The new Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card* is the first card from Wells Fargo to offer points that transfer to airlines and hotels. It features a welcome bonus and impressive rewards rates for travel and dining purchases, which makes it a solid option for if you regularly spend in these categories.
The Autograph Journey shares some features with one of the top rewards credit cards on the market, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The cards have similar annual fees, and they both have built-in travel insurance protections. They also have similar redemption options for their rewards, but they do differ in some respects.
We’ve set up a category-by-category matchup of these credit cards to see which one comes out on top as the better travel card.
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card | |
| Annual fee | $95 | $95 |
| Welcome bonus | 75,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening | 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in purchases within three months of account opening |
| Earning rates | 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries 2x on all other travel purchases 1x on all other purchases | 5x points on hotels 4x points on airlines 3x points on other travel and restaurants 1x on other purchases |
| Redemption options | Cash Statement credits Gift cards Merchandise 1:1 point transfers to airlines and hotels 25% point bonus when used to book travel through Chase Travel℠ | Cash Statement credits Gift cards Merchandise 1:1 point transfers to airlines 1:2 point transfers to hotel partner Travel through Wells Fargo |
| Foreign transaction fees | None | None |
Both cards charge the same annual fee
Both the Autograph Journey and the Chase Sapphire Preferred have an annual fee of $95. Many other travel credit cards with points that transfer to airlines and hotels have annual fees of $395 or higher. This one ends in a tie.
Chase Sapphire Preferred has a more lucrative welcome bonus
The Sapphire Preferred wins on this front, letting you earn 75,000 points while the Autograph Journey lets you earn 60,000 points, each after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening.
However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s bonus could be worth even more than the Wells Fargo card’s. That’s because the Sapphire Preferred has a better redemption program. If you redeem the card’s bonus for travel through Chase Travel℠, you’ll get a 25% redemption bonus, which would push the value of the bonus to over $900 – more than the $600 you’d see from the Wells Fargo card.
Autograph Journey offers more flexibility for earning rewards
Here’s where things get a little more interesting. While both credit cards offer the same rewards rate for airfare, you’ll need to book travel through Chase’s portal to get the best rate with the Sapphire Preferred.
On the other hand, Autograph Journey’s high rates still apply when you book travel directly with providers. So you can earn the two highest rewards rates on hotels and airfare, no matter which brand you’re booking with.
If you book other travel with this card, including hotels and airlines booked through online travel agents like Expedia or Priceline, you earn 3x points. You also earn 3x points on restaurants, which is a major plus.
While the rewards rates on both of these cards are exceptional, the Autograph Journey has a slight edge in this category since consumers have more options for booking travel while still earning bonus reward points.
Chase Sapphire Preferred has more options for redeeming rewards -- for now
Both of these rewards credit cards have similar redemption options, including gift cards, cash back to an eligible bank account or statement credits. They also let you transfer rewards to airline and hotel partners for added value and flexibility, and you can use points from either card to book travel through each issuer’s respective portal.
Interestingly, both cards also let you pool points with rewards cards that earn other rewards currencies. For example, you can pool rewards earned with Chase cash-back credit cards into your Chase Sapphire Preferred account for premium travel redemptions. You can also pool points earned with the no-annual-fee Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card account in your Autograph Journey account.
Still, the Chase Sapphire Preferred easily beats the competition in this category. Cardholders get 25% more value from their points when they use them to book travel -- airfare, hotels, rental cars or other travel expenses -- through Chase Travel℠.
Outside of that, the Chase Ultimate Rewards program has what is arguably the best selection of transfer partners across all credit card rewards programs. There are also more transfer partners to choose from compared to Wells Fargo.
You can transfer points to the following Chase transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio:
Airline partners
- Aer Lingus, AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France (Flying Blue)
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards®
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotel partners
- IHG® Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy®
- World of Hyatt®
In contrast, Wells Fargo cardholders will only be able to transfer to the following partners starting on April 4, 2024:
Airline partners
You can transfer points to the following airline partners at a 1:1 transfer ratio:
- Air France (Flying Blue)
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Iberia Plus
Hotel partners
Choice Privileges: You can transfer points to Wells Fargo’s hotel partner at 1:2 transfer ratio.
Wells Fargo says it is just now building out its selection of airline and hotel transfer partners, and that more partners will join the program soon.
Chase Sapphire Preferred wins the travel insurance faceoff
Both of these travel credit cards have a surprising number of travel insurance benefits that are automatically available. However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred wins in this category because it offers primary auto rental coverage that you can use in place of your own auto insurance when you rent a car.
Auto rental coverage offered through Autograph Journey works secondary to your own insurance in the US. This means you would have to exhaust limits on your own auto insurance policy before you can use it.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers a few more types of coverage than the Autograph Journey.
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card | |
| Trip cancellation and interruption protection | Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per eligible trip | Up to $15,000 per covered person and $20,000 per 12-month period |
| Auto rental collision damage waiver | Primary coverage worth up to the actual cash value of most rental vehicles in the US and abroad; other limitations apply | Secondary coverage worth up to $50,000 for most rental vehicles in the US (primary coverage when benefit is available abroad); other limitations apply |
| Baggage delay insurance | Up to $100 per day for up to five days for delays of over 6 hours | None |
| Lost luggage reimbursement | Up to $3,000 per traveler, per trip | Up to $3,000 per traveler, per trip |
| Trip delay reimbursement | Up to $500 per ticket for delays that are over 12 hours or require an overnight stay | None |
| Travel accident insurance | Up to $500,000 | Up to $1 million |
| Travel and emergency assistance services | Included | Included |
| Roadside dispatch | Included | Included |
Both cards offer valuable general perks
Each of these rewards credit cards also offers a few other perks that make them more valuable overall. Since their other benefits are difficult to compare, this category ends in a tie as well.
With the Autograph Journey, cardholders get cell phone damage or theft protection coverage worth up to $1,000 per claim (subject to a $25 deductible) when they pay their phone bill with their credit card. This benefit can apply up to two times per 12-month period for a maximum value of $2,000 each year. Cardholders also get a $50 annual statement credit with $50 minimum airline purchase.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers purchase protection against damage or theft and extended warranty coverage on eligible items that come with a manufacturer’s warranty. Cardholders also get some additional perks from DoorDash and Instacart, as well as the chance to earn bonus points on Lyft purchases through March 2025 and eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases.
Finally, cardholders with the Sapphire Preferred qualify for up to $50 in statement credits each anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel.
The bottom line
While it appears the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the better option, that may not be the case for long. Wells Fargo said in its press release that it is actively working on adding new transfer partners to its portfolio so that cardholders have more options in the coming year.
Any new partners it gets could shake up the comparison of these two cards pretty quickly, especially since the Autograph Journey has great earning rates for both dining and travel.
*All information about the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
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