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 $99 annual fee One Key+ is a relatively attractive card for folks who engage with any or all of the three platforms regularly, I’m not sure where where this one fits in by comparison.
Wells Fargo One Key Mastercard Welcome Offer
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$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 One Key Mastercard Review
I’m not really sure why someone who wants a OneKey credit card would opt for this one instead of the One Key+. The One Key+ does have an annual fee, but it also gets $100 in yearly OneKeyCash that more or less offsets it. You’d save $99 on the first years annual fee with the regular One Key Mastercard, but you’d get a smaller welcome offer, 25% less everywhere earnings and Silver elite status instead of Gold. If you deal enough with One Key enough to make a card desirable in the first place, I’d skip this one and go for the elder sibling.
- Annual Fee: None
- 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 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
- 1.5% back everywhere else
- Perks:
- One Key Silver Status – 3% back at Hotels.com and Expedia with savings of 15% or more on over 10,000 hotels worldwide, perks and upgrades and VIP Access properties
- 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 and who are too weirded out by an annual fee to get the OneKey+ card.
- Is the Wells Fargo One Key Mastercard a keeper? Since there’s no annual fee and you get Silver status, I suppose there’s no reason not to. But, the OneKey+ card has much better benefits and is effectively has no net annual fee. I’d go for that one instead as a keeper.
Wells Fargo One Key Mastercard Pros and Cons
Pros
- 1.5x earning on all purchases
- 3x on gas, grocery and dining is a great combination
- No annual fee
- Earnings are flexible when redeemed through one of the three OneKey platforms
- Primary rental car insurance on a card with no annual fee is a nice perk
Con
- 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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