Wells Fargo Platinum Visa Card Review: The Right Type of Balance Transfer Credit Card

As long as you can pay off your balance in under 18 months, the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card is a solid credit card that will help you reshape your finances without paying excessive fees. It doesn’t come with a long list of perks and rewards, but the benefits it does come with are highly useful.

0% intro APR for 18 months -- The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card comes with one of the longest intro periods on the market. You’ll get a 0% APR on qualifying balance transfers and purchases for the first 18 months, allowing you to pay off debt more quickly or finance a new purchase interest-free.

No annual fee -- This card has no annual fee, which is a must if you’re already trying to pay off credit card debt.

FICO® Score for free -- Another important feature for folks who are in debt is credit score tracking. The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card comes with free online access to your FICO® Score at any time as well as the Wells Fargo “My Money Map,” which provides you with tools to easily create a budget and manage your spending.

Cell phone protection -- This feature is unique to Wells Fargo. As long as you sign up to pay your cell phone bill with your Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card, your cell phone is insured. If it’s damaged or stolen, you’ll receive up to $600 in protection with a $25 deductible.

Intro APR period -- While 18 months is almost as good as it gets, other cards do offer a 21-month intro APR period. That being said, they sometimes have a higher balance transfer fee.

Balance transfer fee -- The intro balance transfer fee on the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card is 3% of the balance transfer for the first 120 days and 5% after.

No rewards -- You’ll get plenty of use from the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card if you need to do a balance transfer, but you won’t get many extras. The card comes with no rewards program.

One thing to know before applying

Note, Wells Fargo does state that you may not be eligible for any sign-up bonuses or intro offers (such as this balance transfer offer) if you have opened another Wells Fargo card with an offer in the past 15 months. This includes cards you’ve closed and accounts with a $0 balance. If you’ve opened a Wells Fargo card in the last 15 months, you’ll want to call them before applying to make sure you’re eligible for the intro APR offer on this card.

As long as you have a good credit score (700 and higher), you have a high likelihood of approval for this credit card. Even with a credit score of 680 or above, you have a good chance of being approved. Wells Fargo does tend to favor people who have already built a relationship with them, so if you have prior Wells Fargo accounts, this will increase your odds.

In order to do a balance transfer and take advantage of the APR offer, you’ll want to make sure that you process the transfer as soon as possible after opening your account.

• Apply for the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card.
  
• Once you’ve been approved, log into your account and you should see your balance transfer offer. Select that offer.
  
• You’ll need to input the amount you want to transfer and the bank information and account number of the account from which you want to do the transfer.
  
• Confirm and submit your information. The balance transfer may take several days to process.
  
• Divide your new balance by the amount of months you have left until the end of your intro period (it will likely be 17 or 18). This should be your monthly payment. Set up automatic payments to ensure the balance is paid off before the intro period ends.

These two credit cards have very similar balance transfer offers. However, there a few key differences.

The Citi Simplicity® Card has a longer intro APR offer for balance transfers at 21 months compared to 18 months with the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card. However, the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card has a lower intro balance transfer fee of just 3% in the first 120 days (5% after), whereas the Citi Simplicity® charges 5% always. If you’re transferring a balance of $5,000, you’d end up paying $150 in fees with the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card. With the Citi Simplicity®, you’d end up paying $250. If you think you can pay your balance off in 18 months, you'll pay less in fees with the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card.

There are also a couple key differences in the extra benefits each card offers. The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card offers cell phone protection of up to $600 to cover damage and theft, which is something you won’t get with the Citi Simplicity®. It also offers credit score tracking. That being said, the Citi Simplicity® offers a little more payment flexibility, with no late fees and no penalty APR.

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card is one of the best options for balance transfer credit cards. If you’re currently paying off debt that you know you could tackle in 18 months, you should get the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card to avoid paying interest on that debt. The money you save on interest will almost always offset the 3% intro balance transfer fee, unless you already have an incredibly low APR.

If you have too much debt to pay off in the next 18 months, you might want to consider other options. You could always transfer a portion of your balance to the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card. Then, you can try to negotiate a lower interest rate for your remaining balance or look into low-interest credit cards and debt consolidation loans.

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases also for 18 months, making it a good option for people looking to finance a new purchase without paying interest. However, you should only consider this option if you’re certain you can pay off the balance in time, otherwise you’ll end up paying far more money in interest than you saved. Generally, it’s better to save up money for these kinds of purchases than to put them on a credit card.

You can apply online for the Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card, and the process is quick and easy. Apart from inputting basic information like your name, address, and telephone number, you’ll also need to have your social security and income information on hand.

A confirmation page will let you know the status of your application as soon as you submit it. You may be approved instantly and shown your credit limit, or they may notify you that they need more time to review your application. If you are denied, you can call their reconsideration phone number to be reconsidered.

The Wells Fargo Platinum Visa card may lack the bells and whistles of many of today’s rewards and travel credit cards, but it doesn’t need them. This credit card serves a very utilitarian and important purpose -- helping you pay off debt and square away your finances. If you’re looking for a balance transfer credit card that has both a long intro period and low balance transfer fees, this is it.