Wells Fargo Autograph®
Simple $0 travel card with 3x on travel & dining
Annual Fee
$0
Earning Rate
3x restaurants • 3x travel (airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, agencies) • 3x gas stations & transit (rideshare, parking, tolls, rail) • 3x phone plans • 3x popular streaming services • 1x everything else
Welcome Bonus
20,000 points after $1,000 spend in 3 months
Card Material
Plastic card with standard finish • colors: Blue
Practical Recommendation
Think of Autograph as the simple travel-and-everyday points card: $0 annual fee, solid 3x on real travel and dining, and nothing to babysit. If you're starting out or hate juggling credits, this is easy value.
Travel more than occasionally? Consider Autograph Journey instead — the $50 annual airline credit plus higher hotel (5x) and airline (4x) earnings make the $95 fee a non-issue for most travelers.
Perks
- 3x on the useful stuff – Dining, travel, gas, transit, phone plans, and popular streaming earn 3x. Easy to remember, easy to use. Note that merchant coding rules apply (e.g., "travel" must code as airline, hotel, car rental, cruise, agencies, discount sites; streaming must be on Wells Fargo's eligible list).
- No foreign transaction fees – Use it abroad without the extra 3% tax many cards sneak in. Normal exchange-rate swings still apply.
- Rewards points transfer (new) – You can transfer Wells Fargo Rewards to airline/hotel partners (generally 1:1, Choice Privileges 1:2) for outsized travel value. Transfers are final and partners and ratios can change.
- Redeem your way – Cash back as statement credit, "Redeem for Purchases," Pay with Rewards at checkout (e.g., PayPal), gift cards, or book travel through Wells Fargo Rewards. Redemptions are typically at ~1¢ per point (transfers can beat that).
Protections
- Cell Phone Protection – Up to $600 per claim, 2 claims per 12 months, $25 deductible. Helps if your phone gets smashed or stolen after you paid the monthly bill with the card. This is supplemental coverage with no coverage for "mysteriously lost" phones; see exclusions.
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver – Covers repair/replacement up to $50,000 for a rented car. Saves you from buying overpriced counter insurance. Coverage is secondary in the U.S., primary abroad; exclusions for certain countries and vehicles.
- Travel & Emergency Assistance – 24/7 coordination for medical/legal referrals, ticket replacement, and more. It's a referral service; you pay the actual costs.
- Zero Liability – You're not on the hook for promptly reported unauthorized transactions. Report quickly; standard issuer conditions apply.
Autograph vs. Autograph Journey (quick compare)
- Annual fee: Autograph $0 vs. Journey $95 (but Journey gives a $50 annual airline credit that's easy to trigger with a single $50+ airline purchase).
- Earnings: Autograph is broad 3x; Journey boosts travel with 5x hotels, 4x airlines, and 3x restaurants & other travel.
- Protections: Autograph has the basics; Journey adds trip cancellation/interruption, lost baggage, and a higher cell phone protection limit ($1,000 per claim).
- Who should upgrade: If you buy even 1 flight a year and can use the $50 credit, Journey's higher travel multipliers can out-earn its fee quickly, but you need to do the math.