Wells Fargo Autograph Journey vs Capital One Venture

Choosing the right travel rewards credit card can save you a ton of money for those who travel often, whether for work or leisure. Travel rewards credit cards earn points on purchases which can later be redeemed for flights, hotel stays, car rentals and more either through an issuer’s own travel rewards portal or by transferring points to partner loyalty programs.

Some travel rewards cards don’t charge annual fees, which is great for those who don’t have much available cash. However, these cards don’t offer the same travel benefits as cards that charge annual fees. There are also travel rewards credit cards that offer premium perks such as statement credits and automatic elite status with travel loyalty programs. However, these cards tend to charge annual fees of up to several hundred dollars. For cardholders who prefer a compromise between these two types of travel rewards credit cards, some cards offer travel benefits and charge an annual fee in the $100 range.

Some of the strongest competitors in this category at the current time are the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card (which was unveiled in March 2024) and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, both of which charge an annual fee of $95. And, depending on your specific spending patterns, one of these cards may be significantly better for your wallet than the other.

So, in this article, we’re going to cover everything you need to know to compare these two travel credit cards, including their welcome bonuses, spending bonuses, other benefits and transfer partners.

Getting To Know the Contenders

Both the Capital One Venture Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card are travel-focused credit cards with an annual fee of $95. However, apart from that, these cards differ greatly regarding the spending bonuses, benefits and access to the transfer partners they offer.

To help you compare these two cards directly, we’ve provided a table that shows the main features of these two travel rewards credit cards side-by-side below:

Later in this article, we’ll examine all of the features of each of these cards more in-depth. However, from the table above, you can tell that these two cards are fairly different regarding the spending bonuses and other benefits they offer.

Both of these cards (and most other rewards credit cards) also sport impressive welcome bonuses. By signing up for either one of these cards and then spending a certain amount of money on that card in a certain amount of time after account opening, you can quickly rack up tens of thousands of rewards points, which can be redeemed for flights, hotels, rental cars and more. However, these welcome bonuses change over time. So, make sure to check the most recent welcome offer from both of these cards before you decide.

Head-To-Head: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey vs Capital One Venture

Now that you’ve seen all of the different features of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card and the Capital One Venture Credit Card displayed side by side, let’s take a closer look at each aspect of these cards.

Earning Potential: Which Card Offers the Best Rewards?

In comparing the spending bonuses offered by the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card and the Capital One Venture Card, we can first start by examining the bonuses offered in travel categories.

The Capital One Venture Card offers 5X miles on all hotel and rental car bookings made through the Capital One travel booking site. For all flight purchases, whether they’re made through the Capital One travel booking site or not, you’ll earn 2X miles. By comparison, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card offers 5X points on all hotel bookings (whether they’re made through the Wells Fargo travel portal or not), 4X points on all flight bookings (regardless of where you make them) and 3X points on auto rentals (regardless of where they’re made).

So, when comparing travel-related spending bonuses, the Capital One Venture Card is probably better for those who spend more money on hotels and rental cars than flights and are willing to make their travel purchases through the Capital One travel booking site. Just remember that many budget hotel stays and low-cost car rentals aren’t available through the Capital One travel booking site. So, if you tend to go for the cheapest option, then the Venture card’s spending bonuses may not benefit you that much.

On the other hand, the Wells Fargo Autograph Card is better for those who spend more money on flights than hotels and rental cars (as well as for those who book budget hotels and rental cars or book hotels and rental cars through third-party sites). On top of that, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card offers 3X points on other travel categories including timeshare, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites and campgrounds whereas the Capital One Venture Card offers 2X miles in these categories.

In non-travel categories, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offers 3X points at restaurants whereas the Capital One Venture doesn’t offer any special non-travel spending bonuses. However, the Venture Card offers a baseline of 2X miles on all purchases whereas the Autograph Journey offers 1X points on all purchases. So, if you spend a lot of money in a category that isn’t travel or restaurants, then the Capital One Venture Card may be the better option for you.

Welcome Aboard: Comparing Welcome Bonuses and Their Value

As previously mentioned, when comparing the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card and the Capital One Venture Card, it’s important to consider each card’s welcome bonus. Welcome bonuses from both cards are issued to new card members who spend a certain amount of money in a certain amount of time after account opening. The spending requirements and points/miles awarded are subject to change over time.

Here’s the most updated welcome offer from the Capital One Venture Card:

Here’s the most updated welcome offer from the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card:

Regardless of which of these cards you sign up for, you definitely won’t want to miss out on the welcome offer. So, before you sign up for any credit card, you should make sure that you’ll be able to meet the spending requirements for that card’s welcome bonus. These bonuses typically offer enough points or miles to purchase hundreds of dollars worth of award flights.

Additional Benefits: Statement Credits and More

Both the Capital One Venture and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offer statement credits, which is great for cards with $95 annual fees.

The Capital One Venture Card offers a $50 experience credit whenever you make a hotel booking with the Lifestyle Collection. You’ll also receive complimentary Wi-Fi, room upgrades (when available), early check-in (when available) and late checkout (when available) when you stay at Lifestyle Collection properties. You’ll receive just one $50 experience credit per stay. However, there’s no limit to how many times you can use this credit per year, so this benefit could potentially be very valuable if you stay at Lifestyle Collection properties often. This credit can be used for things like dining, drinks at the bar and other activities.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offers $50 in annual statement credits toward your first airline purchase of $50 or more. For the first airline ticket that you purchase with your card per year of $50 or more, you’ll receive a $50 statement credit. This is a great statement credit because, if you fly at least once per year, you’re nearly guaranteed to use it.

So, while the Capital One Venture Card’s statement credit is potentially more valuable, you may not use it every year (if you don’t stay at a Lifestyle Collection hotel). On the other hand, if you fly at least once per year (which you probably do if you’re interested in travel credit cards), then you’ll almost certainly use the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey’s airline statement credit.

It’s also important to note that the Capital One Venture Card offers a reimbursement credit of up to $120 for the application fee for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. These memberships require renewal every five years and this reimbursement credit is available to cardholders every four years. Since a membership to Global Entry includes a membership to TSA PreCheck as well as other benefits, we recommend signing up for Global Entry. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card doesn’t include any such reimbursement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card, though, does include cell phone damage and theft protection up to $1,000 per year. So, if you pay your cell phone carrier bill with your Autograph Journey Card, you can get up to $1,000 in insurance payouts per year if your cell phone is damaged or stolen. The Capital One Venture Card includes no such benefit.

Finally, the Capital One Venture Card offers complimentary automatic Hertz Five Star elite status (enrollment required). Hertz Five Star status comes with the following benefits:

• 50% bonus Hertz Gold Plus points on qualifying rentals
• Guaranteed vehicle type upgrades
• Skip the line at the rental counter
• The largest available selection of vehicles
• No blackout reward period
• First access to experiential benefits
• Exclusive call center line

So, if you often rent cars with Hertz, then this benefit could potentially be very valuable to you, especially with bonus points earnings on eligible rentals and guaranteed vehicle type upgrades.

All in all, the Capital One Venture Card’s benefits probably offer more potential value than those offered by the Autograph Journey Card. However, because almost everyone has a cell phone and most people who are interested in travel rewards credit cards fly at least once per year, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card’s benefits may be more practical for a lot of people.

The Annual Fee Factor: Is It Worth the Cost?

Both of these cards charge a fairly affordable annual fee of $95 per year. While there are other travel credit cards out there that don’t charge an annual fee. However, these cards tend to offer lower spending bonuses, smaller welcome bonuses and fewer benefits. Likewise, some cards offer better spending bonuses, larger welcome bonuses and more premium benefits than either the Venture Card or the Autograph Journey Card. However, these cards tend to charge much higher annual fees.

If you use the benefits of either of these cards to the fullest, then you can easily offset these cards’ annual fees. For instance, with the Venture Card, if you were to book two stays per year at Lifestyle Collection properties and use the $50 experience credit both times, you would offset the $95 annual fee. With the Autograph Journey Card, if you were to use the $50 annual statement credits toward airline purchases each year and earn at least 4,500 Wells Fargo points with your card per year (which is worth at least $45), then you would offset the $95 annual fee.

Transfer Partners: Maximizing Value

Of course, in comparing these two cards, we need to examine the value of Wells Fargo points versus the value of Capital One Miles. With either currency, the best way to maximize the value you’ll receive is by transferring to partner loyalty programs. When redeeming through either the Capital One Rewards portal or the Wells Fargo Rewards portal, the maximum value you’ll get out of your points/miles is 1 cent apiece. However, by transferring these points/miles to partner travel rewards programs, you can find outsized value redemptions that offer value far exceeding 1 cent per point/mile in value.

Capital One currently has 15+ transfer partners (currently, 3 hotel partners and 15 airline partners), most of which offer a 1:1 transfer ratio. These partners include:

Up until April 2024, the Wells Fargo Rewards program didn’t allow points transfers to other travel loyalty programs. However, just after the launch of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card, the Wells Fargo Rewards program added transfer partners, all of which offer a 1:1 transfer ratio with the exception of Choice Privileges. Current transfer partners include:

While Capital One currently has far more transfer partners than Wells Fargo, officials from Wells Fargo have publicly stated that they’ll be adding to their list of transfer partners in the future. However, at the current moment, Capital One Miles are a far more valuable rewards currency than Wells Fargo Rewards points because Capital One has many more transfer partners (as well as high-value transfer partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club and Wyndham Rewards).

However, it’s worth noting that, while Wells Fargo’s list of transfer partners is short, there are some great programs on that list such as Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles and British Airways Executive Club. Plus, the ability to transfer Wells Fargo Rewards to Choice Privileges at a 1:2 transfer offers great value. For instance, if you transfer 10,000 Wells Fargo points, you’ll receive 20,000 Choice Privileges points.

Choosing Your Ideal Travel Partner

Before you choose whether to sign up for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card or the Capital One Venture Card, you should consider all of the differences between these two cards that we’ve highlighted in the sections above.

You should consider which card offers a larger welcome bonus but also whether you’ll be able to meet the spending requirements for each welcome bonus. For example, while one card may offer a larger welcome bonus, it may have higher spending requirements that put it out of your reach.

You should consider the ongoing spending bonuses offered by each card. If you’re looking for a card for miscellaneous purchases, then the baseline 2X miles on all purchases with the Capital One Venture is excellent. However, if you’re looking for a card to use specifically for travel and dining, then the spending bonuses offered by the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey may be more attractive.

One great way to see which card’s spending bonuses are better for you is to look at your expenses from the previous year and calculate how many points/miles you’d earn with each card.

On top of that, you should consider the value to you of the benefits provided by each of these cards. For instance, if you’re thinking about signing up for the Capital One Venture Card, you should consider how many times per year you expect to book hotel stays with the Lifestyle Collection so you can use the $50 experience credit. If you’re thinking about signing up for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey, maybe you should consider how often you damage cell phones and whether the cell phone insurance benefit might save you a lot of money.

You should also look at the transfer partners offered by each of these credit card rewards programs and consider which of these partners you’re likely to utilize. For example, if you want to spend your rewards points on Wyndham hotel stays, then you’ll probably want to go with the Venture Card over the Autograph Journey Card (because Wyndham Rewards is a transfer partner of Capital One Rewards and not Wells Fargo Rewards).

Of course, before you sign up for either the Venture Card or the Autograph Journey Card, you should also look into other travel-focused credit cards in the $ 95 annual fee range, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which earns 5X points on travel purchased through the Chase Travel℠ portal, 3X points on dining, 2X points on other travel purchases and 1X points on all other purchases. Check out our comparison of the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred card to see which card might be best for you.

You can also look into airline or hotel credit cards in the $95 range if you’re interested in earning hotel points or airline miles directly. For instance, the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card also charges a $95 annual fee and is one of the best hotel credit cards in this price range (especially for Marriott loyalists).

Embarking on Your Travel Rewards Journey with Confidence

When it comes to finding the right travel rewards credit card for your wallet, you should consider whether you’d prefer a no-annual-fee credit card, a premium travel rewards card or something in between. If a $95 annual fee seems manageable to you, then the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa® Card are definitely two of the best options in this category.

The Venture Card offers a solid baseline spending bonus of 2X miles on all purchases as well as the ability to earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through the Capital One travel booking site. This card also comes with some potentially valuable benefits, including $50 in experience credits (as well as free Wi-Fi, space-available room upgrades and more) every time you book a stay with the Lifestyle Collection through the Capital One travel booking site and a reimbursement credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

The Autograph Journey Card offers some excellent spending bonuses in a wide range of travel categories, and you don’t have to book your travel through a specific portal to receive those spending bonuses. This card also has some excellent benefits of its own, including an annual $50 statement credit for flight purchases over $50 and cell phone damage and theft protection up to $1,000 per year.

All in all, the question of which of these cards is better for your wallet depends on your own spending habits and travel preferences. So, make sure to inspect each aspect of these cards carefully to decide which of these cards will be most beneficial for you. And, of course, there are many other credit cards in the $ 95 annual fee range other than these two. So, make sure to consider all of your options before signing up for one of these cards.