If you’re a WF Premier customer or have a private banking relationship with Wells Fargo, you may see a premium version called Premier Autograph in the app, with a 100,000-point welcome bonus. This card offers up to $50 in annual airline reimbursement, and direct airfare purchases qualify, effectively offsetting $50 of the annual fee. Overall, the card offers very solid value. Points can still be transferred to multiple airline miles and hotel points programs.

The standard offer on this card is usually 60,000 points, which is still quite good for a card in this annual fee tier.

We’ve also added this card to our welcome bonus rankings:

About the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

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Full review

Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Great for travel spending, plus a $50 annual credit

  • Welcome bonus: 60,000 points (spend $4,000 in three months)
  • Rewards: Hotels 5x; airfare 4x; restaurants, takeout, and other travel 3x; all other purchases 1x
  • Redemption: Cash back; can also be redeemed for airline miles or hotel points
  • Annual fee: $95
  • Apply now>>

Benefits

  • Broad 3x categories: In addition to 5x and 4x on airfare and hotels, the 3x category covers most other travel spending, plus dining. That makes this a very practical travel card to carry.
  • $50 airline reimbursement: This card reimburses up to $50 in airline purchases each cardmember year. The benefit resets after the annual fee posts.
  • Cell phone protection: If you use this card to pay your monthly cell phone bill, you can receive up to $2,000 in coverage if your phone is damaged or stolen ($25 deductible per claim, up to two claims every 12 months). See: Credit Card Cell Phone Protection Guide
  • Luxury Hotel Collection benefits: Booking select upscale hotels can come with extra perks such as room upgrades, free breakfast, food credits, late checkout, and more. Booking link

Insurance benefits

  • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Pay for your rental car with this card and receive coverage up to $50,000
  • Lost Baggage Reimbursement: Up to $3,000 in reimbursement for lost baggage
  • Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection: Up to $15,000 in coverage if your trip is delayed or canceled
  • Common Carrier Travel Accident Insurance: Up to $1,000,000 in coverage when traveling on most eligible common carriers

My Take

This card is mainly geared toward travel spending. Earning 3x-5x is decent for a card with a $95 annual fee, and the additional $50 airline reimbursement effectively cuts that fee roughly in half. Since the card also includes transfer partners, the 5x categories could be worth even more if used strategically. If you spend a lot in these categories, this card can be a good long-term keeper. That said, its rewards structure may overlap somewhat with the existing no-annual-fee Autograph card, so which one makes more sense depends on your yearly spending.

Using Wells Fargo Points

Wells Fargo’s transfer partners are as follows:

  • 1:1 airline partners: Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, Aer Lingus Aer Club, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Virgin Atlantic
  • 1:2 hotel partner: Choice Privileges

Transfers to these airline and hotel partners usually post instantly. If your points haven’t shown up yet, try logging out and back in. Among the airline partners, Avianca LifeMiles is part of Star Alliance, so you can use it to book carriers like UA and AC. British Airways Executive Club, Iberia Plus, and Aer Lingus Aer Club all use compatible Avios currencies and can transfer among one another; they can be used for oneworld awards such as AA and JAL. Air France KLM Flying Blue belongs to SkyTeam and can be used for partner awards such as Delta. So while Wells Fargo’s lineup is a bit unconventional—mainstream programs often already have co-branded card relationships—it can theoretically still access award tickets across all three major alliances. That said, booking awards through these partners is generally not as straightforward as booking directly with the major airlines, especially with a program like Avianca LifeMiles, which is known for occasional bugs. If you plan to transfer points, make sure you find availability first and confirm everything before transferring, since these transfers are generally irreversible.

For more details, see:

Application

  • If you are a WF Premier customer, the welcome bonus may be 70,000/100,000 points (check with your dedicated banker or relationship manager)

Wells Fargo Credit Card Application Guide

  • Application status check link. Or call: (800) 967-9521
  • If you applied for one of their cards within the past 6 months, you will not be approved for a new personal card. For Hotles cards, the restriction is 15 months. For business cards, the restriction is 12 months.
  • Wells Fargo credit cards appear to have an unknown limit on the total number of cards you can hold. You may need an SSN, and you may need to be a U.S. citizen or green card holder to apply.
  • You can call the reconsideration line at 866-412-5956 to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
  • Having a Checking account may help with getting approved for a credit card.
  • More about applying for Wells Fargo credit cards

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