Wells Fargo Active Cash® Review: Strong, No Annual Fee 2% Cash Back Card

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card is the best cash back card on the market today, outperforming other competitive flat-rate options. Its unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, with no annual fee, makes it a strong choice for everyday spenders.

While there are other 2% cash back cards that score highly, the Wells Fargo Active Cash’s introductory 0% APR on balance transfers and purchases brings it to the top of our rankings.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash’s simple and rewarding 2% cash back on all eligible purchases regardless of spending category is the reason to get this card. Flat cash back cards like the Wells Fargo Active Cash are a foundational card for your wallet, getting you flat cash back at the alpaca wool stand at the farmers market, your mechanic and everything else in between. That said, only a handful of cash back cards offer 2% on everything. The average is 1.5%.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash has flexible redemption options, including statement credits and direct deposits. Like almost all cash back cards, your rewards never expire as long as the account remains open.

The recommended credit score for Wells Fargo Active Cash is good to excellent credit, like most other high-rewards-rate cash back cards. Like most large issuers, you don’t need to bank with Wells Fargo to get the card, though having an existing relationship and a history of consistent payment with the company may help.

Wells Fargo has a credit card prequalifying tool that can help you determine without a hard credit pull whether you’re likely to be approved for the card. It is a card-matching feature that will give you offers for which you’re prequalified. If the Wells Fargo Active Cash shows up, you’ll proceed to the formal application and the hard credit pull.

If you’re approved, online cardholder posts indicate that credit limits for the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card range from $5,000 to $15,000 based on profile strength.

It’s possible to upgrade from your current Wells Fargo card to the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, provided your account is in good standing. A product change allows you to retain your account history and transfer any accumulated rewards to the new Active Cash Card, helping maintain your credit profile and existing benefits.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months, plus a $200 sign-up bonus after spending $500 in the first three months. These offers are competitive but not the leaders in the cash back category. It helps to compare the Active Cash to the Citi Double Cash card, another 2% cash back card.

Introductory APR Offers

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card features a 0% APR on purchases for 12 months, which the Citi Double Cash does not. However, a good 0% APR offer on a cash back card is more like 15 months.

For balance transfers, the card offers a 0% APR for 12 months on transfers made within 120 days (with a 3% fee). We score this offer a 2.8 out of 5 in our balance transfer offer rating. This is where the Citi Double Cash card is better than the Wells Fargo Active Cash, as it offers an above-average 0% APR period of 18 months on balance transfers.

Sign-Up Bonuses

You earn the $200 sign-up bonus after spending $500 within three months of getting the card. This bonus is easily attainable and adds immediate value to the flat-rate card. Wells Fargo Active Cash has a better sign-up bonus than the Citi Double Cash because it has a lower spend threshold.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash card offers a modest array of perks that complement its primary cash back rewards. While these benefits are not groundbreaking, they provide added value for everyday users.

Insurance and Protections

• Cellular Telephone Protection: Offers up to $600 coverage for cell phone damage or theft, with a $25 deductible.
• Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Provides coverage for damage or theft of rental cars.

Travel Perks

• Visa Signature® Luxury Hotel Collection: Grants access to premium benefits at select luxury hotels worldwide.

Credits and Discounts

• My Wells Fargo Deals: Provides access to personalized deals from various merchants for cash back as an account credit.

Overall, the perks of the Wells Fargo Active Cash card are solid but do not stand out. They add some value, particularly in terms of insurance protection, but they are not the primary reason to choose this card. The unlimited 2% cash back remains the main attraction.

Wells Fargo scores 4 out of 5 for issuer satisfaction score, which is good but lower than other major card issuers. Many users report upgrading from other Wells Fargo cards to enjoy the superior 2% cash back rewards. Other forum posts reveal a common theme of satisfaction with the rewards, though some users express frustration with customer service, justifying the issuer satisfaction rating of 4, ranking 44th from 54 other cash back cards.

The biggest drawback of the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is that it charges foreign transaction fees. The majority of the cash back cards we reviewed do not have foreign transaction fees, so this is a place where the Wells Fargo Active Cash is below the standard. For the rest, it has a slightly higher than average regular APR and charges late fees but does not have a penalty APR, which is a notable benefit.

• Regular APR: 19.74%, 24.74% or 29.74% variable
• Penalty APR: None
• Annual Fee: $0
• Cash Advance Fee: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each advance, whichever is greater
• Foreign Transaction Fee: 3% of each transaction
• Late Fee: Up to $40
• Balance Transfer Fee: 3% of the amount of each balance transfer

Below, we make a head-to-head comparison of the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card with other similar cash back cards, all to help you make a more informed decision about which card may benefit your wallet.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is the best cash back credit card in our analysis. It’s the best of the 2% cards we’ve seen to date. Everyone can benefit from that high cash back rate, and its 0% intro APR and lack of an annual fee make it a highly valuable card for everyday spenders. Its only real downside is that it charges foreign transaction fees, which is something to keep in mind if you're a frequent traveler.

We evaluated the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card among 77 cash back cards, focusing on key features. The evaluation weights include:

• Effective Reward Rate (50%): Measures how rewarding the rewards earning is.
• Annual Fee (10%): Rates the annual fees.
• Introductory Purchase Offer (5%): Rates the 0% APR offer on purchases.
• Recommended Credit (5%): Rates accessibility based on credit score requirements.
• Issuer Satisfaction (5%): Based on J.D. Power's issuer satisfaction study.
• Penalties (5%): Rates penalty rates and fees.
• Regular APR (5%): Rates the regular APR.
• Foreign Transaction Fee (5%): Rates the foreign transaction fees.
• Offer ROI (5%): Rates the return on introductory bonus offers.
• Perks Value (5%): Rates the value of additional perks.