topic Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences? in Credit Cards

Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 20:39:06 GMT

Looking to get your experience with the card. Recently found out about and was approved for the card, seems like it could be a great tool to have! Also, I only use CK for the time being and it was reporting 739 on TU and EQ. Got a letter in the mail from WF today saying my score is @ 766. Pumped about that!

What are your experiences? Tips and tricks? Initial CL? Anything you think may be beneficial?

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Andypanda — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 21:05:48 GMT

Got my propel in august. I have been a long time wf customer, with a significant amount of investments at wf advisors. I got a sl of $11,000 i have been happy with the card. I might be one of the few people who is gappy with wf, and who not only has not been screwed over by them, but who they have treated very well.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 21:55:29 GMT

Been loving this.

If you intend to book flight through wf travel portal, consider getting a family member or friend of yours to get a wells fargo visa singature so you can pool points and redeem for flight at 1.5cpp, 50% more values.

You can app for wells visa yourself after 18 months (6 if you dont mind losing the intro bonus on visa signature).

Check out the "explore beneift" link for offers, and check out Earn More Mall for more offers. These things replenish on the 1st and 16th of each month.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

lmhenry1 — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 22:26:50 GMT

My 2 cents . I’m Happy to have this card, In my opinion the rewards are similar to Chase Sapphire Preferred which is what I want to eventually get but this is Wells Fargo’s most competitive card that they offer currently. I like the AMEX offers that are constantly loaded to the card . Now I’ve got a Propel Amex with $7500 credit limit and I like it and I like the competitive rewards structure for restaurant and travel but without the annual fee . I’ve have a pretty long relationship with Wells Fargo through starting with a high school checking account with them for several years.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Dec 2019 23:50:00 GMT

I like the card a lot. One of my top cash back earners, if not the top. I did well with Earn More Mall, mostly on the offers you have to activate. There isn't a lot of them, but the bonus gas has been great this year. I use it for parking, tolls, and the others like travel and restaurants, cell phone insurance.

It has its quirks like all cards do. Cash redemptions are in $25 increments, and must be in denominations of $25. For instance, if you have $83 in rewards, you can redeem up to $75. But you can also cover purchases with points. If you have 1300 points, you can pay a $12 purchase with 1200 points.

Earn more mall points are available within a few days. Points earned in the categories are available after the statement closes.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

JR_TX — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 01:20:00 GMT

Got mine Sep of 2018 with a $10K SL. Never had any prior relationship back then. Didn’t understand at first why activation had to be so complicated that required calling in and mobile phone verified with a series of SMS while on the line with the CSR.
Now everything makes perfect sense as I’ve never had any problems/declines with big ticket purchases made online. $4-$6K transactions instantly approved no questions asked even if they were outside my normal swipes pattern! They just text you instantly as soon as purchase is made to verify it was actually you!
Just got a $5K SP CLI over the phone on my 11th month (they’ll ask your permission for a HP if a SP CLI can’t be granted at time of call).
One of my best cards if I must say. $300 SUB, No FTF and No AF. 1-3 pts on purchases, etc. Really hard to beat the features and versatility of this card that’s mostly only available on premium AF cards!

Congrats on getting this very fine card!

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 05:26:09 GMT

I have it but only use it for my phone bill for the cellphone protection.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

UncleB — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 07:07:41 GMT

I have this card as well. I got it back before the revamp (and before the bonus, <sigh>) mostly for overdraft protection on my WF checking account, but when they added 3x for travel during the refresh it became my travel card until I got the Altitude Reserve.

It has always worked as advertised, and I have absolutely no complaints. Having to redeem rewards in $25 increments was a minor annoyance for a while but when they added their 'redeem for purchases' feature that annoyance went away. It's now trivial to use up any remaining points by using the card to reload my Amazon gift card for the exact value of the remaining points, then use points to pay the charge. Easy peasy.

If I didn't have the AR this would still be my go-to travel card.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

CreditInspired — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 10:06:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I like the card a lot. One of my top cash back earners, if not the top. I did well with Earn More Mall, mostly on the offers you have to activate. There isn't a lot of them, but the bonus gas has been great this year. I use it for parking, tolls, and the others like travel and restaurants, cell phone insurance.

It has its quirks like all cards do. Cash redemptions are in $25 increments, and must be in denominations of $25. For instance, if you have $83 in rewards, you can redeem up to $75. But you can also cover purchases with points. If you have 1300 points, you can pay a $12 purchase with 1200 points.

Earn more mall points are available within a few days. Points earned in the categories are available after the statement closes.

Thanks for sharing your experience. This is one of the cards on my bucket list when I come out of the garden.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

CreditInspired — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 10:15:07 GMT

@UncleB wrote:
I have this card as well. I got it back before the revamp (and before the bonus, <sigh>) mostly for overdraft protection on my WF checking account, but when they added 3x for travel during the refresh it became my travel card until I got the Altitude Reserve.

It has always worked as advertised, and I have absolutely no complaints. Having to redeem rewards in $25 increments was a minor annoyance for a while but when they added their 'redeem for purchases' feature that annoyance went away. It's now trivial to use up any remaining points by using the card to reload my Amazon gift card for the exact value of the remaining points, then use points to pay the charge. Easy peasy.

If I didn't have the AR this would still be my go-to travel card.

This is good to know UncleB. I'm leaning more and more toward this card. Thanks.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

MidnightKnight — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 13:52:27 GMT

It was mentioned earlier that there was a $25 increment redemption threshold but this only applies if you try to redeem the points online ( statement credit, deposit into WF Account, check). You can also redeem at an ATM with a WF debit card for $20 increments. In addition there are some Amex only offers avaible on the card under the card benefits link in your online banking.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

UncleB — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 14:16:55 GMT

@MidnightKnight wrote:
It was mentioned earlier that there was a $25 increment redemption threshold but this only applies if you try to redeem the points online ( statement credit, deposit into WF Account, check). You can also redeem at an ATM with a WF debit card for $20 increments. In addition there are some Amex only offers avaible on the card under the card benefits link in your online banking.

I have actually wondered about this before... ATM redemption in $20 increments (rather than $25) at a Wells Fargo ATM is an advertised 'perk' of the Cash Wise Visa, but you're saying you've done it with the Propel as well?

If so this is good to know, indeed.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Shooting-For-800 — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 15:02:53 GMT

No issues.

1 small CLI.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Nomad3 — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:31:59 GMT

I like it. My first grasp at a higher end rewards card. Plan to stack points until my kid is older and use it towards family fun/vacations. Points never expire!

My only complaint is they gave me the minimum SL (EX8:764, but thin), kind of negates the 0%intro bonus.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:40:30 GMT

I'm going to add to my comment. Initial lines might be small, especially if you did not have a previous experience with them, like me.

My initial CL was only $10K, the lowest of the major cards I carry. After heavy use, I got an auto $2K CL after 9 months. Six months after the auto CL, I requested a CLI to $18K total and got it. It's a decent line now.

Another poster mimicked my pattern almost identically (heavy use early) and also requested a CLI to $20K later. Got $19K. The CLs can grow.

Also, the card is metal.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:46:53 GMT

@Nomad3 wrote:
I like it. My first grasp at a higher end rewards card. Plan to stack points until my kid is older and use it towards family fun/vacations. Points never expire!

My only complaint is they gave me the minimum SL (EX8:764, but thin), kind of negates the 0%intro bonus.

I'd cycle it and get the bonus. Plus, after some time, ask for a CLI. It can turn into a really decent card with a nice line in no time.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Nomad3 — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 17:53:29 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Nomad3 wrote:
I like it. My first grasp at a higher end rewards card. Plan to stack points until my kid is older and use it towards family fun/vacations. Points never expire!

My only complaint is they gave me the minimum SL (EX8:764, but thin), kind of negates the 0%intro bonus.
I'd cycle it and get the bonus. Plus, after some time, ask for a CLI. It can turn into a really decent card with a nice line in no time.

That's the plan, I asked for UW review of SL but I'm pretty much expecting an AA letter. Gonna cycle it as my DD and see if I can get a SP, otherwise I'll be waiting for the 12mo AR so i don't mess up the mortgage I'm planning for around the same time

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 18:28:58 GMT

@Nomad3 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Nomad3 wrote:
I like it. My first grasp at a higher end rewards card. Plan to stack points until my kid is older and use it towards family fun/vacations. Points never expire!

My only complaint is they gave me the minimum SL (EX8:764, but thin), kind of negates the 0%intro bonus.
I'd cycle it and get the bonus. Plus, after some time, ask for a CLI. It can turn into a really decent card with a nice line in no time.
That's the plan, I asked for UW review of SL but I'm pretty much expecting an AA letter. Gonna cycle it as my DD and see if I can get a SP, otherwise I'll be waiting for the 12mo AR so i don't mess up the mortgage I'm planning for around the same time

I did the same thing when I got mine. Got the basic hint to try later when I get to know you better.

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

Nomad3 — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 11:21:50 GMT

Also the activatable extra bonuses are nice, though most of them seem pretty random if you find one that you can use its nice.

Like spend $25+ on Boston market, get $5. At 3x points on purchase that's 575+ points. I don't particularly like Boston market, but it's edible and extra points lol

Re: Wells Fargo Propel Experiences?

galahad15 — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 21:30:41 GMT

I've had the Propel card since about late 2018, and tbh, the overall experience for me has been a little underwhelming. Sure, it's got the 3% cashback categories which is definitely a major plus, but then again, you can also get other cards these days with 3% rewards categories, such as the BoA Cash Rewards card. IME, my FNBO Travelite Amex card also offers 3% cashback rewards on travel purchases.

I guess my biggest gripe with the Propel card is because even though when I apped for it, my FICO8 scores across all 3 CRAs were right in the 800+ range, they still approved me with a what I felt was a sub-standard and excessively high, currently ~17% V go-to interest rate, rather than offering the lowest-available rate For that reason alone, I prefer my BoA Cash Rewards card, which has a much lower and more competitive go-to rate, and also (unlike the Propel) no longer has the $25 minimum redemption threshold after BoA revamped the card a while back.