【June 2022 Update】The welcome bonus has now been increased to 3 free night certificates (worth $125 each). You’ll need to spend $1,000 in the first three months for the first two, and $4,000 in six months for the third.

Wells Fargo Hotels.com Credit Card Overview

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Full review

Wells Fargo Hotels.com Credit Card

No annual fee!

  • Welcome bonus: 2 free-night certificates (spend $1,000 in 3 months) + 1 free-night certificate (spend $4,000 in 6 months)
  • Rewards: Spend $500, earn 1 Stamp
  • Redemption: 10 Stamps can be redeemed for 1 free night certificate
  • Annual fee: $0
  • Apply now>>

Benefits

  • No fee for earning and redeeming Stamps: With this card, you earn one Stamps worth $110 for every $500 spent. Ten Stamps can be redeemed for one free night certificate on Hotels.com. That’s roughly $11 in value per Stamp, which works out to an extra 2% back on spending. Normally, redeeming Stamps costs a $5 fee, which cardholders can avoid.
  • Hotels.com Silver membership: You get Silver membership for the first year. Members can receive perks such as free breakfast and free Wi-Fi at select hotels. If you already have Silver status, your membership will be extended by 12 months.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF): Most cards with no foreign transaction fee have an annual fee, so it’s nice that this card has no annual fee. See: FTF introduction
  • Cell phone protection: If you pay your monthly cell phone bill with this card, you can receive up to $600 in reimbursement if your phone is damaged or stolen ($25 deductible).
  • Free FICO score: Provides an Experian FICO credit score every month. See: Which free credit score is best
  • 0% APR for 12 months: No interest on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months after account opening. See: 0 APR strategy guide

Hotels.com Stamps Guide

Seeing that this card earns Stamps, I wanted to learn more about the Rewards program. It actually looks pretty good. The main way to earn Stamps is by staying at hotels: you get one Stamps for every night stayed, and 10 Stamps can be redeemed for one Free Night. In simple terms, it’s like getting one free night after 10 nights stayed.

Sometimes you can also earn double Stamps for a stay.

If you hold this Hotels credit card, you can earn one Stamps for every $500 spent, with each Stamps valued at $110.

One thing to keep in mind is that this Free Night is not valid for just any hotel. The certificate has a value, and that value is based on the average price of the stays used to earn the Stamps.

  • If you stayed 5 nights at $100 and 5 nights at $200, then the free night certificate redeemed from those 10 Stamps would be worth $150.
  • If you stayed 5 nights at $100 and 5 nights’ worth of Stamps from the credit card, then the value of those 10 Stamps would be $105.

If the price of the night you book with the free night certificate is higher than the average value, you’ll need to pay the difference plus taxes and fees. If it’s lower, there is no cash refund. One limitation is that redemption must be booked on hotels.com in order to use it, and there is some chance it may not stack with certain promo codes. Overall, though, the ongoing 10 nights for 1 free night promotion is effectively about 10% back on stays, which is pretty good.

My Thoughts

If you frequently book hotels on Hotels.com, this card is pretty good. It has no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. However, this card doesn’t really have any bonus categories for everyday spending — not even 1% back — and you only earn Stamps when you spend $500, which is equivalent to 2% back.

Application

  • The approval requirements for this card are average. It’s best to have at least 1 year of credit history, and having a checking account with them is even better.

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

Application Link