Wells Fargo's Debit & Credit Rewards Program
When making a trip to the local branch of Wells Fargo the other day a rather interesting thing happened. I went into the branch as I normally do, grabbed a mint from the candy dish, filled out my deposit slip, brought it up to the teller, the kind lady processed it and gave me my receipt.
She proceeded to ask me if I would be interested in participating in their credit card rewards program or debit card rewards program. I had five minutes to get to class, so I asked the teller if she had a brochure with some information I could take, she said they were out but would get some next week. I went to Wells Fargo's rewards website to see what they had to offer, what I found, was not much.
Wells Fargo has two different rewards programs, one called "Enhanced Rewards" which is for check card and credit card customers, and another one called "Exclusive Rewards" for check card customers.
The first program, enhanced rewards, offers participants points for each of their purchases which they can redeem for rewards such as electronics, gift certificates, and airline tickets. But is the program worth it? The annual fee to be a participant in the rewards program is $19.00, and you receive one point for every dollar spent. When looking at the rewards available, we can pretty easily determine that each point is worthy about a penny. That means you have to spend $158.33 a month just to break even in the program, and after the first $1900, you are only making 1% back on purchases. This is really not very worthwhile compared to other credit card rewards programs, which have upwards of 5% back on rewards and much lower annual fees.
The second program, called "Exclusive Rewards" is a new program that Wells Fargo has created for customers with only a debit card. This program is substantially worse than their "Enhanced Rewards" program. In order to be a member of the program, you need to pay an annual fee of $12.00. For every four dollars you spend, you will earn one point, and each point is worth slightly less than a penny. This means you have to spend $5000 a year, or $420 a month just to break even! After that you only receive 0.25% back on every purchase after that. This is definitely not worth your time when it comes to a debit card rewards program.
If you're looking for a debit card or credit card rewards program, Wells Fargo is certainly not the place to go. There are other options which will pay about 3% with no annual fee.
Published by Matthew Paulson
I am a very busy undergraduate, I'm involved with nine different campus organizations and work five different jobs. Most notably, I am the editor-in-chief of DSU's Trojan Times. View profile
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- Wells Fargo offers two programs, one called "Enhanced Rewards" and another called "Exclusive Rewards"
- The exclusive program is for debit card users, and the enhanced program is for credit cards.
- Wells Fargo's rewards programs offer very low rates of return and are not worth participating in.
8 Comments
Post a Commenti have 5 doller to my reware how could i usd it.
You don't get rewards for your rewards points. Read below Wells Fargo's response when I told them I didn't receive what I ordered.
Date Type Comment
09/07/2010 Resolution Dear Wells Fargo Rewards Member; Unfortunately we are not able to research missing rewards for redemptions over 60 days old, and we will not be able to reissue the gift cards or re-instate points. We quote you approximately seven to ten days delivery time when redemption is made. If the item is not received by that time, we rely on our customers to let us know so we can research it for you. Thank you, E-Messaging Department
09/07/2010 Customer 5675371 06/14/2010 Shell Gift Card $10 1,050 5675371 06/14/2010 Shell Gift Card $10 1,050 I submitted the following order but never received the Shell Gift Cards.
What would Jesus do?
I would liketo be removed from your Wells Fargo Enchanced Rewards Program. We haven't used the credit card, ending in 5631 because of the high interest rates and when using the the Check Card, it's always debit. Can't see paying a fee for something we haven't used.
Anone know how to transfer Wells Fargo reward points into Airline miles or hotel points? I'd rather transfer to points than gift cards
Yes, you can combine points from both Wells Fargo credit and debit card purchases. I've redemed 5,000 points for a $50 Target gift card so far.
Though being able to qualify for the gift card was a pleasant surprise, it reminded me that I've spent at least $5,000 in credit card and debit purchases.
I'm guessing rewards programs give you the best returns if you primarily use only one or two cards.
I'm interested in the 3-5% programs mentioned now, though!
You're right, it may not seem worth it, but for people who don't want several different cards and pay most of their bills with their debit card and like Wells Fargo, then maybe they think it is worth it.
Is your current bank debit card rewarding you? Is $19/yr too much? What if you could combine points from both debit card and credit card?