The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers simple, unlimited 2% cash back with no annual fee. This alone puts this card in a small group of similar cards.
You’ll earn 2% cash back on every purchase with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. The only catch is that you must redeem your rewards on $25 increments by phone or online. You can also redeem your rewards in $20 increments at a Wells Fargo ATM when you have a checking or savings account with a Wells Fargo ATM or debit card.
But what makes the card stand above the rest is that it offers up to $600 of cell phone protection. Cell phone protection covers damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card. And the deductible for this benefit is only $25. This feature is uncommon on cards without an annual fee. While the coverage amount is lower, the deductible is one of the lowest among any card that offers this benefit.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card at a glance
Rewards
| All purchases. | 2% |
Rewards are earned as cash back.
Benefits
| Consumer insurance benefits Cellular Telephone Protection. | |
| Travel insurance benefits Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. | |
| Travel benefits Travel Emergency Assistance Services. Roadside Dispatch. | |
| Helpful features My Wells Fargo Deals. |
Terms
| Fees: Annual fee: $0 Foreign transaction fee: 3% |
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card new cardmember bonus
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card welcome bonus:
Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.
Click here to learn more and apply.
Our take on the welcome bonus: Getting $200 after spending $500 within 3 months makes this welcome bonus one of the easiest cash back welcome bonuses to get.
The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® at a glance:
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2% cash back on purchases.
Benefits: Cell phone protection. Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver.
Our take on the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Having a 2% cash back credit card as our baseline rewards is a compelling idea that, for many people, doubles the rewards they get “everywhere else.” While the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card made a huge splash when it launched, the card really doesn’t offer a compelling value proposition in today’s credit card marketplace.
Unfortunately, the lack of basic consumer insurance benefits like extended warranty or purchase protection means that we’d probably prefer a card like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to be our baseline “everywhere else” card. That card has a few bonus categories and can protect the purchases that matter to us. Giving up half a percent of cash back rewards can really pay off when your laptop malfunctions in the year after its warranty expires.
The Active Cash’s cash back rewards can be transferred to the Autograph Journey card. This makes the card much more interesting if you have both cards. And we expect that this card will become more interesting over time as Wells builds out its Autograph Journey transfer partners. Still, the lack of extended warranty protection hurts. Adding this single benefit would go a long way to bettering the card’s value proposition.
Pros
- 2% cash back on every purchase.
- Cash back rewards can be converted into Autograph Journey points.
- Cellular telephone protection with a $25 deductible
- No annual fee.
Cons
- No extended warranty or purchase protection benefit.
- Wells Fargo typically requires you to have a banking relationship before they will approve you.
A few notes on applying for Wells Fargo credit cards
- You may not qualify for an additional Wells Fargo credit card if you have opened a Wells Fargo credit card in the last 6 months.
- You can get a new customer welcome bonus on Wells Fargo cards multiple times.
- Wells Fargo typically wants you to have an account with them before they will approve you for credit cards. If you are interested in this card, but aren’t yet a Wells Fargo customer, the bank offers checking accounts that waive the monthly service fee when you keep a $500 balance.
- Wells Fargo allows you to check for pre-selected credit card offers on their website with no impact to your credit score.
- You can check your application status by calling 1-800-967-9521.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card rewards
The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers unlimited 2% cash rewards on all purchases, with no limit to the amount of rewards you can earn.
Redeeming rewards
The Wells Fargo Active Cash® allows you to redeem for cash back rewards in several ways. Most rewards require a minimum redemption of $25
- Statement credit into a Wells Fargo checking or savings account – Cash rewards must be redeemed in $25 increments. Can be redeemed via phone or online.
- Statement credit to a Wells Fargo credit card – Cash rewards must be redeemed in $25 increments. Can be redeemed via phone or online.
- Cash rewards through a Wells Fargo ATM – Rewards may be redeemed in $20 increments. Must be redeemed at a Wells Fargo ATM.
- Offset eligible purchases – Redeem rewards to offset eligible purchases as small as $1
Other reward options include gift cards, travel, merchandise and Pay With Rewards at merchants. These reward redemptions can be ignored. They are likely to provide less value than cash back rewards.
Should you keep the card after the first year?
Because the Wells Fargo Active Cash card has an annual fee of $0, it can make sense to keep the card open, even if you aren’t using it. Having an additional credit card reporting available credit and on-time payments monthly is likely to strengthen your credit score.
In addition to the benefits to your credit score there are plenty of reasons to keep this card and continue using it. Here are a few of the highlights:
- 2% cash rewards on all purchases
- $600 of cell phone protection when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card.
- Primary auto rental collision damage waiver coverage when renting outside the United States.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card benefits
In addition to generous 2% rewards on all purchases, the Wells Fargo Active Cash card offers a few benefits that are both useful and uncommon in a no-annual-fee card. Here are the benefit highlights of this card.
Cellular telephone protection: Get up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your eligible Wells Fargo card. Coverages is subject to a $25 deductible and limited to two claims every 12 months.
Auto rental collision damage waiver coverage: Receive protection against a covered accident or theft of a rental car when you charge your car rental to the card and decline the rental car company’s collision damage waiver insurance. Coverage is secondary within the United States and primary when traveling outside of the United States.
Who is Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card best for?
If you want a credit card that offers good flat-rate cash back rewards or also have the Autograph Journey card, you’ll benefit from the Who is Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. Here’s who will benefit most from the Active Cash:
- Person who wants simple, flat-rate, cash back rewards. The Active Cash awards simple, flat-rate 2% cash back on every purchase with no categories and no caps. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
- Autograph Journey cardmembers. Since Wells Fargo launched its Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card, the Active Cash’s rewards became much more interesting. You can transfer your Active Cash cash back rewards to your Autograph Journey card, where they will become points that can be transferred to airline partners.
Cards that complement the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
The best complement to the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is the Autograph Journey, the only Wells Fargo-branded card that offers transferable points. Here are a few cards to consider:
- The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is Wells’ recently-launched card that offers transferable points. Transferable points can offer incredibly value if you know how to transfer points to airline and hotel partners and redeem them for outsized-value luxury travel redemptions. The Autograph Journey synergies with the Active Cash because you can transfer the points you earn from your Wells Fargo Active Cash to your Autograph Journey, where they become transferrable points.
- Depending on your spending patterns, you can increased your rewards by adding cards that offer additional cash back at the places you shop the most. Most people will want to carry a grocery credit card or a card that earns additional rewards on gas. One or two cards that offers rewards in bonus categories can be an excellent complement to the the Active Cash.
Alternatives to the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
If you’re looking for a (type of card) because (most likely reason to consider the card), here are a few other cards to consider
- The Citi® Double Cash Card was the original 2% card (technically, the card earns 1% when you make purchases and 1% when you pay) and is a good alternative if you prefer to bank with Citibank or if you want to earn ThankYou® points.
- For 2% cash back rewards with benefits like extended warranty, look at the TD Double Up℠ Credit Card. This relatively unknown credit card offers a more complete set of consumer insurance benefits and travel protections for no annual fee.
- We like the Chase Freedom Unlimited® as an “everywhere else” card because it earns 1.5% cash back on general purchases and 3% rewards on dining and drugstores. Plus it has Chase’s excellent extended warrant benefit.
