Wells Fargo Propel AmEx

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card has unique appeal, offering perks different from those of many co-branded airline and hotel cards.

This versatile card’s strongest attributes appeal to frugal types — folks who don’t want to pay a lot to carry a card, and may decide later that instead of traveling they just want to pay down their credit card bill or even their mortgage. Here are the most valuable perks of this card.

$0 annual fee

It’s rare to find a powerful travel rewards card that doesn’t charge $95 or more a year to carry it. Enter the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card’s most valuable perk. With a $0 annual fee, there’s no reason not to have it in your wallet. Even if you don’t use it much (e.g., you earn rewards points at a slow pace spend years getting enough for your next big trip), this card costs you nothing in the interim.

Bonus rewards points

With almost any rewards card, a welcome bonus ranks high on its list of key attributes. Here’s the current bonus on the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value. You have many options for spending these rewards, from travel to cash back to paying down a Wells Fargo account.

Couch potato rewards

A lot of cards pay bonus miles for spending in categories like travel and dining, and the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card is among them. But how many rewards cards let you earn bonus points binge-watching “The Handmaid’s Tale” or slipping on headphones to lose yourself in Lady Gaga’s latest tracks? With this card, you’ll earn triple points on every dollar you spend with Hulu, Netflix, Apple Music, Sirius XM Radio, Spotify Premium and Pandora.

Triple points in many spending categories

A popular perk of credit cards these days is to give you bonus points in specific spending categories. For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns 3 points per dollar spent on dining and travel (booked outside the Chase portal) and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

An airline-branded rewards card like the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card card earns 2 points per dollar on Southwest travel, local transit and commuting (including rideshares), internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming, plus 1 point per dollar on everything else. And Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card lets you choose to earn 3% back in one of six categories, including gas, travel, dining or drugstores.

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card goes further than almost all of them, earning you 3 points per dollar spent on flights, hotels, dining, gas stations, rideshares, public transit and homestays, as well as the music and video streaming services mentioned above.

» Learn more: NerdWallet’s best Wells Fargo credit cards

Flexible redemptions

Wells Fargo Rewards points are redeemed through the Wells Fargo website, where they’re worth about a penny each toward a wide range of rewards. You can book travel with your points right on the website. But there are lots of other options too, including statement credits on your credit card bill, cash back, gift cards, payments on Wells Fargo personal loans or mortgages, e-books, digital games, experiences and more.

Cell phone protection

If you pay your cell phone bill with your Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card and your phone gets stolen or damaged, Wells Fargo will pay you up to $600 for its value, minus a $25 deductible.

» Learn more: What to expect from Wells Fargo’s cell phone insurance

No foreign transaction fees

If you don’t plan to shop abroad anytime soon, it’s easy to underestimate this perk. But for any card you plan to keep in your wallet for years to come, freedom from foreign transaction fees is an important feature. Other cards can charge around 3% on purchases you make outside the U.S., which is like slapping a surcharge on everything you buy.

Rewards for shopping online

Wells Fargo Rewards has an online shopping portal that partners with hundreds of top online retailers including Home Depot, Apple and Ebay. When you access one of these retailers through the Earn More Mall website, you’ll get a points boost for your purchase of anywhere from 1% to 10% (or potentially higher for some niche stores).

If affordability and flexible redemptions are your most desired features in a travel rewards credit card, consider the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card a serious contender.

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card is no longer accepting new applications.