Wells Fargo launches a new travel rewards program with 6 transfer partners and more to come

Wells Fargo is making a big splash by introducing a transferable travel rewards program. As of April 4, 2024, you can transfer Wells Fargo Rewards points to six travel loyalty programs and more partners are expected to be added. Transfers will be available for all points-based Wells Fargo credit cards, such as the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see rates and fees). If you have either of these cards, you'll be able to combine rewards from any other Wells Fargo-branded consumer card and transfer those rewards to the new travel partners.

CNBC Select has the details of what we know about this program so far and how it compares to other credit card rewards programs.

There are currently two Wells Fargo rewards credit cards that allow point transfers:

• Wells Fargo Autograph® Card
• Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card

The Autograph card has no annual fee, earns 3X points in useful spending categories and has an intro APR offer for new cardholders. It's uncommon for a no-annual-fee card to earn transferable points, and given this card's other benefits it's easily among the best travel credit cards with no annual fee.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card is a mid-tier travel credit card with a $95 annual fee that can be partially offset by a $50 annual airfare credit with $50 minimum airline purchase. The rewards it earns for hotel (5X points) and airline (4X points) purchases are hard to beat because you'll get that high rate of return regardless of how you book (e.g., you don't have to book through the issuer's travel portal).

Cardholders also get 3X points on other travel spending and restaurant purchases, which makes this card one of the most rewarding options for common travel expenses. It has additional perks such as cell phone protection, trip cancellation and interruption protection and no foreign transaction fees.

Wells Fargo told CNBC Select that the rewards you earn from any Wells Fargo-branded consumer cards can be converted into transferable points, provided you also have either the Autograph or the Autograph Journey card. For example, the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (see rates and fees) earns 2% cash rewards back on purchases and if you also have the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph® Card, you'll be able to transfer those rewards to Wells Fargo travel partners.

There are currently six Wells Fargo Rewards transfer partners, and it has said more will be announced this year. As of April 4th, you can transfer Wells Fargo points to these 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)

In addition, Wells Fargo points transfer to Choice Hotels at a 1:2 ratio.

While this is a smaller list of partners, it's a decent start because it gives you access to award flights with all three of the major airline alliances. There are quite a few sweet spots (a flight or hotel stay that gives you outsized value for your rewards) that you can book with this initial group of programs.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for Oneworld flights

British Airways, Iberia and Aer Lingus are all part of the Oneworld alliance, which includes American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Iberia is an excellent option for business-class award flights to Europe because you can book one-way off-peak business-class flights from a handful of U.S. cities to places like Barcelona and Madrid for only 34,000 points each way. If Ireland is on your 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. You can even fly from West Coast cities such as San Francisco or Seattle to Dublin for only 16,250 points each way on off-peak dates. The best part is, over 30 weeks of the year qualify for off-peak prices.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for Star Alliance flights

Avianca may have the most versatile program of Wells Fargo's partners. It's a member of the Star Alliance, which is the largest global airline alliance. When you transfer points to Avianca, you can book awards flights with airlines such as United, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada. You can book one-way business-class awards from the U.S. to Europe for around 63,000 miles or one-way domestic awards starting at 7,500 miles or less. Avianca charges a $25 award booking fee but it doesn't add fuel surcharges, so the fees are generally less than other options for international business class awards.

Use Wells Fargo Rewards for SkyTeam flights

Flying Blue is the loyalty program for Air France and the Dutch airline KLM (both part of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes Delta) and it has several features that make it extremely useful. There are monthly Promo Rewards which include discounts of 25%-50% on different routes and classes of service. You can also add free stopovers on many award flights, which unlocks all sorts of options. You could book a flight to Germany and add in a free visit to Paris for no 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 only Wells Fargo hotel partner. It includes brands such as EconoLodge, Rodeway Inn, Comfort, Quality Inn and Sleep Inn, which typically aren't the most aspirational properties to visit. However, it also includes upscale brands such as Cambria Hotels and the Ascend Hotel Collection. Certain geographic areas offer great value for Choice points (especially when you factor in the 1:2 transfer ratio with your Wells Fargo rewards), and include locations in Norway and Japan.

Choice Hotels award prices vary, but you can book The Clarion Hotel The Hub in Oslo, Norway for 16,000 Choice points per room on dates it costs $350+ a night. You'd only need 8,000 Wells Fargo points to book a night, which is a value of over four cents per point. This is an exceptionally nice hotel and 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 (when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months), you could realistically book all your hotels for a two-week trip to Japan.

It's difficult to judge Wells Fargo Rewards against other programs such as Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Citi ThankYou or American Express Membership Rewards because these other programs have been around for years. Wells Fargo has far fewer partner programs, but it will grow from here.

Wells Fargo's partnerships overlap with other travel rewards programs, which makes the rewards you earn potentially more useful. If you want to book an expensive business-class award with Avianca, you could transfer points from American Express, Capital One and Wells Fargo to the same Avianca account. So as it stands, Wells Fargo Rewards are at the very least a strong supplement to other rewards you may have, and it also has several cards with unusually high rates of return in specific categories.

However, anyone who wants to use credit card rewards for hotel stays may have more flexible options than Wells Fargo points right now. For hotel awards, most people are better off with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees), which earns points you can transfer to Marriott, IHG and Hyatt. With the Sapphire Preferred, you can also book hotels through Chase Travel℠ and pay with points. That means that Chase Ultimate Rewards® currently gives you more options for booking hotel stays with points.

If you're 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 stellar deal. Plus 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.

Wells Fargo is revamping its rewards program and adding transfer partners to select cards. While the list of travel partners is smaller than other programs, this can dramatically 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℠ Card are both options worth considering.

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