No rewards: Limited value outside of the intro APR
The biggest drawback with this card is that it doesn’t offer any sort of rewards program. That means:
- There’s no welcome bonus. Some credit cards offer welcome bonuses of $200 or more for new cardholders.
- There are no purchase rewards. Other cards earn cash rewards or points on all your eligible purchases, which can add up over time. It’s possible to earn $500 or more every year in rewards this way, depending on how much you spend.
To be fair, this card has special offers through My Wells Fargo Deals, where you can earn cash back statement credits on shopping, dining, and experiences you pay for with your eligible Wells Fargo card. But earning some statement credits here and there isn’t nearly as valuable as earning cash rewards on all your everyday purchases.
Because of the lack of rewards, this card doesn’t have much long-term value. Once the 0% intro APR ends, there’s no incentive to continue using it. You’re better off switching to a rewards credit card at that point.
It’s worth noting that there are 0% APR credit cards that also have rewards programs. They just have shorter 0% APR intro periods. If you don’t need the entire 21 months from account opening this Wells Fargo card offers, then it could make more sense to pick a card with a shorter intro period that earns rewards.
Costly fees on balance transfers and foreign transactions
The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card is a great balance transfer card because of its 0% intro APR. But it also has a balance transfer fee of 5%, min: $5.
Balance transfer cards normally have a fee like this, but some of them only charge 3%. It may not seem like much, but if you’re transferring $5,000, that 2% difference would cost you an extra $100. If you don’t need 21 months from account opening to get out of debt, you may want to look at more credit card reviews and pick a card with a lower balance transfer fee.
There’s also a foreign transaction fee of 3%, which is another reason why this isn’t the best card for long-term use. If you ever travel outside the United States, it’s important to have a card you can use without any extra fees, like a travel credit card
