Lots of rewards credit cards pick a lane and stick with it. They offer bonus cash back or points on purchases at restaurants, or vehicle fueling stations, or travel vendors — but not all three.
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card is a little different, in a good way. It pays bonus rewards points on restaurant, fuel, and travel purchases, plus purchases in three more popular spending categories. Which makes it one of the better credit cards for everyday spending.
Like every credit card, the Autograph Card has some downsides and isn’t appropriate for everyone. So before you rush to apply, review its most important features and make sure it really does work for you.
What Is the Wells Fargo Autograph Card?
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card is a rewards credit card that earns 3 points per $1 spent on purchases in six spending categories:
- Restaurants
- Travel
- Gas and EV charging
- Transit (including ride-hailing services like Uber)
- Popular streaming services
- Phone plans
The Autograph Card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. It has two enticing features for new cardholders as well: a generous spend-based sign-up bonus and 0% intro purchase APR for 12 months from account opening.
What Sets the Wells Fargo Autograph Card Apart?
While it’s a stretch to call the Autograph Card unique, it does have a few notable selling points:
- Lots of 3x rewards categories. The Autograph Card has six 3x rewards categories. Most are quite broad: travel, transit, and restaurants, for example. And the narrower ones, like popular streaming services and phone plans, are still quite popular.
- Impressive lineup of value-added benefits. For a no-annual-fee credit card, the Autograph Card has an impressive lineup of value-added benefits. Notables include complimentary cell phone protection and premium perks at properties in the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, which is usually reserved for cards with annual fees.
- Easily attainable sign-up bonus. The Autograph Card’s sign-up bonus isn’t worth a fortune, but it’s easy for even moderate spenders to attain.
Key Features of the Wells Fargo Autograph Card
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card is a well-rounded rewards credit card with an above-average sign-up bonus, a generous rewards program, and no annual fee.
Sign-up Bonus
Earn 20,000 bonus points (worth $200 when redeemed for cash) when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first three months.
Earning Rewards
The Autograph Card earns unlimited 3 points per $1 spent on purchases in six spending categories:
- Restaurants, including dining in, takeout, delivery, and catering
- Travel, including airfare, hotel bookings, car rentals, and cruises
- Gas and EV charging, including nonfuel purchases at stations
- Local transportation (transit), including public transportation, ride-hailing, parking, and road tolls
- Popular streaming services, including video and audio streaming
- Phone plans, including cell and landline services
All other eligible purchases earn unlimited 1 point per $1 spent. There’s no limit to how much you can earn and rewards don’t expire as long as your account remains open.
Redeeming Rewards
The best way to redeem is for statement credits against prior eligible purchases. The minimum redemption for this method is $1.
You can also redeem for gift cards from dozens of major vendors, starting at $25. However, you must redeem in $25 increments, so this isn’t the most efficient option.
Finally, you can redeem for travel purchased through Wells Fargo, including flights, car rentals, and hotel stays. If you don’t have enough rewards to cover the full cost of your booking, you can combine points and cash.
0% APR Introductory Promotion
Purchases made during the first 12 months accrue no interest (0% APR). After that, variable regular APR applies — currently 19.74%, 24.74%, or 29.74%, depending on prevailing rates and your creditworthiness.
There’s no corresponding balance transfer promotion. Balance transfers accrue interest at the regular APR from day one.
Additional Benefits
The Autograph Card has an impressive lineup of additional benefits. Highlights include:
- Cell phone protection. This benefit is worth up to $600 per claim, less a $25 deductible, when you pay your cell phone bill in full with your Autograph Card. Earning 3x rewards on phone plan payments should incentivize you to do just that.
- Free FICO scores and tracking. Wells Fargo’s Credit Close-up feature provides monthly FICO score updates with personalized insights. It’s a functional alternative to a paid credit monitoring service.
- Luxury Hotel Collection benefits. When you stay at any of the hundreds of Luxury Hotel Collection properties worldwide, you’re entitled to complimentary benefits like free or discounted meals, resort fee credits, equipment rentals, and more. Benefits vary by property and you do still need to pay for your room, but you could save several hundred dollars total on a multiday stay.
Important Fees
The Autograph Card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. Balance transfers cost the greater of $5 or 3% of the transfer amount for 120 days from account opening, then jump to 5% of the transfer amount.
Credit Required
The Autograph Card requires good to excellent credit. If your credit score is below 700, you may have trouble getting approved.
Advantages
The Autograph Card’s biggest advantages revolve around its expansive rewards program, to include its sign-up bonus. There’s more to like about this card too.
- Earn $200 as a sign-up bonus. The Autograph Card has an above-average sign-up bonus with a very manageable spend requirement over three months. Most new cardholders will have no trouble earning it.
- 12 months at 0% APR on purchases. The Autograph Card has a 0% intro APR on purchases for a full year from account opening. While not as long as some competing cards, this is long enough to avoid interest on purchases much larger than you can afford to pay off all at once.
- Six 3x rewards categories, most of which are broad. The Autograph Card’s broad 3x rewards categories set it apart from most other no-annual-fee rewards cards. Restaurants, travel, local transportation, streaming, phone plans — you get it all with this card.
- No annual fee. The Autograph Card has no annual fee. This is a big advantage if you don’t plan to use it as your primary credit card.
- No foreign transaction fee. The Autograph Card charges no fees for international transactions. This is a benefit both for folks who regularly travel abroad and those who buy stuff from international merchants.
- Lots of additional benefits, like cell phone protection. The Autograph Card has a broad lineup of value-added benefits that come at no direct cost to cardholders. Some competing no-annual-fee cards lack complimentary cell phone protection, for example, and few offer Luxury Hotel Collection benefits.
Disadvantages
The Autograph Card has few notable downsides, but a couple bear mention. In particular, you’ll want to make sure the rewards program aligns with your spending habits.
- Low baseline rewards rate. The Autograph’s baseline rewards rate is just 1 point per $1 spent — a 1% return on spending. Plenty of no-annual-fee rewards cards do better than that, offering 1.5% or even 2% back on base spending.
- Some important categories missing from the 3x tier. The Autograph Card has six 3x rewards categories, most of them broad. But this tier is missing some important ones, notably groceries.
- No 0% APR intro offer on balance transfers. The Autograph Card’s intro purchase APR isn’t matched by a corresponding balance transfer offer. That’s a shame because many competing rewards credit cards package both together.
How the Wells Fargo Autograph Card Stacks Up
The Autograph Card is just one of several rewards credit cards that earn above-average returns on restaurant, travel, and local transportation purchases.
One of its best-known competitors is the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express, which earns 3% cash-back on eligible U.S. gas station purchases. Before you apply for either, see how they compare.
| Wells Fargo Autograph | Amex Blue Cash Preferred | |
| Local Transportation Rewards | 3x rewards on gas and EV charging purchases, 3x rewards on local transit purchases | 3% cash back on U.S. gas station purchases, 3% back on local transit purchases |
| Other Bonus Categories | 3x rewards on restaurant, travel, popular streaming, and phone plan purchases | 6% cash back on up to $6,000 in U.S. supermarket purchases each year (1% thereafter), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions |
| Welcome Offer | Yes | Yes (terms apply) |
| Credit Required | Good – Excellent | Excellent |
| Annual Fee | $0 | $0 in the first year, then $95 |
Final Word
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card has an unusually generous rewards program, an above-average sign-up bonus, and a strong (if not category-leading) 0% intro APR offer on purchases — all with no annual fee.
In other words, the Autograph Card has a lot going for it. But has a few flaws too. Notably, its baseline rewards rate is low (just 1%) and it has no introductory balance transfer offer, which is a big selling point for some competing cards.
You’ll have to decide whether Autograph’s negatives outweigh its positives. For more would-be cardholders, the answer is “no,” but you’re the only one who can say for sure.