Wells Fargo Autograph Journey

Is the annual fee worth it?

It earns about $624 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is $529 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $530 a year behind. On earning alone it does not catch up at any level of spending this looks at — its credits and perks have to make up the difference, or the fee is not paying for itself.

Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.

Where it ranks

Against every card in the catalogue, scored in dollars per $100 with no rotating categories switched on:

• #2 of 68 for hotels — $7.50 per $100
• #2 of 68 for Uber and Lyft — $4.50 per $100
• #2 of 68 for parking and tolls — $4.50 per $100
• #2 of 68 for car rentals — $4.50 per $100
• #3 of 68 for flights — $6.00 per $100
• #3 of 68 for public transit — $4.50 per $100

Where a year's rewards come from

Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.

What the issuer lists besides rewards

• $50 airline credit each account anniversary year
• No foreign transaction fees

Similar cards

• Chase Sapphire Preferred — annual fee $95 a year
• Citi Strata Premier — annual fee $95 a year
• Capital One Venture Rewards — annual fee $95 a year
• American Express Classic Green Card — annual fee $150 a year
• Every travel card, ranked
• When an annual fee pays for itself
• The best two- and three-card combinations