Wells Fargo Active Cash Card Review: 2% Cash Back

Snapshot

• Cash Back: You get unlimited 2% cash back on eligible purchases (no category limitations or rotating categories to worry about)
• Signup Bonus: $200 after spending $1,000 within your first 3 months.
• 0% Into APR:  0% intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months from account opening, then the regular APR applies (16.49%, 21.49%, or 26.49%)
• Extra Benefits: Cell phone protection
• Annual fee: $0

Editorial Review

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is one of the best cash back cards for everyday purchases. It pays 2% cash back on purchases, making it ideal if you just want to carry a single card. It competes with the Citi Double Cash card, which I’ve carried for years.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• unlimited 2% cash back
• sign-up bonus
• $0 annual fee
• 0% APR for first 15 months

Cons

• Regular APR is 16.49%, 21.49%, or 26.49% (as of October 9, 2021)
• Foreign transaction fee
• Balance transfer fee

Rewards

Many cash back cards have higher advertised rewards rates. Blue Cash Preferred, for example, pays up to 6% cash back. Chase Freedom Unlimited pays up to 5%. While these are good credit cards, these elevated rewards apply only to certain categories of purchases (and may also be capped).

With the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card, you earn an unlimited 2% on all purchases. As such, it’s an excellent primary cash back card. If you want to carry more than one card, consider some of these other options for card #2.

Introductory Interest Rates

• 0% APR on regular purchases for the first 15 months
• 0% APR on balance transfers for the first 15 months

Note that there is a balance transfer fee of 3% (min. $5), but only if you initiate the transfer within 120 days of getting the card. Transfers after that will cost 5% of the amount transferred. As cash back cards go, a 15 month 0% APR is excellent. To do better, you generally have to go with balance transfer or no interest cards that don't offer the same level of rewards.

Features and Benefits

The card comes with a number of features:

Cell phone protection: Get up to $600 of protection against damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your eligible Wells Fargo card (subject to a $25 deductible)

Security Features: Help keep your account information secure with advanced security features like Voice Verification and 2-step Verification at sign-on.

Wells Fargo Mobile® app: Pay credit card bills and check account activity at home or on the go with the Wells Fargo Mobile® app.

Zero liability protection: Built-in protection features ensure that you won’t be held responsible for any unauthorized transactions, as long as they’re reported promptly.

Contactless: Tap your card where you see the Contactless Symbol and speed through checkout.

Control Tower: Get simple, secure, and centralized access to your Wells Fargo cards and account information, so you can easily view, manage, and monitor your digital financial footprint from a single location.

Who the card is best for

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card is best as a primary rewards card for everyday purchases. It can be paired with more specialized cards designed to earn even more rewards on certain categories of purchases, such as groceries or travel.

Alternatives

There are some good alternatives that also pay 2% cash back on purchases. The primary competitor is the Citi Double Cash card, which I’ve carried for nearly a decade. I have to say, however, that Wells Fargo is the better offer.

First, you earn 2% on every purchases. With the Citi Double Cash card, you earn 1% on purchases and 1% as you pay off your card. That’s not a big deal if you pay your card in full every month. But it could be an issue for some.

Second, the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers a signup bonus, whereas the Citi Double Cash card does not.

Approval Odds

Credit card companies consider a number of factors when evaluating an application. These factors may include income, debt, existing credit cards and, of course, the applicant's credit score.

While credit card issuers do not publish the criteria for approval, we collect publicly available data on credit scores for those who have been either approved or denied for a credit card. Keep in mind that we cannot verify this information and an issuer's credit score requirements can change over time.

The card requires good to excellent credit. Because it was just released, we have limited credit score data on approvals and denials. We'll update this review as this information becomes available.

• Approved (07/01/2021): 737 (Experian)--$2,000 credit limit
• Approved (07/01/2021): 775 (Experian)--$4,000 credit limit