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Wells Fargo has made a ton of news this last year with the release of the Autograph Journey card and the accompanying launch of the Wells Fargo Rewards transferable currency program. Wells has now effectively sworn off adding any more co-branded cards in the wake of Bilt’s lackluster revenue generation, presumably wanting to focus on its own transferable cards. However, there was one more co-branded deal in the hopper: One Key.
One Key is the shared rewards program of Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo and it now operates with the OneKeyCash currency, which acts the same as actual cash when booking through any of the three. While the new One Key cards haven’t made much of splash since their release, the One Key+ is a surprisingly attractive card for folks who engage with any or all of the three platforms regularly.
Wells Fargo One Key+ Welcome Offer
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$600 OneKeyCash ⓘ Non-Affiliate $600 OneKeyCash after $3K spend in first 3 months$99 Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Good bonus categories, especially when combined with the 2x base earning. The anniversary bonus more or less offsets the annual fee and being able to combine primary car rental insurance with 9x earning at Expedia could be valuable for some. Earning rate: 3% at Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo and at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, food delivery ✦ 2X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Wells. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Gold status ✦ $100 OneKeyCash anniversary bonus ✦ $100 annual Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary rental car insurance ✦ Cell phone Protection ($25 deductible, $1000 max per claim) |
Wells Fargo One Key+ Review
The One Key+ could be a very appealing card for folks who use Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo with any frequency. The bonus categories are impressive: 3% Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, gas/grocery/dining and 2% everywhere else. That’s a terrific combo and makes it competitive with just about any cash back card…with the caveat that the resulting OneKeyCash must be used in the three included programs. There’s a $100 annual OneKeyCash bonus that more or less covers the annual fee, and you get automatic One Key Gold status and primary rental car insurance to boot. Folks who don’t use these platforms often and/or prefer transferable currency might be better served by taking a gander at the Autograph Journey if dipping their toes “into the Wells.” But, One Key fans should take a look.
- Annual Fee: $99
- Authorized User Annual Fee: Free
- Foreign Transaction Fee: None
- What points are worth: The One Key+ card earns OneKeyCash. This can be used to make bookings on Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. $1 in OneKeyCash is worth $1 towards a booking on any of those platforms, but since it can’t be used outside of them, we value it at slightly less than face value, at 0.9 cents each.
- Best Use for Points: OneKeyCash is extremely flexible in that you can use it like cash for almost anything that’s can be booked through Expedia, Hotels.com or Vrbo. It’s worth noting that you’ll miss out on whatever rewards you might have earned by putting those charges on a credit card.
- Earning Categories:
- 3% back at Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo, gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants and food delivery
- 2% back everywhere else
- Perks:
- One Key Gold Status – 4% back at Hotels.com and Expedia with savings of 20% or more on over 10,000 hotels worldwide, perks and upgrades and VIP Access properties, free One Key Price Drop protection on flights
- $100 in OneKeyCash at each cardholder anniversary
- $100 TSA Precheck/Global Entry once every four years
- Travel Protections:
- Auto Rental Coverage: Primary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver). Provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad up to $50,000 max.
- Travel Accident Insurance: Good for up to $1,000,000 on accidental loss of life, limb, sight, speech, or hearing.
- Travel Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: Up to $5,000 for common carrier tickets if the trip is canceled for a covered reason.
- Purchase Protections:
- Cell Phone Coverage: $25 deductible, $1000 max per claim, 2 claims max per year (must pay for your cell bill with card).
- Who’s this card for? Folks who use the included platforms consistently (or who have reason to).
- Is the Wells Fargo One Key+ a keeper? If this is card is worth getting, it’s worth keeping. The annual $100 anniversary bonus effectively makes it a net, no annual fee card…and given that you get the increased earnings at One Key programs, Gold status and primary car insurance, I’m not sure why you’d wouldn’t want to keep it.
Wells Fargo One Key+ Pros and Cons
Pros
- 2x earning on all purchases
- 3x on gas, grocery and dining is a great combination
- $100 in annual OneKeyCash more or less offsets the annual fee
- Earnings are very flexible when redeemed through one of the three OneKey platforms
- Primary rental car insurance on a card with essentially no net annual fee is terrific
Cons
- Rewards can only be used at Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo
- No transferable partners
- Welcome offer is relatively modest
Related Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$600 OneKeyCash ⓘ Non-Affiliate $600 OneKeyCash after $3K spend in first 3 months$99 Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Good bonus categories, especially when combined with the 2x base earning. The anniversary bonus more or less offsets the annual fee and being able to combine primary car rental insurance with 9x earning at Expedia could be valuable for some. Earning rate: 3% at Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo and at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, food delivery ✦ 2X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Wells. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Gold status ✦ $100 OneKeyCash anniversary bonus ✦ $100 annual Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary rental car insurance ✦ Cell phone Protection ($25 deductible, $1000 max per claim) |
$400 OneKeyCash ⓘ Non-Affiliate $400 OneKeyCash after $1K spend in first 3 monthsNo Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Good reward categories for a card with no annual fee. Could be a winner for folks who use Expedia, Hotels.com and/or vrbo frequently Earning rate: 3% at Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo and at gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants, food delivery ✦ 1.5X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by Wells. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Automatic Silver status ✦ Cell phone Protection ($25 deductible, $1000 max per claim) ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary rental car insurance |
Wells Fargo Application Tips
- 1/6 Rule: Officially, Wells Fargo states that it may not approve you for a new credit card if you've opened one with the bank within the last six months. In practice, both seem inconsistently applied, especially for those with a Wells Fargo bank account. Business and consumer cards operate on separate tracks regarding those velocity limits.
- Velocity Limits: Wells will allow you to earn a welcome offer on the same card every 48 months, with one exception: you can earn the welcome bonus on Choice Privileges cards every 15 months.
- Card Limits: Wells Fargo doesn't have a limit on the amount of cards that you can have, but it does place limits on the total amount of credit that they will issue you across all cards. Because of this, reconsideration can sometimes be successful by moving credit from one existing card to the new card that you want.
- Application Status: Call (800) 967-9521 to check your application status
- Reconsideration: If denied, call (800) 967-9521 and ask for your application to be reconsidered.
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You can get WF card every 6 months only relates to WF branded cards. Cobranded cards are excepted from this requirement.
https://www.headforpoints.com/2024/08/13/expedia-halts-the-roll-out-of-one-key/
@Tim Steinke I think your post is still not quite right. You say 3x Brand but the card comes with gold status which is a multiplier increase one would not get otherwise unless separately earned. I think 3-7x Brand would be more accurate for the plus card.
Many (if not most) hotel credit card give you elite status as a benefit, but we never include that in the card earnings. The reason is that, if you pay with another credit card, you still get the elite bonus. So the earnings aren’t part of using the card, even though the benefit comes from having the card. They often try to market them as though they’re included with the card, though (like Wells Fargo is doing here).
That makes sense, thanks for the explanation!
Wells Fargo is dead to me, since my failed application for the Hotels.com card a couple of years ago. They wanted me to send photocopies of an ID card and other ridiculous documents, which I won’t do, due to data (and photo) privacy and especially security concerns.
Does use of the credit card keep your One Key cash from expiring?
Thanks for putting this on my radar. Also an easy way to reset points expiry. As it is tho, it’s about half of the SUB value of the old Expedia card which in 2019 gave 70k worth 2x each. Still, weren’t I trying to stay under 5/24, I might have given it a go.
With this program and with this card, there’s been some talk about VIP access discounts at some properties. Of such properties I reviewed, the discount seemed to be associated with non-changeable / non-cancellable stays. Just be aware.
N.B. According to Expedia’s FAQs, One Key Cash is worse than cash. It can only be used for prepaid (“Pay Now”) hotel bookings or to pay in full for “selected” flights. This means that you either have to book hotels through Expedia brands and forgo any possible loyalty benefits or you have to accumulate enough One Key Cash to pay in full for a flight (which might not even work given the “selected” language).
Yes, it’s definitely worse than cash because you have to use it at Expedia, Hotels.com and Vrbo. That said, regardless of if you use Pay Now or not, you’re going to lose those elite benefits anytime you book through Expedia, Hotels.com or any other online travel agency (OTA). You should keep airline benefits on the vast majority of fares, though. For me, I only use any of these OTAs when booking an independent property that I wouldn’t have benefits at anyway.
Also, worth noting that Pay Now doesn’t necessarily mean non-refundable, it’s just the difference between paying at the time of booking or paying at the hotel. That makes sense to me, as it would be extremely difficult to manage the logistics of using OneKeyCash to pay on-property. Every hotel brand essentially does the same thing with their points – they’re deducted at the time of booking, not when you complete the stay. Then, if you cancel the stay, the points are refunded.
Those are fair points. I was just intending to highlight that One Key Cash does not quite function as Expedia Group credit but has a few more restrictions (though the Pay Now restriction is entirely understandable, as you say), especially for people who only use OTAs for flights (maybe since they stay at chain hotels).
Totally. The OneKeyCash stuff (and the elite benefits) are so new that we’re flying a little in the blind until we get more real world info. It could be that the value should be less than 0.9cpp if the usage is restricted more than we realize…which would affect the value proposition for the card as well.
It’s a good point!
Echoing George, both cards earn only 3% at the Expedia-owned sites, not 9%. The cards come with Silver or Gold status which can boost earnings to 6-7%, but that’s not even at all properties. Maximum earnings are limited to VIP Access properties and US-only VRBO properties.
Please update the article and info boxes.
BTW, big fan of your work Tim, and the whole crew.
Thanks! It’s already been updated.
Thank you Tim!
BTW, I always see Expedia advertising big discounted rates for higher status members, like 20% off for Gold. Do you or anyone on the team see these kinds of discounts in practice?
The only interesting things about these OneKey cards to me are that the OneKey+ card you’ve reviewed here comes with Gold status and primary auto insurance, so I’m very curious about whether the status is really worthwhile.
That’s a great question that I was curious about as well. The increased earnings, complimentary Price Drop and discounts sound enticing on the front end. I personally use Expedia so seldomly that I’ve never come close to Gold, so can’t comment on the discounts, but I’d love to hear someone else’s experience.
That would also be a good question for Frequent Miler Insiders, as I’m sure there’s at least a few heavy One Key users there.
Thanks again Tim. I wasn’t aware of the Price Drop benefit; that’s good to know. Unfortunately I don’t have Facebook but I hope someone in the know will chime in here!
9% at Expedia only with platinum status. The card comes with gold status therefore the return would be 7%.
Excellent point. Silly marketing.
Having said that, some exploring is in order.