Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card Review: Big Rewards, No Annual Fee

If you'd love to earn valuable rewards on your travel credit card but hate annual fees, consider putting your autograph on an application for the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card.

The card, which has an annual fee of $0, is primarily positioned in the market as a travel credit card because of its triple points on travel spending. But its other bonus-reward categories are highly useful for everyday spending, too. They include 3 points per dollar spent at restaurants and gas stations, as well as on transit, streaming services and phone plans. Plus, those points are flexible; you can even transfer them to a limited number of travel partners.

That makes this card a candidate to be a primary — even front-of-wallet — credit card to carry with you, as well as one you can “set and forget” for recurring streaming and phone payments. And rewards are unlimited, unlike some competing cards that cap bonus rewards. That’s a big deal for big spenders.

You won’t get the upscale perks of high-annual-fee travel credit cards, or brand-specific perks like free checked bags that airline credit cards often offer. But a healthy sign-up bonus and nice-to-have cell phone insurance on the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card add to its allure as a top pick among not only no-fee travel credit cards but cash-back cards as well.

The same bank also offers an ideal companion — an excellent flat-rate rewards card called the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card.

Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card: Basics

Card type: Travel.

Annual fee: $0.

Sign-up bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.

Rewards: Unlimited 3 points per dollar spent on:

• Restaurants.

• Travel and transit.

• Gas stations (and electric vehicle charging stations).

• Popular streaming services.

• Select phone plans.

Plus, 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Redemptions: Points are worth 1 cent each. Cardholders can redeem points for travel, gift cards or statement credits — or when checking out online with PayPal.

» MORE: Wells Fargo Rewards: How to earn and use them

APR offer: 0% intro APR on Purchases for 12 months from account opening, and then the ongoing APR of 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR.

Foreign transaction fee: None.

Other benefits:

• Cell phone protection of up to $600, minus a $25 deductible, for damage to or theft of your phone (when you use the card to pay your monthly cell phone bill).

• Hotel and airline transfer partners

• Access to Autograph Card Exclusives.

• My Wells Fargo Deals retail offers.

» MORE: Top credit cards that offer cell phone insurance

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

The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card has a $95-annual-fee sibling, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠. The cards have different rewards structures, but some of the same benefits.

Annual fee of $0

Some of the best rewards cards — especially those that have generous welcome offers and high ongoing rewards — come with an annual fee. You usually have to earn enough value in rewards to break even with the annual fee. That's not an issue with the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card. It's rare to find a travel rewards card that offers this much ongoing value at no yearly cost (assuming you don't rack up interest charges).

» MORE: NerdWallet's best no annual fee travel credit cards

Useful reward categories

Reward categories for the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card are lucrative and broadly appealing. The 3 points per dollar spent apply to many spending categories you might use in a single day, even when you’re not traveling. They include restaurants, transit and gas stations. And nowadays, most people are paying for popular streaming services and phone plans, so you may as well get rewarded for it.

Travel and transit definitions are broad and include: airline, hotel/motel, timeshare, vehicle/auto rental, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel websites, campgrounds, passenger railway, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, parking lots and garages. The gas stations category includes electric vehicle charging stations. And the restaurant category specifically includes caterers.

Adding to its everyday shopping appeal are retail offers. Cardholders have access to My Wells Fargo Deals — a merchant-funded platform that offers cash back in the form of a statement credit when shopping, dining or enjoying an experience. You must activate the deal first.

» MORE: NerdWallet's best cards for streaming services

Travel-friendly

The lack of foreign transaction fees is welcome on the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card — and, really, should be table stakes for all travel credit cards. Plus, it's a Visa, which has worldwide acceptance.

Unlimited rewards

Sometimes underappreciated is whether a card’s bonus rewards are unlimited. The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card has no caps on its 3x rewards. That makes it even more lucrative for bigger spenders who would hit the bonus rewards cap with other cards and then be relegated to earning a mere 1 point per dollar spent.

For example, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ with an annual fee of $0 is a cash-back card, but it can be used as a travel card, too. (It offers 5% back on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.) While excellent in many ways, the card’s 5% rotating bonus categories are capped at $1,500 per quarter before dropping to 1% cash back.

Notable too: the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card points don’t expire so long as the card account is open.

» SEE: Benefits of the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

Ample redemption options

No matter how you redeem your rewards, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card has plenty of options. Points are generally worth a penny each when used toward a statement credit, gift cards or booking travel through Wells Fargo's portal.

But for travelers willing to put in the work, transferring points to the card's transfer partners can provide outsized value:

Access to transfer partners on a $0-annual-fee is rare (but not unheard of). 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.

The Wells Fargo one-two punch

A bonus rewards credit card like this one in conjunction with a good flat-rate credit card can dovetail nicely to amp up overall rewards. Wells Fargo has two of the better cards for such a pairing: this Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card for its bonus categories and travel perks, plus the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card for its high 2% cash back on all spending and a healthy sign-up bonus.

Few premium perks

If you're seeking a card with exclusive travel perks and other benefits, you're probably going to have to pay for it. The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card doesn't come with an annual fee, but it also doesn't come with goodies like Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application reimbursement, airport lounge access or the ability to transfer rewards to hotel or airline partners.

Debatably, that knocks it down a step from many travel credit cards that offer those perks but also charge an annual fee.

For example, you would get a free checked bag for you and a companion, plus priority boarding on United flights with the United℠ Explorer Card, which has an annual fee of $0 intro for the first year, then $95.

Or, a hotel card like the World of Hyatt Credit Card, with an annual fee of $95, gives you an automatic free night annually.

» MORE: Wells Fargo credit cards mobile app review

Bonus categories to remember

If you want rewards from a travel card without annual fees but find the idea of remembering bonus categories unpalatable, the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a solid choice. Cardholders earn an unlimited 1.5 points per dollar spent on all purchases. You also earn 3 points per dollar spent — twice the card's usual rate — at the Bank of America® Travel Center. Rewards can be redeemed for credit against any travel purchase. Those who qualify for the Bank of America Preferred Rewards® program can earn bonuses on their earnings of 25% or more.