Wells Fargo offers several cards (that are basically the same) that offer 5x points on gas, grocery and drug store purchases for the first six months. They have now added a cap and you’re limited to earning 5x on $12,500 in purchases within the first six months. In the past Wells Fargo had been warning ‘abusers’ of this 5x category and shutting down accounts that had an unusual volume of purchases and/or payments using this card.
Hat tip to ittav0321 on /r/churning
I got the warning letter after just 2 months of charging up to my limit. I stopped using the card, cashed out all my points and put the card away and won’t use it again.
Did you get the sign up bonus already? Mind sharing if you mixed purchases or did straight 5x? Did u do different 5x category stores?
I’ve seen many data points on FT of people that kept going aft the letter until they get shut down. Wonder if they got to cash out the points from the time of the letter to shut down. Though even if they did, prob not worth risking a ban from WF and thus foregoing getting this card again.
I did get the sign up bonus a few weeks after I stopped using the card. My purchases were 95% CVS and grocery store gift cards.
I cashed out all my points then waited. When the sign up bonus posted I cashed that out immediately.
I haven’t used the card since so it just sits now.
I’m thinking that since I never actually exceeded my credit limit during the first two months, they let me skate by since I didn’t charge anything after the letter.
do we need to have a checking account with them before we can apply for the card
I don’t think it’s a hard requirement but it has always helped a lot in the past.
which cards if any allow the new account opening bonus and the 5X the points for the first 6 months?
Does this apply to existing customers? I am way past $12.5k limit. I am using the card since last two months.
I have completed 6 months with 300k+ Ms.
Well I guess I won’t be retiring by 30 anymore…
its ignorant to think the limit means its OK to MS up to 12k. thats just step 1. WF will most likely watch carefully everything even below that number. just look at chase. maxing Ink 50k would be done all day everyday if the limit meant anything.
Well, for those of us who never pulled the trigger on the card and use WF bank account as a MO depot, makes it safer in the future. None of their cards are worth hitting hard any more and the friendly bank account is more valuable now.
It’s Wells Fargo. Can you use the two other cards that they opened in your name without permission to charge another $25K?
Yeah, we’ll see how this works with existing accounts I guess. Just got two of them less than 2 mo ago.
Always better to have a published rule than seemingly arbitrary shutdowns!
Agreed