A new travel rewards program is launched by Wells Fargo, featuring 6 transfer partners, with more to come.

Starting April 4, 2024, Wells Fargo is introducing a transferable travel rewards program, allowing you to transfer your Wells Fargo Rewards points to six travel loyalty programs. More partners are expected to be added in the future. Transfers will be available for all points-based Wells Fargo credit cards, including the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and the new Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Journey Visa® Card.

CNBC Select provides information on this program's features and how it stacks up against other credit card rewards programs.

What credit cards earn transferable Wells Fargo Rewards?

Currently, two Wells Fargo rewards credit cards enable point transfers when the system is operational.

• The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Journey Visa® Card will be available for in-branch applications on March 9, 2024, and online applications on March 20, 2024.

This Autograph card is an excellent travel credit card due to its no annual fee, 3X points in useful spending categories, and intro 0% APR for new cardholders. Its transferable points are rare among no-annual-fee cards, making it one of the best options available.

The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Journey Visa® Card is a mid-tier travel credit card with a $95 annual fee that can be partially offset by a $50 annual airfare credit. This card offers hard-to-beat rewards for hotel (5X points) and airline (4X points) purchases, regardless of how you book.

This card offers 3X points on travel and dining expenses, making it a top choice for frequent travelers. It also includes benefits such as cell phone protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and no foreign transaction fees.

With select cash-back credit cards from Wells Fargo, you can convert your earned rewards into transferable points. To do this, you must also have either the Autograph or Autograph Journey card. For instance, the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers 2% cash rewards on all purchases (see rates and fees), and if you also have the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, you can transfer those rewards to Wells Fargo travel partners.

Wells Fargo Rewards travel partners

As of April 4th, you can transfer Wells Fargo points to five airline partners at a 1:1 ratio.

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air France/KLM Flying Blue (partners with Delta)
• Avianca LifeMiles (partners with United Airlines)
• British Airways Executive Club (partners with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines)
• Iberia Plus (partners with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines)

Choice Hotels accepts transfers from Wells Fargo at a 1:2 ratio.

This smaller list of partners provides access to award flights with all three major airline alliances, offering valuable sweet spots for your rewards.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for Oneworld flights

The Oneworld alliance, comprising British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines, offers excellent business-class award flights to Europe. Iberia is particularly noteworthy for its one-way off-peak business-class flights from select U.S. cities to destinations like Barcelona and Madrid for only 34,000 points each way. If Ireland is on your travel bucket list, Aer Lingus offers one-way awards to the Emerald Isle from East Coast cities such as Boston and New York for 13,000 points on off-peak dates. Additionally, Aer Lingus allows you to fly from West Coast cities like San Francisco or Seattle to Dublin for only 16,250 points each way on off-peak dates. The best part is that over 30 weeks of the year qualify for off-peak prices.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for Star Alliance flights

Avianca, a member of the Star Alliance, may have the most versatile program among Wells Fargo's partners. With Avianca, you can transfer points and book awards flights with airlines such as United, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, and Air Canada. One-way business-class awards from the U.S. to Europe cost around 63,000 miles, while one-way domestic awards start at 7,500 miles or less. Avianca charges a $25 award booking fee but does not add fuel surcharges, making the fees generally less than other options for international business class awards.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for SkyTeam flights

The loyalty program for Air France and KLM, known as Flying Blue, offers several useful features. These include monthly Promo Rewards, which provide discounts of 25%-50% on various routes and classes of service. Additionally, you can add free stopovers to many award flights, which opens up a range of possibilities. For example, you could book a flight to Germany and include a free visit to Paris without any additional miles, and each stopover can last from 24 hours to up to a year.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for hotel deals in Norway and Japan

Choice Hotels is the sole hotel partner of Wells Fargo, featuring a range of brands including EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Comfort, Quality Inn, and Sleep Inn. While these properties may not be the most desirable to visit, Choice Hotels also offers upscale brands such as Cambria Hotels and the Ascend Hotel Collection. In certain regions, Choice points offer great value, particularly when considering the 1:2 transfer ratio with Wells Fargo rewards. Locations in Norway and Japan are among those that provide excellent value for Choice points.

The Clarion Hotel The Hub in Oslo, Norway can be booked for 16,000 Choice points per room on dates that cost $350+ a night. This is an exceptionally nice hotel that includes a free full breakfast spread which may feature ingredients from its rooftop garden. In Japan, there are lots of Choice Hotels available for 8,000 Choice points per night (4,000 Wells Fargo points). While the Japanese Choice Hotels generally cost less, you can often get a solid value per point. With the Autograph Journey's welcome bonus of 60,000 points, you could realistically book all your hotels for a two-week trip to Japan.

How this travel program stacks up against the competition

While it is challenging to compare Wells Fargo Rewards to other established programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and American Express Membership Rewards, it is important to note that Wells Fargo is a relatively new program. However, as it continues to grow, it will become more competitive with these established programs.

Wells Fargo's partnerships with other travel rewards programs can enhance the usefulness of the rewards you earn. For instance, you can transfer points from American Express, Capital One, and Wells Fargo to an Avianca account to book an expensive business-class award. As a result, Wells Fargo Rewards can be a valuable addition to other rewards you may have, and the program offers several cards with exceptional rates of return in specific categories.

If you want to use credit card rewards for hotel stays, you may have more flexible options than Wells Fargo points right now. For hotel awards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a better option as it allows you to transfer points to Marriott, IHG and Hyatt. Additionally, with the Sapphire Preferred, you can book hotels through the Chase Travel portal and pay with points at an elevated value of 1.25 cents each. This means that Chase Ultimate Rewards® currently provides more options for booking hotel stays with points.

If you are a loyal Choice Privileges member or can take advantage of one of the program's sweet spots, Wells Fargo's 1:2 transfer ratio can be a great deal. Additionally, the Autograph Journey card earns 5X points at hotels, so you could effectively earn 10X Choice points on hotel spending. The only other major rewards program that matches Wells Fargo's 1:2 transfer ratio to Choice is Citi ThankYou. With a card such as the Citi Premier® Card, you can access all of Citi's transfer partners. For a limited time, you can earn 10X points on hotels and car rentals booked through the Citi Travel portal (valid through June 30, 2024).

Bottom line

Wells Fargo is revamping its rewards program and adding transfer partners to select cards. Although the list of travel partners is smaller than other programs, this can significantly increase the value of the rewards you earn with Wells Fargo's travel credit cards. If you're looking for a travel credit card, the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card and Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Journey Visa® Card are both options worth considering.

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The information about the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Journey Visa® Card has been gathered independently by Select and has not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer before publication.