The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card Adds More Transfer Partners

After a decade of pursuing travel rewards, it has become clear to me that the best return on routine spending is through credit cards that offer flexible points. Because these flexible points can be transferred to many domestic and international airlines, cardholders can choose the most valuable redemption for a particular itinerary and date. Points can also be transferred to hotel chains although it can be harder to get solid redemptions.

Two years ago, I was excited about the launch of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey credit card as it added to the list of existing flexible points programs offered by Chase, American Express, Capital One, Citi, and Bilt. The Autograph Journey card stood out for offering excellent spending bonuses, especially for hotel and airline purchases. At the same time, a chief concern was that the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card had a limited number of transfer partners (five airlines and one hotel group) compared to the other flexible points cards.

My hope was that the Autograph Journey would add more transfer partners after launch to increase its potential usefulness. Wells Fargo suggested that they were seeking more partners and planned to add them soon. Within the first year, Wells Fargo added Virgin Atlantic Flying Club/Virgin Red as a transfer partner. Since then, it has added two airline partners: JetBlue and Cathay Pacific. Additionally, it has added Wyndham Rewards so there is an additional hotel partner. The Wyndham hotel group includes La Quinta, Days Inn, Super 8 and other properties.
 
While it is disappointing that the Wells Fargo transfer partner list is not as versatile as those offered by rival card issuers, there is still a place for this card in the wallet of some travelers. While we do not recommend it to many clients, there is a solid rationale for some to sign up for this card.

What We Like About This Card

Overall

The Autograph Journey card offers a 60,000-point bonus for making $4,000 in purchases in the first three months. The cash value of this bonus is $600. However, with point transfers to the right airline partners or for certain itineraries, the value can be much higher. The annual fee for the card is $95. 

Spending Bonus Structure

The Autograph Journey is clearly oriented toward travel spending as travel categories will net you the best spending bonuses. The card is especially strong for its hotel and airline spending bonuses.

• 5X spending bonus for hotels – Aside from bonuses on co-branded hotel cards, this is the highest generic spending bonus for hotels of which we are aware.
• 4X spending bonus for flights – This is also an excellent bonus rate even compared to what is offered on many co-branded airline cards. While the best generic flight bonus is the 5X bonus with an American Express Platinum card, that card has an annual fee of $895.
• 3X spending bonus for dining – This is solid and competitive with other travel cards.
• 3X spending bonus for “other travel” – Again, this is solid and competitive.
• 1X for all other purchases

Importantly, none of these bonuses requires that you spend through a Wells Fargo (or any other) portal.

Other Benefits

This card offers some travel-related benefits.

• A $50 per year credit for a $50 minimum airline purchase
• $1 million in travel accident insurance
• Trip cancellation/interruption protection
• Lost baggage reimbursement
• Cellular telephone protection

Potential Transfer of Points to Airlines and Hotels

While it is easy to get $600 in cash value out of this $95 card from its welcome bonus, there is greater potential value in transferring the points to partners. The Wells Fargo points transfer to each airline partner at a 1:1 ratio. They include:

• Aer Lingus
• Air France (Flying Blue)
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Iberia
• JetBlue
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club/Virgin Red

In addition to Wyndham Rewards, these points can be transferred to Choice Privileges, a hotel program that includes brands like Radisson, Clarion, and Rodeway Inn. For both hotel groups, the transfer rate is 1:2 meaning you get two hotel points per Wells Fargo point.

Who Might Benefit?

There are several types of travelers who might find this card useful.

• Flyers who already participate in the loyalty programs of the eight airline or two hotel group transfer partners. The generous bonus structure would help them accumulate miles in these programs more quickly.
• Those interested in travel to the United Kingdom or Europe as well as those who want to use Avianca (which Latin America) or Cathay Pacific.
• Travelers who are not brand loyal to airlines and hotel groups and can benefit from the 4-5X category bonuses for flights and hotels.
• Travelers who frequently stay in hotels that are not part of any major chain or hotel group.
• Travelers who prefer cash rewards and can benefit from the travel category bonuses to increase cash rewards.
• Points and miles enthusiasts who are blocked from getting signup bonuses from other cards (Ex: beyond the Chase 5/24 limit).

Conclusions

Overall, it is great to have another option for those interested in flexible point travel cards. Competition is good for those of us in the points and miles community because it gives us options and it will keep the banks who issue proprietary points from becoming complacent.

While it is disappointing that Wells Fargo has not expanded the list of transfer partners for the Autograph Journey card very much, the card can still be useful for some points and miles enthusiasts. Going forward, I will continue to watch for developments in this card, especially regarding transfer partners, and will keep you apprised.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card might or might not fit into an optimized travel rewards plan for you. Our job at Travel Rewards Optimizer is to keep track of changes and opportunities in the world of points and miles so we can provide our clients with guidance to get the most value out of their travel rewards programs. When we design a custom Travel Rewards Optimizer plan for you, we take your travel goals, travel habits, spending patterns, and preferences into account. We want to ensure that the cards we recommend for you can quickly generate free travel and provide relevant benefits while keeping your annual card fees under control.

We are ready to help you turn your routine credit card spending into the travel of your dreams.