Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card benefits and perks: Earn bonus points on ordering, Netflix, Spotify and more

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When searching for your next favorite credit card, the process usually involves weighing a card’s benefits against its annual fee. You have to consider if you’ll use the benefits of the card enough to justify paying that fee every year.

But along comes the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card. This is a card that doesn’t ask you to make that decision — it offers many of the benefits and bonus categories found in annual fee credit cards, all without charging an annual fee.

The Wells Fargo Propel card is no longer available for new applicants.

The information for the Wells Fargo Propel has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.   

Here’s a rundown of the Wells Fargo Propel benefits and perks.

Wells Fargo Propel American Express card benefits and perks

The Wells Fargo Propel is a no-annual-fee card that offers incredible benefits that nearly everyone can enjoy.

Welcome bonus worth $200 cash back

Right now, the Wells Fargo Propel credit card is offering a welcome bonus of 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of card opening.

Each point can be redeemed for 1 cent each towards cash back, travel, gift cards and other rewards. That means you’re earning $200 in rewards from a card that doesn’t even charge an annual fee.

Cell phone protection

A crowd-favorite perk that many of our readers love is free cell phone protection. The card offers great cell phone insurance with a low $25 deductible. It covers up to $600 per claim, and $1,200 per 12-month period. There are a couple catches:

• Lost phones are not covered
• This is secondary coverage, meaning that the coverage kicks in if your phone isn’t covered by other insurance policies like homeowners, renters, automobile, and employer insurance policies
• Coverage does not apply to cell phones that are rented, borrowed, or received as part of a prepaid plan.
• Electronic failure or issues related to the software of the device are not covered

Overall, this is still a great benefit because of the low deductible.

This is a perk that is fairly rare on any credit card, but it’s particularly special to see this on a no-annual-fee card. This adds a lot of value to the Wells Fargo Propel card.

Triple points for everyday purchases

This card comes with incredible bonus categories in a wide variety of common expenses. This means that earning 3x points will be very easy, and the rewards will rack up quickly.

This card seems very well built for the millennial crowd with bonus points on purchases from ridesharing (Uber and Lyft) to food delivery services, Airbnb, and entertainment subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify, etc). You earn 3 points per dollar on these spending categories:

• Eating Out and Ordering In: This can include food delivery, restaurants, and even bars (referred to as “drinking places” by Wells Fargo)
• Travel: Flights, car rentals, hotels, and even homestays all qualify
• Gas Stations: Another popular category that many folks spend a lot of money on each month
• Commuting and Transportation: Parking, ferries, tolls, Lyft, Uber, bus passes, subway tickets, and more
• Popular Streaming Services: This includes purchases from popular services like Netflix, Hulu, and Apple Music

You’ll still earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. There is no limit to the amount of bonus points you can earn, and your points never expire as long as your account remains open. When looking through my expenses each month outside of necessities like utilities, mortgage and car payment, it seems like almost all of my monthly expenses would fit within these 3x bonus point categories.

You can redeem these points for 1 cent each towards cash back, travel, gift cards, and more. That means that these 3x bonus categories are effectively offering 3% cash back. That’s solid for any card, but especially notable for a card that has no annual fee.

Amex Offers

One of the benefits we love about American Express cards is access to Amex Offers. These offers can be very valuable and save you a lot of money if an offer comes up that you would otherwise use.

Amex Offers is a great way to save money on everyday purchases. These offers are essentially targeted rebates for using your Amex card at popular shops and services.  They allow you to save even more while using your card for shopping online, dining, and other common activities.

Purchase Protection Coverage

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express also has your back on nearly everything you purchase with your card. Purchase protection covers eligible new purchases that you make with your card, against damage or theft for up to 90 days after you buy them. This coverage extends to up to $1,000 per claim and $50,000 per 12-month period.

Extended Warranty

Another great way to protect your purchases is with an extended warranty program. This benefit will double the original manufacturer’s warranty for up to a maximum of 12 months on qualifying items that you purchase using your Wells Fargo Propel.

They will pay up to $10,000 or up to the original cost of an item (whichever is less) that needs repair or replacement, if the original warranty is under 12 months.

Return Protection

The Wells Fargo Propel has return protection that minimizes any problems you might encounter when trying to return an eligible item that you purchased with your card.

If you try to return an item within 90 days of purchase and the merchant won’t take it back, then Wells Fargo will refund you the cost of the item. This coverage allows up to $300 per claim (not including shipping and handling), for a maximum of $1,000 per year.

Emergency Assistance

Emergency Assistance is a helpful benefit that provides guidance and referrals in emergencies. Much of this guidance can be helpful while traveling, where you might otherwise be unable to find this information or assistance yourself. Some of the services provided by this perk include:

• Medical Assistance referrals (either to individual clinics or hospitals)
• Assistance for legal services
• Passport, visa, immunization requirements
• Embassy and consular information
• Referrals to interpreters
• Urgent message relay to family members or colleagues
• Cash/bail assistance

Most of these services are provided at no cost.

Roadside Assistance

24-hour emergency towing services are available to cardholders if your vehicle breaks down or if you are in need of a spare tire. Services include:

• Delivery of fuel or other standard fluids (like motor oil)
• Jumpstart for dead or weakened batteries
• Lockout service
• Spare tire replacement for flats

These services cost a flat $59.95 and cover five miles of towing. The price doesn’t include the cost of things like fuel, repairs, etc.

Lost or Damaged Luggage Insurance (worldwide)

When you pay for your ticket with either your Wells Fargo Propel or the rewards you’ve earned with your card, you’ve got protection in the event that your luggage is lost or damaged while traveling. You, your domestic partner, and your unmarried dependent children qualify for this insurance. So if the airline accidentally throws your bag into a wood chipper instead of the cargo hold, Wells Fargo has your back.

The total insured amount is up to $1,000 per covered trip (of which no more than $250 can be from jewelry and fur).

You can use this to replace any personal clothing and items lost with your luggage. It covers both checked bags and carry-on luggage. But there are plenty of exclusions, such as:

• Animals
• Cameras and accessories
• Money
• Electronic equipment
• Household furniture
• Motor vehicles

Car Rental Insurance (in North America)

This benefit offers secondary insurance for car rentals while driving within North America.  To use this coverage, you must charge the entire cost of the rental onto this card. Keep in mind, this insurance only covers any costs beyond what is provided by your primary car insurance provider. This covers up to a maximum of $50,000 in reimbursement.

Travel Accident Insurance

Worldwide Travel Accident Insurance provides accidental death or dismemberment insurance while traveling on a common carrier, like a plane, cruise, train, etc. This coverage includes a maximum benefit amount of $150,000.

Again, you’ll need to pay for the entire fare with either your card and/or the rewards you’ve earned from the card.  Examples of eligible tragedies are:

• Loss of sight
• Loss of hands or feet
• Loss of speech
• Loss of hearing
• Loss of thumb and index finger on the same hand

Hopefully this is a benefit you’ll NEVER cash in.

No foreign transaction fees

Some credit cards charge a 3% fee for using your card outside the U.S. You don’t have to worry about that with this card!

Bottom line

The Wells Fargo Propel American Express is an amazingly valuable card that carries no annual fee. We normally see no-annual-fee cards to be very limited on additional perks, but Wells Fargo really knocked it out of the park when putting together the benefits of this card.

I really think that this is one of the best no-annual fee cards out there, and these card benefit make it hard to believe that the card is free to keep:

• Welcome bonus Worth $200 Cash Back
• Cell Phone Insurance
• Triple points on popular spending categories
• Access to Amex Offers
• Purchase protection coverage
• Extended warranty
• Return protection
• Emergency assistance
• Roadside assistance
• Lost or damaged luggage insurance
• Car rental insurance
• Travel accident insurance
• No foreign transaction fees

The bonus categories alone make this card worth considering. You can earn an effective 3% back with amazing categories that you probably already use all the time. This includes earning 3x points on popular streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.

Let us know the perk that excite you most about the Wells Fargo Propel. And subscribe to our newsletter for more digestible credit card benefit breakdowns like this.