Wells Fargo Propel American Express Review (Discontinued)
Updated September 15, 2020.
The Facts
The Math
Because Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards program does not allow points to be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points, the value of this Amex heavily depends on whether you have another Well Fargo card (Visa Signature) to achieve the redemption value of 1.5 cpp or even 1.75 cpp when annual spending exceeds $50K. Let's first look at how difficult it is to achieve 1.75 cpp value. If you spend $50K on the Visa Signature, you essentially lose $50,000 x (2% - 1.75%) = $125 per year, compared to the 2% cashback you can easily earn with quite a few non-fee cards (such as Citi Double Cash). In the meantime, you gain an additional (1.75 - 1.5)% x 3 = 0.75% on the 3x bonus categories with Propel Amex. Thus, you will need to spend at least $16.7K on the 3x categories to offset the $125 you lose on general purchases, as $16.7K x 0.75% = $125. To hit the maximum 1.75 cpp value and still come out ahead, you will need to spend $50K on non-bonus categories with Visa Signature and $16.7K on 3x categories with Propel Amex, which is nevertheless a very tough requirement. The bottom line is that 1.75cpp value looks amazing on paper but is not easily achieved in reality. So let's use the more realistic 1.5 cpp value in our analysis.
With the Visa Signature in your drawer, Propel Amex is able to cover a wide range of 3x bonus categories: airfare, non-airfare travel, dining, gas, and streaming, with a return rate of 4.5% rewards. The return rate for general spending at 1.5% is not bad either. However, we still recommend a 2% cashback card for general spending instead. If you haven't had the Visa Signature, due to Wells Fargo's rules on new accounts and signup bonus, it is recommended to open Propel Amex first with its signup bonus and start piling points up by using it for 3x categories; then open the Visa Signature 15 months later to activate the 1.5 cpp redemption option and to get the promotional 5x points on gas, groceries, and drugstores for 6 months; if you don't want to wait 15 months or you don't care about the 6-month promotional 5x points bonus, you might open the Visa Signature after 6 months of opening Propel Amex. The other walk-around is for a couple to open one of the cards each, receive signup bonuses, and later combine points in the Visa Signature account.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. Citi Premier: First of all, Citi Premier carries a $95 annual fee while Wells Fargo Propel Amex has none. Currently, points in the two programs have the same 1.5 cpp value in our book (assuming you have Wells Fargo Visa Signature). Propel Amex returns 3x points on travel & gas & dining & streaming, while Citi Premier returns 3x points on travel (most) & gas & dining & groceries. Generally, Citi Premier offers a little better rewards because grocery usually represents much larger spending than streaming; you need to spend $3,167 per year in grocery minus streaming to beat the $95 annual fee on Citi Premier. The most important difference between the two, however, is how the 1.5 cpp value is achieved: on Propel Amex, you redeem for airfare at a fixed rate of 1.5 cpp when you also have Wells Fargo Visa Signature; on Citi Premier, this value could only be achieved when you transfer ThankYou points to partner frequent flyer miles, usually for premium cabin awards redemptions.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR): First of all, even after considering the $300 annual travel credits, CSR's effective annual fee is still $250. Secondly, Propel Amex offers two additional 3x categories - gas & streaming. It seems that on paper Propel Amex has CSR beaten up pretty badly. However, CSR's $250 effective annual fee gets you quite some nice perks such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car coverage, and the industry's best travel and consumer protection. In addition, while Ultimate Rewards points earned from CSR might be redeemed for airfare at the same fixed value of 1.5 cpp, they might also be transferred to partner frequent flyer miles, recommended for premium cabin awards tickets. Lastly, getting Propel Amex to hit the magical 1.5 cpp does require having another Wells Fargo card; due to Wells Fargo's special rules, you have to wait either 6 months (if you don't care about the signup bonus) or 15 months (if you want to receive signup bonus) between opening two cards.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. US Bank Altitude Rewards: Unlike Citi ThankYou or Chase Ultimate Rewards programs, US Bank Altitude Rewards doesn't have a miles transfer feature. So a comparison between Wells Fargo Propel Amex and US Bank Altitude Rewards Visa is much easier, as both have the fixed 1.5 cpp value for airfare redemption. Altitude Rewards has an effective annual fee is $75 after considering the annual $325 travel credits and offers some premium perks such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car insurance, and GoGo inflight internet. When it comes to rewards, Altitude Rewards returns 3x points on travel & mobile payment services, while Propel Amex returns 3x travel & gas & dining & streaming - Propel Amex has better rewards for most consumers. So if you don't need the travel perks from Altitude Rewards or you have received similar perks from other cards, Propel Amex will be a better card, as long as you also have Wells Fargo Visa Signature.
The Conclusion
With the relaunch of Propel Amex, which drops the annual fees all together and expands bonus categories substantially, Wells Fargo tries very hard to earn customers. We welcome the positive changes. When you have Wells Fargo Visa Signature to increase points value to 1.5~1.75 cpp, Propel Amex is a powerhouse for a wide range of bonus categories and poses a serious challenge to some of our favorite cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Premier, and US Bank Altitude Rewards. The only reason why this card is not on our Best Credit Cards for Rewards list is because it needs another card to achieve impressive rewards and our rating is based on single card performance - as a matter of fact, if we would have allowed 1.5 cpp value, this card would have been rated #3 just below Amex EveryDay Preferred.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: none
- Signup Bonus: up to 20,000 points after spending $1,000 within 3 months of new account opening. This bonus is not available if you have had received signup bonus or introductory APR(s) or fees from any Wells Fargo credit card within the last 15 months. In addition, you will only be approved for one Wells Fargo credit card every 6 months. Historical best bonus of this card: 50K points with $15K spending requirement in 2019; 30K points with $3K spending requirement in 2019 & 2020.
- Rewards: 3x travel, gas, dining and select streaming services, and 1x everywhere else. For streaming services that qualify for 3x bonus, please see wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/propel/streaming.
- Best Use of Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards points: Normally, Wells Fargo points can be redeemed for cash, merchandise gift cards, travel, etc., up to 1 cent per point (cpp). However, if you have Wells Fargo Visa Signature which carries $0 annual fee and offers 5x points on gas, groceries, and drugstores for 6 months of new account opening, you points may be redeemed for airfare through Wells Fargo's booking portal at a fixed rate of 1.5 cpp or even 1.75 cpp if your annual spending on the Visa Signature exceeds $50,000. Note that all your Go Far Rewards points will be automatically pooled together in one rewards account - this is like Amex Membership Rewards' setup and unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards (which requires you to manually transfer points between different reward accounts). As a matter of fact, Wells Fargo even provides for free two points share options between different cardmembers: (1) the "pool rewards" option allows one member to set up a pool for others to contribute points to, and the pool owner or the designated co-owner can then redeem the points in the pool; obviously, if the owner or co-owner has the Visa Signature, s/he will be able to redeem points for airfare at 1.5 cpp; (2) the "gift rewards" option allows one member to gift some points to another, either in form of cash or points; the cash option has the value of 1 cpp while the points option allows the recipient to redeem points as s/he wishes; thus if the sender selects the points option and the recipient has the Visa Signature, the recipient will be able to redeem points for airfare at 1.5 cpp.
- Amex CONNECT Benefits: (1) Amex Offers - you receive savings in form of statement credit at select merchants when using your card; you need to add the certain offer(s) to your card before you receive savings. (2) Hotel privileges and savings. (3) Taste from American Express - savings or benefits at 400+ restaurants worldwide. (4) Entertainment Access. (5) Amex Essentials (digital magazine). Please visit https://www.americanexpress.com/us/network/wellsfargo/ for details of the Amex CONNECT program.
- Other Benefits: (1) Waive foreign transaction fees. (2) Embedded EVM chip with the "Chip & PIN" technology which has much better acceptance worldwide than the previous "Chip & Signature" technology.
- Consumer Protection: In general, Propel Amex offers mediocre consumer travel and purchase protection. However, it is one of the very few credit cards that offers Cellphone Protection - you will be reimbursed up to $600 per claim with a $25 deductible when your cellphone is damaged or stolen. You don't need to purchase your cellphone with the card, but rather enjoy the coverage as long as you pay your cellphone bills with the card.
- Other Facts: this card has a metal design and weighs about 10 grams, twice as heavy as regular plastics.
- History: After a not-so-successful run of the two Propel Amex cards (Propel 360 Amex with a $45 annual fee & Propel World Amex with a $175 annual fee) for nearly four years, Wells Fargo decided to make another attempt to earn more customers with the updated Propel Amex in July 2018, by dropping the annual fees all together and expanding the 3x bonus categories substantially. This was a positive and generous change as part of the general effort to win back customers after Wells Fargo's infamous account fraud scandal.
The Math
Because Wells Fargo Go Far Rewards program does not allow points to be transferred to frequent traveler miles/points, the value of this Amex heavily depends on whether you have another Well Fargo card (Visa Signature) to achieve the redemption value of 1.5 cpp or even 1.75 cpp when annual spending exceeds $50K. Let's first look at how difficult it is to achieve 1.75 cpp value. If you spend $50K on the Visa Signature, you essentially lose $50,000 x (2% - 1.75%) = $125 per year, compared to the 2% cashback you can easily earn with quite a few non-fee cards (such as Citi Double Cash). In the meantime, you gain an additional (1.75 - 1.5)% x 3 = 0.75% on the 3x bonus categories with Propel Amex. Thus, you will need to spend at least $16.7K on the 3x categories to offset the $125 you lose on general purchases, as $16.7K x 0.75% = $125. To hit the maximum 1.75 cpp value and still come out ahead, you will need to spend $50K on non-bonus categories with Visa Signature and $16.7K on 3x categories with Propel Amex, which is nevertheless a very tough requirement. The bottom line is that 1.75cpp value looks amazing on paper but is not easily achieved in reality. So let's use the more realistic 1.5 cpp value in our analysis.
With the Visa Signature in your drawer, Propel Amex is able to cover a wide range of 3x bonus categories: airfare, non-airfare travel, dining, gas, and streaming, with a return rate of 4.5% rewards. The return rate for general spending at 1.5% is not bad either. However, we still recommend a 2% cashback card for general spending instead. If you haven't had the Visa Signature, due to Wells Fargo's rules on new accounts and signup bonus, it is recommended to open Propel Amex first with its signup bonus and start piling points up by using it for 3x categories; then open the Visa Signature 15 months later to activate the 1.5 cpp redemption option and to get the promotional 5x points on gas, groceries, and drugstores for 6 months; if you don't want to wait 15 months or you don't care about the 6-month promotional 5x points bonus, you might open the Visa Signature after 6 months of opening Propel Amex. The other walk-around is for a couple to open one of the cards each, receive signup bonuses, and later combine points in the Visa Signature account.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. Citi Premier: First of all, Citi Premier carries a $95 annual fee while Wells Fargo Propel Amex has none. Currently, points in the two programs have the same 1.5 cpp value in our book (assuming you have Wells Fargo Visa Signature). Propel Amex returns 3x points on travel & gas & dining & streaming, while Citi Premier returns 3x points on travel (most) & gas & dining & groceries. Generally, Citi Premier offers a little better rewards because grocery usually represents much larger spending than streaming; you need to spend $3,167 per year in grocery minus streaming to beat the $95 annual fee on Citi Premier. The most important difference between the two, however, is how the 1.5 cpp value is achieved: on Propel Amex, you redeem for airfare at a fixed rate of 1.5 cpp when you also have Wells Fargo Visa Signature; on Citi Premier, this value could only be achieved when you transfer ThankYou points to partner frequent flyer miles, usually for premium cabin awards redemptions.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR): First of all, even after considering the $300 annual travel credits, CSR's effective annual fee is still $250. Secondly, Propel Amex offers two additional 3x categories - gas & streaming. It seems that on paper Propel Amex has CSR beaten up pretty badly. However, CSR's $250 effective annual fee gets you quite some nice perks such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car coverage, and the industry's best travel and consumer protection. In addition, while Ultimate Rewards points earned from CSR might be redeemed for airfare at the same fixed value of 1.5 cpp, they might also be transferred to partner frequent flyer miles, recommended for premium cabin awards tickets. Lastly, getting Propel Amex to hit the magical 1.5 cpp does require having another Wells Fargo card; due to Wells Fargo's special rules, you have to wait either 6 months (if you don't care about the signup bonus) or 15 months (if you want to receive signup bonus) between opening two cards.
Wells Fargo Propel Amex vs. US Bank Altitude Rewards: Unlike Citi ThankYou or Chase Ultimate Rewards programs, US Bank Altitude Rewards doesn't have a miles transfer feature. So a comparison between Wells Fargo Propel Amex and US Bank Altitude Rewards Visa is much easier, as both have the fixed 1.5 cpp value for airfare redemption. Altitude Rewards has an effective annual fee is $75 after considering the annual $325 travel credits and offers some premium perks such as airport lounge access, luxury hotel privileges, primary rental car insurance, and GoGo inflight internet. When it comes to rewards, Altitude Rewards returns 3x points on travel & mobile payment services, while Propel Amex returns 3x travel & gas & dining & streaming - Propel Amex has better rewards for most consumers. So if you don't need the travel perks from Altitude Rewards or you have received similar perks from other cards, Propel Amex will be a better card, as long as you also have Wells Fargo Visa Signature.
The Conclusion
With the relaunch of Propel Amex, which drops the annual fees all together and expands bonus categories substantially, Wells Fargo tries very hard to earn customers. We welcome the positive changes. When you have Wells Fargo Visa Signature to increase points value to 1.5~1.75 cpp, Propel Amex is a powerhouse for a wide range of bonus categories and poses a serious challenge to some of our favorite cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Premier, and US Bank Altitude Rewards. The only reason why this card is not on our Best Credit Cards for Rewards list is because it needs another card to achieve impressive rewards and our rating is based on single card performance - as a matter of fact, if we would have allowed 1.5 cpp value, this card would have been rated #3 just below Amex EveryDay Preferred.