Wells Fargo Rewards program: How to earn, redeem and transfer points

Alongside the launch of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see rates and fees), Wells Fargo revamped its travel rewards program, adding a total of six transfer partners — five airlines and one hotel — to its Wells Fargo Rewards program. In September, the credit card rewards program announced another transfer partner: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club/Virgin Red.

Previously, those holding the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card (see rates and fees) could earn points and redeem them for 1 cent per dollar through the portal. However, Wells Fargo points are now more valuable with the addition of transfer partners, as cardholders can maximize their points by earning transferable rewards.

Keep reading to find out more about how to earn, redeem and transfer your Wells Fargo Rewards points.

To earn Wells Fargo Rewards points, you need to spend on your Wells Fargo credit card. If you sign up for the Autograph Journey Card, you will earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months. If you opt to redeem your rewards via the Wells Fargo portal, your points will be valued at 1 cent each; therefore, this bonus would be worth $600. However, as previously mentioned, you can get more value out of your welcome bonus points if you transfer them to travel partners.

Aside from earning points via the welcome bonus, you will earn 5 points per dollar spent at hotels, 4 points per dollar spent on airline purchases, 3 points per dollar spent on other travel and restaurant purchases and 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases.

If you’re searching for a no-annual-fee credit card, you may want to check out the Wells Fargo Autograph Card, which offers 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of card membership. Plus, you’ll earn 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants (dining in, takeout, catering, delivery and more), travel-related purchases (airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises and more), gas (gas stations and electric vehicle charging stations), transit (subways, ride-hailing services, parking, tolls and more), streaming services and phone plans. You’ll also earn 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases.

Though no longer available to new applicants, the Wells Fargo Visa Signature® card will allow you to redeem 1.5 cents per point on travel redemptions through the online portal.

The information for the Wells Fargo Visa Signature card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Wells Fargo Rewards joins the list of valuable transferable currencies you can earn alongside Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One miles, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Bilt Rewards.

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Wells Fargo Autograph and Journey cardholders can now transfer their points to the following programs at a 1:1 ratio:

Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points

How to redeem Wells Fargo Rewards points

To redeem your points, sign into your credit card account or the mobile app and click on the Wells Fargo Rewards page. From there, you can hover over “Use Rewards” and select how you would like to redeem your rewards.

You can redeem your points for travel, such as airfare and hotels, make a charitable donation, buy products from retailers, pay for specific purchases using points, purchase gift cards or get a statement credit for items already purchased.

When used for travel purchases, Wells Fargo Rewards points can be redeemed at 1 cent per point. However, other redemptions, such as when purchasing gift cards or items from retailers, may be redeemed at a lesser value.

If you want to transfer your points, hover over “Use Rewards” and select “Rewards Points Transfer.” You’ll see a list of the airline and hotel transfer partners.

From there, click on “Link accounts” for the partner you want to link and enter your partner account number before clicking “Continue.”

You’ll see a confirmation message to confirm that the accounts have been linked (it only takes a few seconds). From there, you can transfer points (if you have them), but if you click “Cancel,” you’ll come back to the main transfer page — which now has a new expandable menu labeled “My linked rewards programs.”

Unlike other credit card rewards programs, transfers are not subject to a minimum-point charge and have no specified point increments. Remember, transfers are nonreversible, so be sure to check award availability on the partner’s website if you’re transferring points for a specific redemption. Also, transfers may not happen instantly, so keep that in mind when looking to book award travel.