Wells Fargo just introduced the Wells Fargo Propel World American Express® Card, a new credit card designed to compete in the high-end travel credit card market. The new card features increased rewards on hotel and airfare purchases, as well as an annual credit towards incidental airline charges. To entice new customers, the card also comes with a compelling signup bonus–you’ll earn 40,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in net purchases in the first 3 months of cardmembership. 40,000 points can be redeemed for $400 in gift cards or statement credit. It can also potentially be redeemed for $600 towards airfare.

While the terms state that redemption for airline tickets is supposed to be at a rate of 1 points per cent, it turns out that customers are currently reporting that each point can be redeemed for 1.5 cents towards airfare, meaning that 40,000 points could be used for $600 towards an airline ticket. All airfare redemptions also do charge a $24 processing fee.

Other benefits of the card include:

• No foreign currency conversion fees
• Up to $100 per year in reimbursements towards incidental airline charges
• Complimentary room upgrades and more from the Luxury Hotel Program
• 3x points on airlines, 2x points on hotels, 1x point on all other net purchases
• An annual “Relationship Bonus” of 10%, 25% or 50% more on non-bonus rewards points if you maintain a qualifying consumer Wells Fargo Checking or Savings Account, or PMA® Package.
• If you own a consumer Wells Fargo checking or savings account, you’ll earn a 10% Relationship Bonus.
• If you own a PMA Package, you’ll earn a 25% Relationship Bonus.
• If you own a PMA Package with statement-ending qualifying balance of $250,000 or more, or are a Wells Fargo Private Banking PMA Package client, you’ll receive a 50% Relationship Bonus.
• You’ll receive your Relationship Bonus, in the form of rewards points, in your rewards account on the 13th month after opening your credit card.
• Points do not expire, and there is no cap on how much you can earn.

The card does carry an annual fee of $175, which is waived for the first year.

Is the card worth it?
$600 towards airfare is a great signup bonus, but since the terms suggest that 40,000 points should only be worth $400, it’s risky to automatically assume that you’ll be able to redeem your signup bonus for $600. Even if you can’t get the $600, though, a $400 statement credit for $3,000 in spending over 3 months is still an excellent offer.

The better question is whether the card is worth keeping after a year, when the $175 annual fee kicks in. When you compare it to another travel card like the Barclaycard Arrival, which essentially earns a 2.2% rebate on all purchases, it’s an iffier proposition. The Propel does have a nice feature of a $100 annual credit towards incidental travel expenses, but that’s nearly offset by the difference in annual fee–Arrival’s $89 vs. the Propel’s $175. The Propel card’s value proposition is boosted if you spend primarily on hotel and airfare and have an extensive relationship with Wells Fargo.

The Wells Fargo Propel 365 American Express® Card
In addition to the Propel World Card, Wells Fargo also rolled out the more general-purpose “Propel 365” card.

Its features include:

• Signup bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $3,000 in net purchases in the first 3 months
• 3x points at US gas stations, 2x points at US restaurants, and 1x points on all other net purchases
• No foreign currency conversion fees
• An annual Relationship Bonus of 10%, 25% or 50% on non-bonus rewards points with the same structure as that of the Propel World Amex Card above.
• Annual fee of $45, waived for the first year
• Points do not expire, and there is no cap on how much you can earn.

If you’re looking for the better signup bonus, the Propel World Amex is clearly the better bet. And given that there are cards such as the Fidelity Amex that offer a 2% rebate on all spending without an annual fee, it’s hard to recommend the Propel 365 card for anyone who doesn’t already have an extensive relationship with Wells Fargo. Even with, say, a 50% Relationship Bonus, the card would only earn 4.5x points on gas, 3x points at restaurants and 1.5x points on other spending, which is sub-optimal for a card with an annual fee. If, however, airfare redemptions continue to be available at 1.5 cents per point–which, given the terms to the contrary, seems dubious–the Propel 365 could be a good option for loyal Wells Fargo customers.

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For more information or to apply for either of these cards, see the following links:

• Wells Fargo Propel World American Express® Card
• Wells Fargo Propel 365 American Express® Card