Everybody wants a card that earns rewards not just on daily expenses, but also on travel. Well, the Bilt Mastercard® and Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card are two of the best all-around no annual fee cards.
The Bilt Mastercard lets you earn valuable travel rewards on rent payments without fees while offering bonus points on dining and travel purchases. This no-annual-fee card stands out for its unique rent payment feature and strong travel benefits like rental car coverage and trip protection.
The Autograph card offers elevated rewards on everyday purchases including restaurants, travel, gas stations, and streaming services. The card provides solid travel and shopping protections including cell phone coverage, making it a practical choice for daily spending with no annual fee.
This article will compare each card based on several factors to help you make an informed decision on which card is the best to add to your wallet.
Full Reviews: Bilt Mastercard® and Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card.
Overview of Each Card
Welcome Bonuses
Bilt Mastercard:
The Bilt Mastercard® stands out in an interesting way when it comes to welcome bonuses. Unlike most rewards credit cards, you won’t find a traditional sign-up bonus offering a set number of points after meeting a spending requirement.
The card makes up for this by offering unique bonuses in other ways. Many new cardholders receive an email offering 5x points on all purchases up to $10,000 within the first five days of card membership – potentially netting you 50,000 Bilt points right off the bat.
Wells Fargo Autograph:
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card currently offers the following welcome bonus: bonus_miles_full
Earning Rewards
Bilt Mastercard:
The Bilt Mastercard® earns the following rewards when you have at least five posted transactions per billing cycle:
- 5 points per dollar on Lyft purchases.
- 3 points per dollar on dining.
- 2 points per dollar on travel purchases.
- 1 point per dollar on rent payments without any transaction fees, up to a limit of 100,000 points per year.
- 1 point per dollar on everything else.
Wells Fargo Autograph:
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card earns points at the following rates:
- 3 points per dollar on restaurants, including take-out, catering, and delivery;
- 3 points per dollar on travel, including airfare, hotels, car rental, and cruises;
- 3 points per dollar at gas stations;
- 3 points per dollar at EV charging stations;
- 3 points per dollar on transit, including subways, ride shares, parking, tolls, and more;
- 3 points per dollar on popular streaming websites;
- 3 points per dollar on cell phone and landline providers; and
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
Winner:
It depends on your spending habits. The Wells Fargo Autograph Card obviously has more spending categories so it’s best for people with evenly distributed expenses across dining, travel, commuting, gas and EV charging, streaming services, and cell phone and landline providers.
Meanwhile, the Bilt Mastercard® only has a few spending categories, but it lets you earn points on rent and its points are about twice as valuable.
Card Benefits and Perks
Bilt Mastercard:
The Bilt Mastercard® offers nice benefits for a no annual fee card, including:
Primary Rental Car Insurance: When you rent a car and pay with this card, you’ll receive comprehensive coverage including damage and theft protection. Simply decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental to your card to activate coverage. This insurance covers damage, theft, and valid loss-of-use charges worldwide.
Cell Phone Protection: When you use your card to pay your monthly phone bill, you’ll receive valuable coverage against damage or theft of your device.
Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first.
90-Day Purchase Protection: Your new purchases are covered against damage and theft for 90 days when you use your card. This protection helps safeguard your eligible items right from the moment you buy them.
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation.
Referral Program: Earn 2,500 Bilt points for each friend who gets approved for the Bilt Mastercard using your referral link, plus receive a 10,000-point bonus for every fifth successful referral. You can earn rewards for up to 50 total referrals, meaning significant earning potential through sharing the card with friends and family.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Wells Fargo Autograph:
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card offers the following benefits for its cardholders:
Intro APR: Enjoy a 0% Intro APR for 12 months. After that, either a reg_apr,reg_apr_type applies.
Cell Phone Protection: When you use your card to pay your monthly phone bill, you’ll receive valuable coverage against damage or theft of your device.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance: This card provides backup protection for rental car damage or theft when you charge the full rental to your card.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Roadside Dispatch: Get access to 24/7 emergency roadside assistance for situations like dead batteries, flat tires, fuel delivery, and mechanical breakdowns. While you’ll need to pay for the actual service provided, having access to reliable help when stranded can be invaluable.
Visa Signature Benefits: This card is a Visa Signature card offering special benefits such as rental car discounts, golf and wine discounts, and emergency travel assistance.
Visa Signature Concierge: Your card comes with a dedicated 24/7 concierge service ready to assist with your lifestyle needs. Whether you need help securing dinner reservations, finding event tickets, or planning travel arrangements, your personal concierge is just a phone call away.
Winner:
The Bilt Mastercard® since its offers more valuable travel protections like trip delay insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and primary rental car insurance (instead of secondary with Autograph card).
Value of the Annual Fees
Bilt Mastercard:
The Bilt Mastercard® has no annual fee for both primary cardholders and authorized users, making it one of the best no-fee cards available.
Wells Fargo Autograph:
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card has no annual fee, allowing you to enjoy its benefits without a yearly cost.
Winner:
Tie since both cards have no annual fee.
Redeeming Rewards
Bilt Mastercard:
Bilt points offer versatile redemption options, with transfers to airline and hotel partners standing out as the most valuable. The program offers 18 transfer partners, including thirteen airline and five hotel loyalty programs. Notable partners include Alaska Airlines, Iberia, Turkish, and World of Hyatt, providing unique opportunities for premium travel experiences.
For those seeking flexibility, the Bilt Travel Portal allows point redemptions at 1.25 cents per point for flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities. A distinctive feature is the ability to use points towards a home down payment at 1.5 cents per point, catering to renters looking to transition to homeownership.
While other redemption options exist, such as Amazon purchases, fitness classes, and rent payments, these offer lower value and are not recommended for maximizing point value.
Keep an eye out for Bilt’s monthly Rent Day promotions and transfer bonuses, which can provide exceptional value, especially for those with Bilt elite status. These promotions have offered bonuses of up to 150% to select partners, making them prime opportunities for point transfers.
Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Accor [3 to 2]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada
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Air France/KLM
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Alaska Airlines
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Avianca LifeMiles
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British Airways
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Cathay Pacific
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Emirates
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Hawaiian
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Hyatt Hotels
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Iberia
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IHG Hotels
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Marriott
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TAP Portugal
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Turkish
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Virgin Atlantic
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United
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Wells Fargo Autograph:
Through the Wells Fargo rewards portal, you can redeem your points at a fixed value of 1 cent per point in several ways: statement credits applied directly to your card balance, gift cards available in $25 increments, travel bookings including flights, hotel stays, and rental cars, credits to qualifying Wells Fargo products like credit cards, checking accounts, or mortgages, and direct purchases at participating merchants, including PayPal.
However, transferring points to Wells Fargo’s airline and hotel partners can potentially provide even greater value. The bank currently partners with several major programs including Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, and Choice Privileges hotels, with more partners likely to be added as the program expands.
Wells Fargo Transfer Partners
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|---|---|
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Aer Lingus AerClub
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Air France-KLM Flying Blue
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Avianca LifeMiles
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British Airways Executive Club
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Iberia Plus
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Choice Privileges (1 to 2)
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Winner:
Bilt Mastercard®. The card offers flexible redemption options at decent rates. Plus, Bilt Rewards has several transfer partners which include major carriers and brands like American, United, Air Canada, Hyatt, Iberia, and Turkish.
The Verdict
Choosing between the Bilt Mastercard and the Autograph Card is tough. Both are versatile cards that offer rewards in several spending categories, and they offer similar benefits too.
However, the Bilt Mastercard® wins this battle, simply because of its flexible redemptions. You can transfer your points to airline partners like American or United, and potentially get more value for your points. Plus, the card earns points on rent – a unique feature that most rewards cards don’t have.
The Wells Fargo Autograph Card is also a great choice. It does offer competitive rewards, but it’s more for people who just want straightforward redemptions.
Which card are you going to choose?
