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Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card is a travel rewards card with one of the most generous sign-up bonuses that does not have an annual fee. This card has a great points structure on spending for travel costs.
Customers earn 3% rewards (or 3 points) for every dollar spent across most major purchase categories, including dining, entertainment, flights, hotels, car rentals, gas station purchases, and even media streaming like Hulu and Netflix.
The Wells Fargo Propel card doesn’t have an annual fee it and comes with an 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months. After that, your APR will be 13.99% to 25.99%, based on your creditworthiness
It also offers one of the most competitive sign-up bonuses out there: 20,000 bonus points (or $200 in cash back) when you spend $1,000 in the first three months.”
This card is great for the casual traveler and “road warriors” who can use it to earn points to reduce the cost of travel. This card competes with some of the premier travel rewards cards.
Our Bottom Line
- Great Card For Travelers Of All Types
Credit Rating Requirements
- Good – Excellent Credit
PROS
- 30,000 Points Sign-Up Bonus
- Great Rewards Plan
CONS
- Balance Transfer Fee – $5 or 3%
- Minimum Redemption Amounts
Highlights
- No Blackout Dates
- No Annual Fee, No Foreign Transaction Fee
- 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases in the First 12 Months
Here’s a summary of the main pros & cons (click to see explanation or scroll down):
Pros
Cons
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card – Benefits
Let’s take a look at the benefits of the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card and see if it’s the right one for your wallet or not.
- 20,000 Points Sign-Up Bonus
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card offers two sign-up bonuses. You’ll earn the points after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months you get 20,000 points.
This bonus is the equivalent of $200 cash back, travel rewards, or gift cards.
- Higher Points on Certain Categories Including Streaming Services
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card gives 3x points for every dollar spent on restaurants, gas, rideshares, transit, flights, hotels, and car rentals. There is no limit on the points you can earn and points never expire.
Also, the Propel Card has a unique offering that allows you to get 3x points for every dollar spent on streaming services, such as Netflix and Spotify.
- Points on All Other Categories
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card offers 1 point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
American Express has recently stepped it up and has increased their footprint by adding 1.6 million places that now accept American Express.
- No Blackout Dates
You can redeem your points for travel rewards though Go Far Rewards.
There are no blackout dates when you book travel through Go Far Rewards.
- No Annual Fee
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card does not come with an annual fee.
You do not have a spending threshold to meet to offset an annual fee. You can start earning points immediately.
- 0% APR on Balance Transfers and Purchases in the First 9 Months
If you are looking to save money on interest, the Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card offers a 0% introductory rate for 9 months on balance transfers.
If you have a credit card that you are trying to pay down, you can transfer the account and pay no interest on the transfer for 9 months.
You can also charge up the card and pay no interest for 9 months. This is great if you have a big purchase in mind and want to pay over time, but there are cards that offer longer introductory rates.
- No Foreign Transaction Fee
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card does not have a foreign transaction fee like many other credit cards. This card is great for travel and you can earn 3x points on many traveling costs.
- Protection
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card has zero liability on unauthorized transactions. It has chip-enabled security and alerts for suspected transactions. Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card also doubles the manufacturer’s warranty.
They also have travel and purchase protections. You can also get auto rental collision damage waiver and emergency card replacement. You also have access to 24/7 emergency help, like roadside assistance and lost luggage reimbursement.
- Cell Phone Replacement
The card has cell phone protection if you pay your monthly bill with Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card. Wells Fargo will replace your cell phone if lost or stolen, up to $600 and with a $25 deductible. There is a limit of $1,200 for claims in a 12-month time period.
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card – Drawbacks
Here are the most important cons you should consider before apply to the Wells Fargo Propel American Express card:
- High APR
The APR for Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card is a 13.99%-25.99% variable rate, which is high for a card that requires borrowers with good credit histories.
Cash advance is 23.99% to 25.99%.3
- Longer Introductory Rates
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card has a 9 month 0% APR introductory rate but there are other cards that have longer introductory rates, many a year or more.
If you are looking to transfer some debts and pay them down or have a large purchase in mind that you want to pay over time, you many want to look at other cards with a longer 0% APR introductory rate.
- Balance Transfer Fee
There is a balance transfer fee required if you want to take advantage of the introductory 0% APR rate. The fee is incurred when you transfer debts from one or more credit cards to your Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card.
This fee is $5 or 3% of the transfer, whichever is bigger. This fee is upfront and will be added to your debt load when transferred. It must be used within 120 days of opening the card to take advantage of the 0% APR intro rate.
After that, up to 5% for each balance transfer, with a minimum of $5.
- Minimum Redemption Amounts
Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card has minimum redemption amounts of $25 for credit on your credit card or to use on other rewards.
There are other cards that do not have a minimum redemption amount and cashback rewards can be used at any time.
- Not as Widely Accepted as Others
American Express is not as widely accepted as competitors like Visa and Mastercard. There may be some merchants who do not accept the Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card.
Alternatives to Wells Fargo Propel American Express Credit Card
There are other credit cards that do offer comparable cash back rewards – we’ve summarized the most popular cards which can use as an alternative to the Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card:
The Wells Fargo Rewards Card starts out with a bang, offering 5x points for every dollar spent for the first 6 months. After the 6 months the reward points drop down to 1 point for every dollar spent. All other spending outside of gas, grocery and drugstores is also 1 point for every dollar spent.
One of the biggest benefit to this card is that it does not have an annual fee and has a long introductory 0% APR rate, which makes it very popular among consumers who would like to pay their debt and get rewards on everyday purchases while you don’t have to be a big spender in order to get cashback.
The Chase Freedom card offers a $200 sign-up bonus after only spending $500 in purchases after 3 months. That is a low spending threshold to receive a sign-up bonus. The Chase Freedom card has 1% cashback on all purchases and 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases.
This card also has revolving cashback bonuses that offer 5% on rotating categories. These categories change once a quarter but can increase your cash back if the consumer pays attention to their spending. It does have a cap of $1,500 on the bonus spending category.
The Freedom card does not come with an annual fee.
The American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card is somewhat like the little brother of the American Express Blue Cash Preferred.
American Express Blue Cash Everyday Card has a cashback bonus of 3% on groceries, 2% on gas and department stores and 1% on everything else.
In addition, there is 0% APR Introductory Rate on Balance Transfers and Purchases in the First 15 Months and you can earn 10,000 points (about $100) after spending $1,000 within three months of opening the account.
It also has a unique feature in which there is no transfer fee for the first 60 days of opening the card and card holders can take advantage of the 0% APR introductory rate.
The APR for the American Express Everyday Card is a 12.99% – 23.99% and also 2.7% foreign transaction fee.
Is the Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card Right for You?
The Wells Fargo Propel American Express Card is perfect for travelers of all types that want to earn points and reduce their cost of travel, and competes with many of the premium travel rewards card.
This card also tries to include modern lifestyles by offering points for using rideshare services and online streaming services. It has a short 0% introductory rate, so borrowers looking to transfer debts and pay them down may want to look at other cards that offer longer intro rates.