I covered the Wells Fargo Cash Wise a couple of weeks ago and today I want to take a look at the Wells Fargo Propel American Express Credit Card. We’ll take a look at the features of the credit card as well as who (if anyone!) the credit card might make sense for.
Card Benefits
- 3X points at US gas stations, 2X points at US restaurants, 1X points on all other purchases
- No annual fee
- 0% introductory APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers
- Earn an annual 10% bonus on your non-bonus rewards points if you maintain a qualifying Consumer Wells Fargo Checking or Savings account
- Redeem your points for travel, gift cards, cash back, or merchandise
Is It Worth It
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express Credit Card has some decent bonus categories for a no annual fee credit card. If you don’t have a credit card with a high return on your spending for gas and restaurant purchases, it might make sense for you to get the Wells Fargo Propel card, though you can do better than one point per dollar spent on purchases outside of those bonus categories with, for example, the the Chase Freedom Unlimited which earns 1.5% back on all purchases and is also a no annual fee card.
If you’re really looking to maximize your spending and are okay with having more than one credit card, but are looking to avoid annual fees, 3X at gas stations and 2X at restaurants is definitely a combination worth considering. If you would prefer to have only one credit card, there are some solid 2 percent back options where you don’t need to keep track of bonus categories, like the Citi Double Cash Card.
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Of course, if you have a qualifying Wells Fargo Checking or Savings Account, the Propel card is a little bit more compelling. We all like getting a bonus on our points at the end of the year!
When redeeming your Wells Fargo points, you’ll get one cent per point in value for cash back, statement credit, and gift card redemptions. Merchandise will generally not give you a very good redemption value.
The final reason it might make sense to get the Wells Fargo Propel card is to take advantage of the 0% promotional APR. While we never recommend carrying credit card debt, this can be a good way to finance a big purchase (like a new refrigerator) at 0% for 15 months. Of course, if you do decide to do this, make sure to pay off the purchase in full by the time 15 months is up!
Final Thoughts
For a no annual fee card, the Wells Fargo Propel card is pretty solid, especially if you already have or are willing to get a qualifying Wells Fargo Checking or Savings Account to activate the 10 percent bonus on points earned. Depending on exactly what your credit card strategy is, there might be other cards that can fit your needs, but many close competitors to this card do have annual fees. If you’re looking to pick up a new card to increase your bonus spending on restaurant and gas purchases and want to avoid an annual fee, the Wells Fargo Propel card might be just the card you’re looking for.
What do you think of the Wells Fargo Propel card?
[Image via Getty]