Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Review: Highly Rewarding for Travelers

For frequent globe-trotters, the $95-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card can help take some of the sting out of travel costs.

Cardholders will earn a generous 5 points per $1 spent on hotel stays; 4 points per $1 on airfare; 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining; and 1 point per $1 on other qualifying purchases. Those reward rates on travel in particular are best-in-class among comparable travel credit cards — and unlike many of the card's competitors, you don’t need to book travel through a dedicated portal to earn those high rates on flights and hotels. Plus, you'll have plenty of options when it's time to redeem those points, including the ability to transfer them to various travel partners, which can supercharge the card's value.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card does lack a couple of perks you might expect to find on a travel card at this price point, and its list of travel partners is comparatively small and narrow. (There's just one domestic partner, for example.) But it still packs a lot of value into one package.

» MORE: Benefits of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card: The basics

Card type: Travel.

Annual fee: $95.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months – that’s $600 toward your next trip.

Rewards:

• 5 points per $1 on hotels booked directly with the hotel.

• 4 points per $1 on airfare booked directly with the airline.

• 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining purchases.

• 1 point per $1 on all other qualifying purchases.

Wells Fargo Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for a statement credit, gift cards or travel through the Wells Fargo travel portal. You can also transfer points to various travel partners, which can often lead to even better value for those points. More on that below.

APR: The ongoing APR is 21.24%, 26.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR.

Foreign transaction fee: None.

Other benefits:

• Access to multiple transfer partners: See the full list below.

• $50 annual airfare credit: MInimum $50 purchase required. Available at the start of each calendar year. Terms apply, more on this below.

• Cell phone protection: Up to $1,000 in coverage, with a $25 deductible, if you pay your cell phone bill with the card.

• Trip cancellation/interruption protection: Up to $15,000 reimbursement for a covered reason when you pay for travel with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card.

• Autograph Card Exclusives: Get access to special concert/entertainment events.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card vs. the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card has a $0-annual-fee sibling, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card. The cards have different reward structures, but some of the same benefits.

Excellent reward rates on travel, dining

The everyday bonus categories on the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card are designed for frequent travelers. You'll rack up Wells Fargo Rewards fast by earning 5 points per $1 spent on hotels; 4 points per $1 on airfare; or 3 points per $1 on dining and other travel, like cruises or bookings through online travel agencies.

Those best-in-class earning rates on travel put the card ahead of stalwarts like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which require you to book travel directly through the issuer’s travel portal to earn the highest rewards rate. That gives you fewer options to shop for the best price, whereas the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card allows you to book directly with the hotel, airline or through a third-party travel agency.

» MORE: How to pick your first travel rewards credit card

Plentiful redemption options

You’ll have plenty of options for putting your rewards to work with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card. As noted above, points are generally worth a penny apiece if you use them for statement credit, gift cards or booking travel through Wells Fargo's portal.

But to squeeze even more value from those points, cardholders will want to consider using the card’s travel transfer partners:

While that partner list isn't as broad as other cards that earn transferrable point currencies — such as Chase Ultimate Rewards® or American Express Membership Rewards — it should still be possible to find good deals if you're willing to put in the research.

Annual airfare credit

Cardholders will receive an annual $50 statement credit when they make a minimum $50 purchase with an airline, and that credit resets at the start of each calendar year. The credit can be used on tickets booked directly with the airline and through the Wells Fargo travel portal. It can also be used on tickets purchased through third-party travel agencies, but there’s no guarantee those purchases will "code" as airfare to trigger the credit.

The freedom to use the credit on bookings outside the issuer’s travel portal adds a lot of flexibility and value to this benefit. If you were going to book a flight anyway, you could view the credit as a way to effectively decrease the annual fee. Just be aware of the $50 minimum required purchase to trigger the credit — you can't "split" the credit among smaller purchases.

No TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit

Some travel credit cards with a $95 annual fee offer a credit to cover the cost of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Unfortunately, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card is not one of those cards.

If being able to fast-track through airport security is an important feature for you, you’d be better suited with a card like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card.

Short list of transfer partners

As of this writing, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card was offering just six transfer partners: five airlines and one hotel chain. None of the airlines is a domestic carrier, and if you're not familiar with, say, Aer Lingus, you'll likely have to put in some research to find deals and redemption sweet spots. Other travel credit cards at this price point offer more (and more well-known) transfer partners. The aforementioned Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, for example, has more than 15 transfer partners — including some of the same airlines as the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠, but also featuring three U.S. hotel chains. The venerable Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, too, features more than a dozen partners, including major U.S. companies like United, Southwest, JetBlue, Marriott and more.

No primary auto insurance

Unlike other travel-centric cards that offer primary rental car insurance — which applies before your individual auto insurance policy in the case of an accident or theft — the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card offers secondary coverage. That means the coverage on your card kicks in only after your personal coverage pays. This can still be a valuable benefit, but because you have to submit a claim first through your primary insurance carrier, you’ll potentially be on the hook for increased premiums.