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Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit Card- Annual Fee = $0
- Earn 2% Cash Back on all purchases
- Redeem cash from into checking account, via ATM, or towards WF mortgage
- 0% APR for 15 months for both purchases and balance transfers
- UP to $600 in cell phone protection against covered damage or theft
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Earn 2% cash back on all purchases | Need a Wells Fargo Checking Account or Mortgage |
| Cell Phone Protection | |
| 0% APR Deal for 15 months | |
| Can redeem cash back in a variety of ways |
Great 2% Flat-Rate Card for Wells Fargo Customers
Aside from its' cash back program, the Active Cash card also offers a compelling 0% balance transfer deal(0% for 15 months), a cell phone protection insurance if you pay your monthly cell phone bills with the card and Visa Signature Privileges like 24/7 concierge services and benefits when you booking hotels through Visa's Luxury Hotel Collection partners.
Requirements
- Wells Fargo Account - Ideally, you should have a Wells Fargo account so you can deposit your cash back into it or withdraw your cash back via ATM. You could also redeem your cash back as statement credits or on your Wells Fargo mortgage payments.
- Good Credit Score - 720 and above - The Wells Fargo Active Cash is a prime card with one of the longest 0% APR intro offers. Hence, you would need a good credit score of at least 720 to qualify. In fact, a credit score of 750 and above is preferable.
Card Details and Key Features
| Annual Fee | $0 |
| APR | 14.99% - 24.99% (Variable) |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | 3% |
| Cash Back | 2% on all purchases |
| Balance Transfer Fee | Greater of 3% of transfer amount or $5 |
| Sign Up Bonus | Earn $200 cash back when you spend $1,000 during the first 3 months |
| 0% APR Deal | 0% APR for purchases and balance transfer if transferred within 120 days |
| Cell Phone Protection | $600 in cell phone protection |
Earning and Redeeming Cash Back
The Wells Fargo Active Cash allows you to earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases. Cash back can be redeemed the following ways:- Statement credit
- Deposit into your Wells Fargo Checking account
- ATM withdrawal with your debit card (in $20 increments)
- Principal Payment towards a Wells Fargo mortgage account
- Gift cards (in $25 increment)
- Pay with Rewards (PWR) - which allows you to redeem points when you purchases products online through participating PWR merchants
Sign Up Bonus and 0% APR Deals
New card members will get a $200 cash back bonus when you spend $1,000 within 90 days of your account opening.There is also a 0% APR deal for 15 months on both purchases and balance transfers. You are allowed up to 120 days to transfer your balance to qualify for the 15 month introductory period.
Cell Phone Protection Insurance
If you pay your cell phone bills with your Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, you will get up to $600 cell phone protection against covered damages and theft. Note that there is a $25 deductible. You are allowed up to 2 claims a year.Competition
| Card | Annual Fee | Cash Back | Redemption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Active Cash | $0 | 2% | Wells Fargo Accounts or Mortgage |
| Fidelity Rewards Via | $0 | 2% | Eligible Fidelity Accounts |
| Charles Schwab Amex | $0 | 2% | Eligible Schwab Accounts |
| SoFi Credit Card | $0 | 2% | SoFi Loans or Investment Accounts |
| BlockFi | $0 | $0 | TD Checking Account |
| AOD Visa Signature | $0 | 3% | Statement Credits |
| BOA Unlimited Cash | $0 | 1.5% - 2.625% | Checking Account, Merrill CMA and 529 Accounts |
| Citi DoubleCash | $0 | 2% | Any Checking Account |
| Alliant Cash Back Visa | $0 | 2.5% | Alliant Checking Account |
| TD Double Up | $0 | 2% | TD Checking Account |
Wells Fargo was not the first credit card to enter the 2% flat rate cash back market. But their entry has created competition in this segment with cards that came earlier.
Compared to Citi DoubleCash
The king of the 2% cash back credit card segment is the Citi DoubleCash as they were the first credit card to offer a 2% flat rate without having to open a banking account with Citi. From a cash back earning perspective, Wells Fargo and Citi are identical. The Citi DoubleCash has a longer 0% intro APR deal (18 months vs 15 months). If you also have the Citi Premier Card, the 2X points that you can can be transferred to the Citi ThankYou program where you can transfer points to their airline partners. The Wells Fargo Active Cash on the other hand has cell phone protection insurance that the Citi Double Cash does not have. The other key difference between Citi and Wells Fargo is that you do not need a Citi checking or savings account because you can redeem your cash back into your own bank's checking account or a check whereas with Wells Fargo, you need to either have a Wells Fargo checking account or mortgage to redeem your cash back.Compared to other 2% flat rate cards which require a relationship with the issuer
As you can see in the table above, there are many 2% flat rate cash back credit cards that are really similar to the Wells Fargo Active Cash in that you need to have an existing account with the issuer to benefit from the 2% cash back.Cards like Fidelity 2% Visa, Paypal Mastercard, TD Bank DoubleUp, Key Bank, all require that you have an account with them to deposit your cash back earnings. The key advantage that the Active Cash card has over these cards is it's cell phone protection insurance and it's 15 month 0% APR deal.
Perhaps another card worth comparing Wells Fargo to is the Alliant Cash Back Visa Signature. You can earn 2.5% cash back for up to $10,000 in spending per billing cycle. You do however need to join the Alliant credit union and open a checking and savings account with them. From a cash back earnings perspective, the Alliant Cash Back Visa beats all other flat rate credit cards.
Compared to cards with higher than 2% cash back
There are a couple of cards that allow you to earn more than 2% flat rate cash back. The highest earning flat rate cash back credit card is the AOD Visa Signature, which allows you to earn 3% cash back. It is a Federal Credit Union based in Alabama and you have to join it to get the card. Another card that allows you to earn more than 2% cash back is the Alliant Cash Back Card which allows you to earn 2.5% cash back for up to $10,000 in monthly spending. You have to jump through a few hoops to be eligible to earn the 2.5% cash back so it is best to read our review to find out more about this card.The third card that allows you to earn more than 2% cash back is the Bank of America Unlimited Cash Rewards. You can earn up to 2.625% cash back for all purchases if you have more than $100,000 in your BOA checking account.
Compared to Flat Rate Crypto credit cards
The Wells Fargo Active Card not only competes with regular flat rate 2% credit cards, it also faces competition from Crypto credit cards like Sofi credit card and BlockFi credit card. While the Sofi is not a pure crypto credit card and you need to have a SoFi account, the 2% cash back you earn can be deposited in a SoFi crypto account and invested in crypto currencies. It can also be deposited in your Sofi invest account, Money account or even towards your Sofi Loans (very much like Wells Fargo mortgage). The SoFi credit card also has cellphone protection insurance which is slightly better than Wells Fargo.BlockFi is a crypto exchange and has their own rewards card that lets you earn 1.5% back in crypto for up to $50,000 in annual spending. If your spending exceeds $50,000, you will earn 2% back in cryptos that are deposited in your BlockFi account. As BlockFi is a crypto exchange, the rewards you earn can be transferred to a private wallet if you choose to do so.
Pros: What We Like
- Earn Unlimited 2% Cash Back - 2% unlimited cash back is now the norm in flat rat cash back credit cards. Only the Alliant Cash Back Visa beats this at 2.5%.
- Cell Phone Protection Insurance - Wells Fargo is one of the few issuers that offer this feature for their credit holders if you charge your cell phone bills to the card.
- 0% APR Deal - The intro period of 15 months for their 0% deal (both purchases and balance transfer) is one of the longest in the market. Only a few cards have longer intro periods.
- Can redeem cash back in a variety of ways - Wells Fargo has a few intriguing ways for you to redeem your cash back. For example, you can redeem them via ATM machine using your debit card. Or you can use your cash back and pay down your Wells Fargo mortgage.
Cons: What We Don't Like
- Requires a Wells Fargo Account - Though you technically do not need a Wells Fargo checking account (you can redeem cash back via statement credit), you would need to have one if you wanted to redeem your cash back in "cash".
Our Take: Competitive 2% Flat Rate Card
The downside to to this card is that you need to have a Wells Fargo checking account if you want to redeem your cash back as actual cash.
There are many 2% flat rate cash back credit cards today to choose from. Most of them require that you have an account or relationship with the issuer. Wells Fargo is no different. Though there are many 2% cash back credit cards, Wells Fargo offers a unique proposition with a very compelling 0% intro deal for 15 months and a cell phone protection plan in addition to their 2% earnings rate. Furthermore, you can redeem your rewards towards a Wells Fargo mortgage and even withdraw them from an ATM. These are unique features other cards do not offer.
If you have a Wells Fargo checking account and are looking for a 2% flat rate cash back credit card, then the Wells Fargo Active Cash is a no-brainer. For those who do not have a Wells Fargo checking account and do not intend to get one, there are other cards like the Citi Doublecash that will be a better fit because you do not need a Citi checking account to deposit your cash back.
To sum up, based on our evaluations and review, we give the Wells Fargo Active Cash card a 4 out of 5 star for our rating for it's cell phone protection plan, 0% intro deal and the variety of ways to redeem your cash back. The need to have a Wells Fargo checking account prevents us from giving it an even higher rating.
![Bank of America Unlimited Cash: [Up to 2.625% Cash Back]](http://www.askmrcreditcard.com/image-files/bankofamericaunlimitedcash.jpg)