Here's One Credit Card I Never Travel Without

I have several credit cards that offer strong travel benefits and reward earning rates. But there's one that stands out among travel credit cards in its rewards program, with superior earning rates on virtually all travel-related expenses.

For me, this is the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card, a relatively new credit card product from mega-bank Wells Fargo. It has a $95 annual fee, but the cost can be well worth it for the right traveler, and I certainly get more than $95 in value out of this card every year.

Here's why the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey has become my go-to card for travel spending, and why it (or the other version of this card) could be worth a closer look before you book your next trip.

Excellent travel rewards

The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card isn't as feature-packed as many other travel cards. For example, I still keep The Platinum Card® from American Express in my wallet because it offers perks like airport lounge access, travel-related spending credits, and more.

However, unlike the Amex Platinum Card, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card offers excellent rewards rates on some of my biggest expenses while traveling.

Specifically, when using the card, I get 5X points on hotels, 4X points on airlines, and 3X points on restaurants and other travel. Plus, the points I earn with the card are transferable to several airline and hotel loyalty programs, where I can get significantly more value by redeeming them strategically for flights. 

For example, I can transfer points to British Airways, which allows me to book flights on my preferred airline (American Airlines) with miles. It isn't uncommon for me to get more than $0.02 per mile in value, which effectively makes the travel reward rates of this card 6% or higher.  

It's worth noting that if you don't want to pay an annual fee, there's a $0 annual fee version called the Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card, which offers unlimited 3X points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services and phone plans.

If you're looking for a travel credit card with no annual fee, click here to find out more about the Wells Fargo Autograph Card to see if it could be a great fit for you.

A lot of value for the money

As mentioned, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card isn't free. It has a $95 annual fee, and if you don't spend much on airlines and hotels, the no annual fee version that I mentioned in the last section could be the better fit for you.

However, in my case, the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey makes more sense, even with the fee. For one thing, the card has a $50 annual statement credit when you make an airline purchase of $50 or more, which effectively lowers the annual cost to $45. 

It also has some additional perks, including better cellphone protection and travel insurance benefits. Since I stay at hotels about 20-25 nights per year between family and business-related travel, the higher hotel earning rate makes it worth the cost.

The bottom line is that both versions of the Wells Fargo Autograph Card are solid travel credit card products, but the best fit for you depends on how much you spend on travel, the type of spending you do, and how valuable you find perks like cellphone protection and travel insurance.