Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend.  I was reviewing my recent Wells Fargo Autograph Credit Card (originally the Bilt MasterCard) and there was a full page of changes to the terms and conditions of the Wells Fargo Rewards Program.  I figured these changes would be of interest to anyone who is currently earning and redeeming Wells Fargo Rewards Points.  Here is the full text:

IMPORTANT NOTICE OF WELLS FARGO REWARDS® TERMS AND CONDITIONS CHANGES

This notice includes important information about changes to the Wells Fargo Rewards® Program Terms and Conditions for Your Credit Card. All other aspects of the existing Wells Fargo Rewards Program Terms and Conditions and Addendum for Your Credit Card remain in full force and effect. Please read this notice carefully and keep a copy for Your records.

Effective Immediately:

Combining Rewards Account
We will no longer combine Rewards Accounts when You have multiple Credit Cards with the same Rewards currency. Separate Rewards balances will be provided for each of Your Credit Cards.

Effective June 30, 2026:

Travel Rewards Provider
Travel rewards provider will transition to Aspire Lifestyles (AMERICAS) Inc from Aspire Loyalty Travel Solutions LLC and will cover bookings made on and after June 30, 2026. Cruises will no longer be available as a travel option, and you must have an email added to Wells Fargo online banking for all bookings. Your ability to earn or redeem for all other travel rewards will remain the same.

To review terms and conditions for travel rewards go to www.wellsfargo.com/rewardterms

Effective September 25, 2026:

Closed Credit Cards and Forfeiture
We have updated language to clarify instances where the Addendum may include additional information regarding forfeiture and Credit Card account closure.

Automatic Redemptions
Automatic redemptions will no longer be offered as a redemption option. Your account will be updated to remove any existing automatic redemption rewards settings. You can still Redeem to Account online and by phone.

Gifting Rewards
Gifting Rewards between Wells Fargo Rewards customers will no longer be available.

Changes to the Wells Fargo Rewards Program Terms and Conditions, effective September 25, 2026

Aspire Lifestyles (AMERICAS) Inc. will be added to Section 1: Contracting With Us, Update to 2. How We Manage the Rewards Program, Who offers This Program and Section 3: Redeeming Rewards, 3. Redeeming for Travel Rewards, Who Provides Travel Services.

Section 3: Redeeming Rewards, 3. Redeeming for Travel Rewards, will be replaced in its entirety with the following:

“You must have an email added to online banking for all travel bookings. You can redeem for Travel Rewards, including activities, flights, car rentals, and hotels.”

All references to automatic redemptions will be removed.

All references to gifting rewards will be removed.

All references to combining rewards accounts will be removed.

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I know that is a lot of text, but here are the important parts:

1. Rewards accounts will no longer be combined (effective immediately)

• If you have multiple Wells Fargo credit cards that earn the same type of rewards, Wells Fargo will no longer pool those rewards into one balance.
• Impact: You’ll see separate rewards balances for each credit card and you may need to track / manage them separately.

2. Travel portal provider is changing (June 30, 2026)

• Wells Fargo is switching its travel booking provider from Aspire Loyalty Travel Solutions LLC to Aspire Lifestyles (AMERICAS) Inc.
• Impact: Likely minimal day-to-day impact, but the travel portal may look different.

3. Cruise bookings are being eliminated (June 30, 2026)

• Cruises will no longer be available as a travel rewards redemption option.
• Impact: If you redeem points for cruises through Wells Fargo’s travel portal, that option will disappear.

4. Email address required for travel bookings (June 30, 2026)

• You must have an email address attached to your Wells Fargo online banking profile to book travel using rewards.
• Impact: This is a minor administrative requirement and I am surprised that email addresses are not currently required.

5. Automatic redemptions are ending (September 25, 2026)

• Wells Fargo will discontinue automatic reward redemptions.
• Impact: If you currently have rewards automatically redeemed (for example, as statement credits or deposits once a threshold is reached), those settings will be removed and you’ll need to redeem manually.

6. Gifting rewards is ending (September 25, 2026)

• You will no longer be able to transfer or gift rewards to another Wells Fargo Rewards customer.
• Impact: If you occasionally move points between family members or friends, that option will disappear.

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Honestly, even though I have 60,000+ Wells Fargo Rewards Points, I was not very familiar with any of these features, so I went digging around the Wells Fargo Rewards portal to learn more.  Starting with the Wells Fargo Rewards Summary, it shows that I have 450 points tied to my Autograph credit card and 63,230 points tied to my Autograph Journey credit card.  I wonder if you close a credit card that has unused points tied to it, if you will lose those points.

I then checked out the Rewards Settings and looked at Auto-Redeem.  I don’t have any auto-redemptions turned on, so I won’t be missing anything when this feature ends on September 25, 2026.

I then looked at the Combine Rewards Accounts section, but it says I don’t have any eligible rewards accounts to combine, so I won’t be missing anything with the loss of this feature.

I then checked out the Transfer option, but it says I have no transfer options at this time.

I then checked out the Use Rewards tab and clicked on Redemption Values.  On this page, you can see how much your rewards are worth depending on how you redeem your points.  I’m not sure if I should be surprised or relieved that all the redemption options have the same redemption value (but I can foresee this changing some point in the future).

Lastly, I clicked on the Gift to Others redemption option from above.  It looks like I can redeem my rewards as a gift for someone else in the form of a direct deposit into their Wells Fargo checking or savings account.

Alternatively, you can transfer your rewards as a gift to another cardmember who has a Wells Fargo Rewards credit card, with a minimum of 1 point, and no stated maximum.  Unfortunately, it looks like this benefit will end on September 25, 2026, so get those transfers in before this benefit ends.

Given that the ability to transfer points to other cardmembers ends in 3+ months, I may have Laura apply for a Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Credit Card and transfer her points to me before the deadline.  I much prefer to have all the points in my account since I already have existing accounts with all the Wells Fargo transfer partners and have already linked all the Wells Fargo transfer partners to my account.  I don’t think the other changes will affect me once those changes go live.

If you have any questions about these changes, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!