Wells Fargo 5% Cash Back Card: Who Should NOT Get It
I’ve written before about which cards will earn a 5% category bonus at drugstores, grocery stores and gas stations. With the Citi ThankYou card deal no longer being available, one popular offering becomes the Wells Fargo Cash Back card. It offers 5% cash back for the first six months on drugstores, grocery stores and gas stations. That may not be a long period, but it can be quite lucrative if you manage to spend a lot in these categories.
I got the card myself at the end of last year and my bonus period just expired recently. As I was a Wells Fargo customer, I got approved instantly online with a good credit limit. Those that are not customers of Wells Fargo generally need to go to the branch to put through the application. The card worked very well for me, but our friend Irena was not so lucky. She was also a previous Wells Fargo customer, signed up for the card in the branch and started spending at drugstores and grocery stores. However, to her chagrin, only 1% cash back was posting. She called customer service. They told her she indeed did have the right card and they’ll start reviewing her transactions to see which should have 5%. We just couldn’t understand why the 5% wasn’t posting.
Then Tahsir from HackMyTrip came across the exact same problem with this card and shed some light on the situation. Some banks have restrictions that if you had a particular sign-up bonus previously, you may not be eligible for it again. But it turns out Wells Fargo has an even bigger restriction. If you ever had any Wells Fargo credit card, then you are not eligible for the sign-up bonus on this one. And here is what Wells Fargo says in the terms and conditions for the card:
Eligibility for Introductory Rate(s), Fees, and Bonus Rewards Offers: If you currently have an open credit card account or a closed credit card account with a balance issued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., you may not be eligible for the above introductory APR(s) and fees or the bonus rewards offers described below.
It may sound vague, but that’s exactly what they mean. If you already had a credit card with them, you’re not getting 5%. Once we learned this information, this made perfect sense. Irena already had a Wells Fargo cash back card and, as a result, her 5% wasn’t posting. She wasn’t getting the introductory offer because she wasn’t eligible for it… but without Tahsir, it may have taken her another few months to figure it out.
In summary, the fact that previous Wells Fargo credit card customers are not eligible for the 5% rewards has been overlooked more than a few times. It’s easy to miss. So make sure that if you do sign up, you have not had any Wells Fargo cards previously… or you’ll end up in the same situation confused as to why your 5% isn’t posting.
Does it matter if your previous Wells Fargo Card is cancelled? I’m guessing this is not churnable.
According to the terms, any previous cardholders may not be eligible… so my guess is you’re still ineligible.
Hmmm….I had one around 1994. It would be interesting to see if it is on my permanent record…
Technology that accurate would amaze me!
It says no closed cards with a balance. I wonder if this means closed without a balance might work…
That’s a good question. Maybe it is with a current balance.
In March of last year I had the Wells Fargo Rewards Business card, which I canceled later in the year b/c of a dispute that I didn’t think they handled very well. I was actually able to sign up for the WF Visa Signature Card and receive 20,000 bonus points for meeting $1k in spend over the first 3 months. Combined with 20% back on ISIS purchases, it was a really great deal.
One added feature I’ve never seen mentioned on any blog is the free cell phone insurance offered by the card.
https://www.wellsfargo.com/credit-cards/features/cell-phone-protection/
I’m guessing this is b/c most people are paying with Chase Ink, but during the month that your phone breaks and you need to use the insurance, if you can wait until the following month and pay with WF, there’s a lot of value in that.
That’s a great tip!
Thanks for the tip. This actually makes sense for my $32 monthly iphone bill from virgin mobile.
There seems to be A LOT of fine print, so if you’re going to try to do this, be prepared for anything to happen. The only person I know that made this work for them was a Wells Fargo Banker at the time… If it works though, it saves $9+/month and it’s an impressively low deductible for a free product.
Wells Fargo is a dishonest institution. I wish I would’ve listened to people who warned me. They stole $280 from me out of THEIR ATM. Investigated it, haha, and said there was no proof that they didn’t give me the money. That’s just one example. Never again. Crooks shouldn’t be rewarded. You’ve been warned.
Any experience on whether a spouse could get this 5% cash back card if she was already an authorized user on my credit card?
An authorized user is typically not disqualified at most banks so my guess is it’s not a problem, but best to verify beforehand as I have no official experience with this.
I can verify that as long as your spouse has never had her own card, she will qualify for the 5%
MC,
Thanks for the quick response. Will get ready for round two with a spouse card, when we get back from European vacation this coming month.
Like Stephen said, your conclusion isn’t supported by the language you quoted. I don’t doubt that Wells is being weird about who gets the bonus, but it’s not because of the quoted language.
I agree. My conclusion is from personal experience of people not getting the bonus, but the language they provide is vague at best.