Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Since its release in 2009, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been a favorite among points-and-miles enthusiasts for its manageable annual fee of $95, its great spending bonuses and its other added perks such as its anniversary bonus. However, over the years, more and more issuers have been releasing travel-focused, points-earning credit cards in the same price range and competition for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card has gotten considerably fiercer.

Recently, on March 6, 2024, issuer Wells Fargo entered the world of transferable travel rewards credit cards when it released the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Visa Signature® Card, which also has an annual fee of $95. Before this, Wells Fargo had another credit card available that earned points (the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Visa® Card). However, as Wells Fargo didn’t have any transfer partners, these points were worth a maximum value of 1 cent per point.

Coinciding with the release of the Autograph Journey card, however, Wells Fargo also revealed that they would allow point transfers from Wells Fargo Rewards to the following transfer partners, starting on April 4, 2024:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Choice Privileges
• Iberia Plus
• Virgin Atlantic*
• Virgin Red*

*These were added in September 2024.

All of the partner programs above offer a 1:1 transfer ratio with the exception of Choice Privileges, which offers a 1:2 transfer ratio. For instance, if you transfer 2,000 Wells Fargo Rewards points to the Choice Privileges program, you’d earn 4,000 Choice points.

With the addition of these transfer partners to the Wells Fargo Rewards program (and a pledge from Wells Fargo to add more transfer partners in the future), the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is a card worth considering for U.S. consumers interested in travel rewards.

Is the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card a better travel credit card than the tried-and-true Chase Sapphire Preferred card though? It really depends on your specific patterns, willingness to transfer points to travel partners in order to find high-value rewards and other factors.

In this article, we’re going to compare the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card head-to-head in order to determine which one is the better choice for your wallet.

Meet the Contenders: Wells Fargo Autograph Journey & Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card have many things in common. Both cards have $95 annual fees, don’t charge foreign transaction fees, offer transferable rewards points and more. However, there are several crucial ways in which these two cards differ.

As you can see, these two cards have many similarities. For instance, one major similarity between these two cards is that they’re both Visa Signature Cards, meaning they come with a suite of benefits that are guaranteed for all Visa Signature Cards. These benefits include the following:

• Visa Signature Concierge service for assistance in booking travel, event tickets, dinners, golf tee times and more
• Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection benefits at participating hotels, including:
  • Best available rate guarantee
  • Automatic room upgrade upon arrival, when available
  • Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, when available
  • Complimentary breakfast for two
  • $25 food and beverage credit
  • VIP guest status
  • Late checkout upon request, when available
• Emergency cash disbursement and card replacement
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Auto rental collision damage waiver up to $50,000 per claim
• Lost luggage reimbursement up to $3,000 for all covered travelers per trip
• Roadside dispatch service
• Trip cancellation and interruption protection up to $15,000 per covered traveler per trip (and up to $20,000 per year)
• $1,000,000 worldwide automatic common carrier travel accident insurance

Regardless of whether you decide to apply for the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you should familiarize yourself with these Visa Signature travel insurance benefits. These benefits could save you a ton of money if you get in a collision in a rental car, if your luggage gets lost while traveling, if your flight gets canceled and you’re forced to stay in a hotel and in many other scenarios.

Additionally, like most credit cards, both of these cards offer zero liability protection for fraudulent purchases. That means that you’ll never be responsible for unauthorized purchases made on your card.

Comparing Card Features

In the following sections, we’re going to take a deeper dive into the different benefits offered by both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. We’ll start by comparing welcome bonuses. Then, we’ll examine the normal spending bonuses offered by each card. Next, we’ll look at the other perks and benefits of each card. Finally, we’ll compare redemption options offered by both of these travel credit cards.

Welcome Bonuses

In addition to the benefits listed in the section above, both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offer welcome bonuses to new cardmembers that spend a certain amount of money in a certain period of time after card opening.

These welcome offers can be an excellent way to earn a ton of rewards points quickly. In deciding between these two cards, you should definitely factor in their welcome bonuses.

When the Wells Fargo first launched on March 6, 2024, it offered 60,000 points to new cardmembers who spent $4,000 in purchases in the first three months after account opening. Of course, these welcome bonuses are adjusted often. Here is the current welcome bonus offered by the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card:

At the time that the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card became available to the public, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card was offering an identical welcome bonus of 60,000 points to new cardmembers who spent $4,000 in purchases in the first three months after account opening. However, as stated above, these welcome bonuses change often. Here is the current welcome bonus being offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

So, at the time that the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card came on the market, both cards had the exact same welcome bonus. However, before you decide to apply for either of these cards, you should make sure to compare these cards’ most current welcome bonuses.

Spending Bonuses

These two cards have fairly similar normal spending bonuses. However, when you examine the specifics, it seems that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has significantly better options to earn bonus points in non-traditional travel categories. It also appears that the Sapphire Preferred offers better spending bonuses on travel as long as you’re willing to book all of your travel through the Chase Travel℠. If you aren’t willing to book your travel through this portal, then the Autograph Journey offers better bonuses on travel. Finally, it’s also worth considering the limited-time spending bonuses offered by the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as they can actually earn you a ton of points.

To help determine which card offers the best rewards for you, we’re going to break the analysis of these cards’ spending bonuses into these three sections.

Travel Spending Bonuses

To be clear, both the Wells Fargo Autograph Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offer some of the best credit card rewards in the industry for their annual fees. However, if you’re willing to make your travel purchases through the Chase Travel℠, you can earn more points on both flights and rental cars with the Sapphire Preferred than with the Autograph Journey. When it comes to the “other travel purchases” category though, the Autograph Journey card is the clear winner as it offers 3X points in this category, whereas the Sapphire Preferred card only offers 2X points.

With the Sapphire Preferred, if you were to purchase a flight, hotel or rental car through the Chase Travel℠ you would earn 5X points. However, if you were to purchase a flight, hotel or rental car through a channel other than the portal, you would only earn 2X points.

With the Autograph Journey, no matter where you purchase your travel, you will always earn 5X points on hotel stays, 4X points on flights and 3X points on rental cars (which are included in the “other travel” category).

Thus, if you’re willing to make your travel purchases through the Chase Travel℠ portal, then the Sapphire Preferred offers better spending bonuses on hotels, flights and rental cars. On the other hand, if you’re not willing to make your purchases through the Chase Travel℠ portal, then the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey will earn you more points.

Some travelers may not be willing to book their travel through the travel portal because this portal doesn’t market services from all operators. For instance, the Chase Travel℠ currently doesn’t market flights from low-cost Airlines such as Frontier, Spirit, Sun Country, Southwest and Allegiant. So, if you tend to fly most often with one of these airlines, then you may not want to book your flights through the portal.

As previously mentioned, the Autograph Journey card offers better spending bonuses for purchases labeled “other travel”. These purchases include timeshares and cruises, which can often be very large expenses. So, you may want to consider signing up for the Autograph Journey and using it as the payment method for your timeshare or using it to book your next few cruises.

Non-Travel Spending Bonuses

Both the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offer elevated spending bonuses in non-travel categories. However, in these non-travel categories, the Sapphire Preferred Card is the clear winner. While both cards offer 3X points on dining, the Sapphire Preferred Card also offers elevated spending bonuses for online grocery purchases as well as select streaming services.

So, as you can see, if you use either card when you’re dining out, ordering takeout or getting delivery, you’ll earn 3X points. Both of these cards also include purchases made at fast food restaurants, nightclubs and bars in this category.

Apart from these elevated spending bonuses for dining, the Autograph Journey card doesn’t offer any elevated spending bonuses in any other non-travel categories.

On the other hand, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding purchases from Target, Walmart or wholesale clubs) as well as 3X points on select streaming services.

Most people pay for several of the services listed above, so the fact that the Sapphire Preferred Card earns 3X points on these categories is great.

Limited-Time Spending Bonuses

Now that we’ve compared all of the core spending bonuses offered by both of these rewards credit cards, it’s definitely worth mentioning that the Chase Sapphire Preferred is also currently offering two limited-time spending bonuses:

• 5X points on Lyft rides
• 5X points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150

Both of these spending bonuses are available through March 31, 2025. These spending bonuses could potentially earn you a significant amount of points. For instance, if you spend $100 per week on Lyft rides (which many people do, particularly if they use Lyft to commute to work or school), you’d earn 26,000 points over the course of a year, enough to purchase several award flights.

A new Peloton Bike currently costs $1,445, which would earn you 7,225 points. That amount of points could get you a short-haul one-way award flight in some cases.

While these valuable spending bonuses are only guaranteed through March 2025, there is a chance that Chase may renew its partnerships with Lyft and Peloton after March 2025 and continue to offer these spending bonuses.

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card doesn’t currently have any limited-time spending bonuses on offer.

Comparing Travel Benefits & More

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey offer several valuable travel and insurance benefits.

Let’s take a look at each type of benefit offered by both cards to see which card has the advantage in each category.

Statement Credits

Both cards offer $50 in statement credits annually. The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card offers $50 annually for any airline purchase of $50 or more. So, if you make a purchase from any merchant categorized as “airline” or “air carrier,” this credit will automatically be applied to your balance. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers $50 annually for hotel bookings made through the Chase Travel℠. It’s worth noting that this credit will only be applied to hotel bookings made through the portal.

Which of these statement credits is better for you depends on whether you’re more likely to spend $50 annually on flights or $50 annually on hotels. You should also consider whether you’re willing to make your hotel bookings through the portal. While the Chase Travel℠ markets stays from most of the major hotel brands, not all hotel stays are available on this portal.

Cell Phone Insurance

One major benefit that sets the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card apart from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is cell phone insurance. The Autograph Journey offers cell phone insurance of up to $1,000 per claim and up to $2,000 per 12-month period for cell phones that are damaged, stolen or “unable to be recovered as a result of Involuntary and Accidental Parting.”

In order for your cell phone to be eligible for this insurance, you must pay your wireless bill with your Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card. This coverage doesn’t apply to cosmetic damage, cracked screens or scratches.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred doesn’t offer any cell phone insurance. So, if you’re prone to breaking your cell phone, then the Autograph Journey card may be a better option for you.

25% Value Boost Through the Chase Travel℠

One major advantage that the Chase Sapphire Preferred has over the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card, though, is that Chase points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel in the portal if you have the Sapphire Preferred card. For instance, 10,000 Chase points are worth $125 with the Sapphire Preferred card (whereas they’d be worth $100 without it).

By contrast, when redeeming Wells Fargo points through the Wells Fargo Rewards portal, each point is always worth 1 cent, which means that 10,000 Wells Fargo points is always worth $100 when redeemed through the Wells Fargo Rewards portal.

In general, we recommend transferring both Chase points and Wells Fargo points to transfer partners, as you can often get far more than 1 cent per point in value by doing so. However, maximizing value by utilizing transfer partners requires time and research. So, if you’d rather just redeem your points through your credit card issuer’s rewards portal, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s 25% value bonus is definitely a large advantage.

Limited-Time DoorDash Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also has several limited-time benefits from DoorDash that aren’t available with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card.

Cardmembers would need to register for the complimentary 12-month DoorDash DashPass subscription by December 31, 2027. A subscription to DoorDash DashPass comes with the following benefits:

• $0 delivery fee on orders over $12 from eligible restaurants
• Reduced service fees on all eligible orders

This may not sound like a lot but, according to the DoorDash website, DashPass members save “an average of $4-5 per eligible order.” If you order DoorDash often, this benefit could save you a lot of money.

As Wells Fargo doesn’t offer any similar limited-time benefits, these Instacart and DoorDash benefits are an advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Visa Signature Benefits

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey are Visa Signature credit cards, meaning they both include the Visa Signature suite of benefits. This includes special benefits with the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, an auto rental collision damage waiver up to $50,000 per claim, lost luggage reimbursement up to $3,000 per trip for all covered travelers, trip cancellation and interruption protection up to $15,000 per trip for all covered travelers and $1,000,000 worldwide automatic common carrier travel accident insurance.

Since both cards offer the exact same Visa Signature benefits, this is an advantage for neither card. It’s also worth noting that neither card charges foreign transaction fees.

Redemption Options

When comparing two rewards credit cards, it’s not only important to compare the number of points you can earn with that card but also the different ways in which you can redeem those points once you earn them. For instance, with both of these cards, you can redeem points through the issuers’ own rewards portals.

Wells Fargo points are always worth exactly 1 cent apiece when redeemed through the Wells Fargo Rewards portal. Through this portal, you can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, flights, car rentals, hotels, merchandise and more. These are similar redemption options to pretty much any other credit card rewards program. However, on April 4, 2024, Wells Fargo announced six transfer partners. They added two more later in the year and currently have eight transfer partners. That means you’ll be able to find outsized-value redemptions through these transfer partners that offer far more than 1 cent per point in value.

Likewise, through the Chase Travel℠, you can redeem Chase points for cash back, gift cards, flights, car rentals, hotels, merchandise, dining and entertainment experiences and more. Chase points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed through the portal.

Of course, the best way to maximize the value of your Chase points is to transfer them to one of the program’s 14 transfer partners.

As you can see, the Chase Ultimate Rewards program has a far more extensive list of transfer partners than the Wells Fargo Rewards program. The only transfer partners of Wells Fargo Rewards that aren’t also transfer partners of Chase Ultimate Rewards are Avianca LifeMiles and Choice Privileges.

Avianca LifeMiles is a great transfer partner, offering high-value award flights between the U.S. and Latin America as well as within Latin America. However, Choice Privileges is a fairly unimpressive hotel rewards program that pales in comparison to Chase’s hotel transfer partners (IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt).

Chase also has Air Canada Aeroplan and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer as transfer partners, which are excellent frequent flyer programs and some of the best programs through which to purchase round-the-world awards. Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United Airlines MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are also great Chase transfer partners that offer impressive value.

All in all, when it comes to transfer partners, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a clear advantage over the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card. However, Wells Fargo has stated publicly that it plans to add more transfer partners to the Wells Fargo Rewards program in the near future. So, while the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is still better than the Wells Fargo Rewards program for most travelers, the Wells Fargo Rewards program may become a more legitimate competitor in the future as it continues to add more transfer partners.

Make Your Perfect Match

In order to compare the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, it’s important to weigh all of the various factors.

When it comes to normal spending bonuses, the Chase Sapphire Preferred seems to be the better option for those who are willing to purchase hotels, flights and rental cars through the portal. However, those who spend a lot in other travel categories such as timeshares, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites and campgrounds may earn more points with the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers spending bonuses for online grocery purchases and select streaming services.

The Chase Sapphire seems to be the clear winner in benefits. While both cards offer $50 in travel credit per year, the Sapphire Preferred card also offers a valuable limited-time benefit from DoorDash. Plus, the fact that Chase points are worth 25% more when redeemed through the portal with the Sapphire Preferred card is a major advantage for those who don’t want to bother with transfer partners.

If you are willing to transfer points to partners, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is still at an advantage, as it has 14 transfer partners, compared to the eight transfer partners currently offered by the Wells Fargo Rewards Program. Plus, Chase points can be transferred to some valuable programs such as World of Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and more.

For most people, the tried-and-true Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a better card than the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey card. However, it’s still worth comparing these two travel credit cards for yourself, as there is a chance that the Autograph Journey card could be a better card for your specific financial situation. Plus, as Wells Fargo continues to add transfer partners to its rewards program (as it has vowed to do), the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey could become an even better option.