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Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card – The best 2% cash back card for rewards

Wells Fargo Active Cash Visa Signature Card
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers simple, unlimited 2% cash back with no annual fee. This alone puts this card in a small group of similar cards.

You’ll earn 2% cash back on every purchase with the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. The only catch is that you must redeem your rewards on $25 increments by phone or online. You can also redeem your rewards in $20 increments at a Wells Fargo ATM when you have a checking or savings account with a Wells Fargo ATM or debit card.

But what makes the card stand above the rest is that it offers up to $600 of cell phone protection. Cell phone protection covers damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card. And the deductible for this benefit is only $25. This feature is uncommon on cards without an annual fee. While the coverage amount is lower, the deductible is one of the lowest among any card that offers this benefit.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card welcome bonus:

Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: Getting $200 after spending $500 within 3 months makes this welcome bonus one of the easiest cash back welcome bonuses to get.

The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.

Wells Fargo Active Cash Visa Signature Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash® at a glance:
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2% cash back on purchases.
Benefits: Cell phone protection. Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card at a glance

Rewards

All purchases2%

Benefits

Consumer insurance benefits
Cell phone protection
Travel benefits
Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver insurance

Other important terms

Annual fee: $0
Foreign transaction fee: 3%

Welcome bonus

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card welcome bonus:

Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus when you spend $500 in purchases in the first 3 months.

Click here to learn more and apply.

Our take on the welcome bonus: Getting $200 after spending $500 within 3 months makes this welcome bonus one of the easiest cash back welcome bonuses to get.

The link above is a link directly to the bank’s website. We don’t make money when you use the above link, but we always show you the best offer.

Wells Fargo Active Cash Visa Signature Card

Wells Fargo Active Cash® at a glance:
Annual fee: $0.
Rewards: 2% cash back on purchases.
Benefits: Cell phone protection. Secondary auto rental collision damage waiver.

A few notes on applying for Wells Fargo credit cards

  • You may not qualify for an additional Wells Fargo credit card if you have opened a Wells Fargo credit card in the last 6 months.
  • You can get a new customer welcome bonus on Wells Fargo cards multiple times.
  • Wells Fargo typically wants you to have an account with them before they will approve you for credit cards. If you are interested in this card, but aren’t yet a Wells Fargo customer, the bank offers checking accounts that waive the monthly service fee when you keep a $500 balance.
  • Wells Fargo allows you to check for pre-selected credit card offers on their website with no impact to your credit score.
  • You can check your application status by calling 1-800-967-9521.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card rewards

The Wells Fargo Active Cash Card offers unlimited 2% cash rewards on all purchases, with no limit to the amount of rewards you can earn.

Redeeming rewards

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® allows you to redeem for cash back rewards in several ways. Most rewards require a minimum redemption of $25

  • Statement credit into a Wells Fargo checking or savings account – Cash rewards must be redeemed in $25 increments. Can be redeemed via phone or online.
  • Statement credit to a Wells Fargo credit card – Cash rewards must be redeemed in $25 increments. Can be redeemed via phone or online.
  • Cash rewards through a Wells Fargo ATM – Rewards may be redeemed in $20 increments. Must be redeemed at a Wells Fargo ATM.
  • Offset eligible purchases – Redeem rewards to offset eligible purchases as small as $1

Other reward options include gift cards, travel, merchandise and Pay With Rewards at merchants. These reward redemptions can be ignored. They are likely to provide less value than cash back rewards.

Should you keep the card after the first year?

Because the Wells Fargo Active Cash card has an annual fee of $0, it can make sense to keep the card open, even if you aren’t using it. Having an additional credit card reporting available credit and on-time payments monthly is likely to strengthen your credit score.

In addition to the benefits to your credit score there are plenty of reasons to keep this card and continue using it. Here are a few of the highlights:

  • 2% cash rewards on all purchases
  • $600 of cell phone protection when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card.
  • Primary auto rental collision damage waiver coverage when renting outside the United States.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card benefits

In addition to generous 2% rewards on all purchases, the Wells Fargo Active Cash card offers a few benefits that are both useful and uncommon in a no-annual-fee card. Here are the benefit highlights of this card.

Cellular telephone protection: Get up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft when you pay your monthly cell phone bill with your eligible Wells Fargo card. Coverages is subject to a $25 deductible and limited to two claims every 12 months.

Auto rental collision damage waiver coverage: Receive protection against a covered accident or theft of a rental car when you charge your car rental to the card and decline the rental car company’s collision damage waiver insurance. Coverage is secondary within the United States and primary when traveling outside of the United States.

About the author

  • Aaron Hurd

    Aaron Hurd is a credit card, travel rewards, and loyalty program expert. Over the past 15 years, he has authored over a thousand expert contributions published by leading outlets including WSJ, TIME, Newsweek, Forbes, NerdWallet, The Points Guy, Bankrate, CNET, and many others. He has also served in consulting roles for many of these same outlets, designing content strategy, hiring teams of teams of editors and contributors, developing thought-leadership pieces, and ghost-editing for senior editors. Aaron is well-known in the miles and points community and regularly presents about travel rewards at conferences like the Chicago Seminars and Minnebar. Aaron has enjoyed the game of optimizing credit card rewards since getting his first credit card shortly after he turned 18. He started learning about credit cards and travel rewards from the (now defunct) FatWallet Finance forums and FlyerTalk. He holds more than 40 open credit cards and has first-hand experience with almost every major credit card product.