Wells Fargo Autograph Card vs. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card [Detailed Comparison]

A premium travel rewards card might be the perfect choice for frequent travelers, but high annual fees can be a drawback.

Let’s look at 2 travel rewards cards that don’t have high annual fees but offer strong travel earnings, flexible redemption options, and a few useful travel benefits.

The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card are travel rewards cards that fit the description well, sharing several similarities.

Today’s card comparison examines both cards closely, making it easy to determine which might be your new go-to travel rewards card.

Wells Fargo Autograph Card vs. Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card — Overview

Before we dive into details for each specific card, here’s an overview comparing the Wells Fargo Autograph card and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card:

The Value of a Welcome Offer

Once approved for the Wells Fargo Autograph card or the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card, you’ll have an opportunity to earn a welcome bonus offer.

Welcome bonus offers can typically be worth hundreds of dollars or more and are earned by meeting minimum spending requirements within a specific period immediately following card approval.

These offers frequently change, so you should review the most current offer before applying. These card snapshots contain the most recent information:

Bottom Line:

The Wells Fargo Autograph card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card come with generous welcome offers. Cardholders can earn this welcome bonus offer by meeting minimum spending requirements within the specified period immediately following card approval.

Earning Potential

Earning potential is a key reason for selecting a specific credit card. The Wells Fargo Autograph card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card earn well in everyday spending categories and accrue base earnings on all other purchases.

Here are all the ways to earn rewards with both of our featured cards:

Selecting a card that closely matches your spending mix will ensure you maximize your earning potential. Our featured cards have a few key differences in earnings.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card has the edge if you spend significantly with airlines and at hotels. If you spend $10,000 with airlines, you would earn 40,000 points (4x points) versus 30,000 points (3x points). Spending $5,000 at hotels with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card would earn 25,000 points (5x points) versus 15,000 points (3x points) on the Wells Fargo Autograph card. Both cards earn a solid 3x earnings on general travel purchases.

If you’re more of a road warrior and spend heavily on gas, the Wells Fargo Autograph card wins with 3x points versus 1x points. Spending $2,000 on gas purchases would earn 6,000 points versus 2,000 points with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card.

Another difference in earning structures is that the Wells Fargo Autograph card earns better on select streaming services and phone plans. If you were to spend $2,000 in this category, you’d earn 6,000 points with the Wells Fargo Autograph card versus 2,000 points with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card.

Earning potential is especially important with our 2 featured cards, as redemption options are identical. The better card for you will be the one that matches your spending mix.

Next, let’s look at all the options for redeeming your accumulated rewards.

Bottom Line:

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card earns the best on airline/hotel purchases, general travel, and dining. The Wells Fargo Autograph card earns well on travel, dining, gas stations, transit, select streaming services, and phone plans.

Redemption Options

The real value of the rewards you earn on the Wells Fargo Autograph card or the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card is realized at redemption time.

Whether you’ve saved your points for a well-earned vacation or prefer a statement credit to wipe out a previous purchase, either card offers several options:

Transferring your rewards to airline or hotel partners will provide the best potential value. All other redemptions may result in receiving less value.

Transferring to Airline Partners

Although more may be added, there are currently only 5 airline transfer partners for Wells Fargo Rewards cards. Wells Fargo Rewards points earned on either of our featured cards can be transferred at a 1:1 ratio to Aer Lingus AerClub, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, and Iberia Plus.

Once you transfer points to a partner, you can purchase award tickets. For example, transferring Wells Fargo Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue may allow you to purchase a business class flight from the U.S. to Europe for just 40,000 miles, or even less with Promo Rewards.

Transferring to Choice Privileges

There is only 1 hotel transfer partner, but it’s a good one. Wells Fargo Rewards points transfer to Choice Privileges at a ratio of 1:2, so your points are immediately doubled!

There are over 7,400 Choice properties worldwide, so the selection is huge.

A sweet spot for redeeming Choice Privileges points is Scandinavia. You can find an exceptional hotel for ~16,000 points, so you’d need to transfer just 8,000 Wells Fargo Rewards points to secure a free hotel night.

Additional Redemption Options

An alternative way to redeem your Wells Fargo Rewards points is to receive a credit issued to a qualifying Wells Fargo account. You can redeem points at 1 cent each for a statement credit on your credit card, mortgage, or Wells Fargo loan.

Finally, you can redeem Wells Fargo Rewards points for shopping with select merchants, gift cards, or charitable donations. Value varies with these redemption options.

Bottom Line:

The best potential value for Wells Fargo Rewards points earned on the Wells Fargo Autograph card and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card is to transfer these rewards to airline or hotel partners. Once transferred, you can secure award flights or free hotel nights. Additional options include shopping, gift cards, or charitable donations.

Travel Protections and Benefits

Travel protections and benefits on the Wells Fargo Autograph card and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card can provide peace of mind during your journey, save money, or provide additional comfort.

Here are the travel protections and benefits on our featured cards:

Travel Protections

• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver — Pay for the entire rental with your card, and decline the rental agency’s CDW/LDW coverage to receive protection for damage and theft. Coverage is secondary in the U.S., so you must first file a claim with any other applicable insurance before card coverage applies. Outside of the U.S., coverage is primary, even if you have other insurance. Terms apply.
• Travel and Emergency Assistance Services — Help is just a call away when you need assistance finding a legal or medical referral, transaction services, help securing emergency funds or transportation, and much more.

Travel Benefits

• No Foreign Transaction Fees — Use your card when traveling without paying foreign transaction fees. That’s a savings of ~3% of your total purchases.
• Roadside Dispatch — Pay a pre-negotiated fee for a roadside service call and receive services including limited towing, changing of your inflated spare, jumpstart or lockout service, emergency fuel, or standard winching.
• Visa Signature Concierge — It’s a real bonus to receive help with a last-minute dinner reservation, securing a ticket to a popular sporting event, or assistance finding the right gift for a local host. The Visa Signature Concierge is available 24/7 during your travels.
• Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection Benefits — Use your card to book your stay and receive elite-style benefits at over 900 properties worldwide. Benefits include an upgraded room on arrival (when available), complimentary Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast for 2, a $25 food/beverage credit, VIP guest status, late checkout (when requested and available), and a best-rate guarantee.

Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card

Additional travel protections and benefits are found exclusively on the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card:

• $50 Airline Purchase Statement Credit — Use your card for a $50 or higher purchase directly with the airline and receive a $50 statement credit.
• Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption Protection — If your trip needs to be canceled or is disrupted for a covered reason, you could receive up to $15,000 per covered person, per trip, up to $20,000 per 12-month period, per account. The trip must be paid for with your card.
• Lost Baggage Reimbursement — If your luggage is stolen or lost by the common carrier, you could receive up to $3,000 in reimbursement. The entire fare must be paid for with your card, and coverage is secondary to any other coverage that may apply, including the airline.

Bottom Line:

The Wells Fargo Autograph card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card have key travel protections and benefits, including auto rental collision damage waiver, no foreign transaction fees, and Visa Signature Luxury Collection Hotel benefits. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card has a $50 airline statement credit, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, and lost baggage reimbursement.

Shopping Protections and Benefits

Shopping protections can be a valuable source of coverage if something should go wrong with an eligible purchase. You’ll save money and enjoy special offers with shopping benefits.

These are the shopping protections and benefits of the Wells Fargo Autograph card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card:

• Cell Phone Protection — If your phone is damaged or stolen, you could receive up to $600 per claim with the Wells Fargo Autograph card and up to $1,000 per claim with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card. There is a maximum of 2 claims per 12-month period and a limit of $1,200 and $2,000, respectively. Your monthly bill must be paid with your card to receive coverage.
• My Wells Fargo Deals — Log in to your online card account and choose offers from select retailers and service providers. Activate the offers you like, make the required purchase, and receive cash-back as a statement credit.
• Autograph Card Exclusives — Cardmembers receive exclusive access to special live events. Each cardholder may purchase up to 6 tickets for each event.

Wells Fargo Autograph Card

• Introductory APR on Purchases — Save money on large or multiple purchases by paying the balance back over time without incurring interest charges. Receive a 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases, 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR thereafter.

Bottom Line:

The Wells Fargo Autograph card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card offer cell phone protection, shopping deals, and exclusive access to live events. The Wells Fargo Autograph card has an introductory 0% APR on purchases.

Annual Fee and Authorized Users

Annual card fees should be considered to determine the net value you’ll receive from a card. The Wells Fargo Autograph card has a $0 annual fee, and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card has an annual fee of $95.

Neither card charges a fee to add an authorized user.

Final Thoughts

Although the Wells Fargo Autograph card and Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card have identical redemption options, their earning structures differ. So do the associated travel and shopping protections and benefits.

If you prefer a no-annual-fee card, and your spending aligns with the bonus categories, the Wells Fargo Autograph card is a respectable choice.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card might be better if you spend mostly on travel, especially flights and hotels, and if you value travel benefits. The card has an annual fee, but the fee should be a non-issue if you can use just 1 key benefit, such as the $50 airline fee reimbursement or the $1,000 in cell phone protection.