Wells Fargo Rebrands Credit Card Rewards Program as ‘Go Far Rewards’

Wells Fargo announced yesterday an enhanced rewards program called Go Far Rewards. Here are the primary details:

• Pooling Rewards You can transfer points to a friend. (If there are no minimums on this, it would solve the problem ‘orphaned points,’ i.e. if you have $19 of rewards left and can send the points to a friend.)
• Pay it Forward Use rewards to donate to charity.
• Pay it Down Pay down any WF bill you have with rewards, including mortgage, home equity, credit card, personal or auto loan.
• Easy Redemptions Redeem at an ATM or you can withdraw to your WF checking or savings account. This was actually rolled out last year.

For the most part, rewards are still 1¢ per point, although there are some discounted options if you choose to redeem for gift cards. For  example, a $25 Hyatt gift costs just 2050 points. Not sure if this is new.

In any case, you’ll see lots of mentions of Go Far Rewards on the Wells site so it’s useful to know what that’s all about. It sounds like ALL Wells Fargo credit cards (Propel, Cash Back, Rewards, etc.) are now combined under the Go Far Rewards program, but I’m not entirely positive on this point.

Here is the press release:

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced Go Far^TM Rewards, its enhanced credit card rewards program available to all customers with a rewards-based credit card from Wells Fargo. Through the program, customers can redeem their rewards at any Wells Fargo ATM, use rewards toward their qualifying Wells Fargo checking or savings account or apply toward the principal balance of a qualifying Wells Fargo line or loan. Customers can also take advantage of options to pool rewards with other customers, gift rewards to other customers or to charity, create wish lists and more – all while on-the-go. These features are in addition to all the things consumers have come to expect from a rewards program, like travel, merchandise and gift cards.

“Customers use their credit cards to pay for ordinary things they do every day, and we want the rewards they earn from doing that to feel extraordinary,” said Beverly Anderson, head of Consumer Financial Services for Wells Fargo. “With an emphasis on the flexibility and accessibility our customers told us they want, we spent the past few years updating our rewards program so significantly we felt it deserved a new name.”

Helping customers pay it down

Because every little bit helps, the program supports customers as they work toward their financial goals. Go Far^TM Rewards offers the ability to redeem rewards toward the principal balance of a qualifying Wells Fargo line or loan (mortgage, home equity, credit card, personal or auto loan).

Helping customers pay it forward

The program supports customers’ desires to help friends, family and their community. These features include pooling rewards with other rewards customers or gifting rewards to other program participants. Cardholders can also redeem their rewards toward a “CharityChoice” gift card, thereby making a donation to charity through the program.

Helping customers reward themselves

Last year, Wells Fargo announced the ability for customers to redeem their rewards as cash from any of Wells Fargo’s 13,000 ATMs with their Wells Fargo Debit or ATM card. Wells Fargo was the first major U.S. financial services provider to introduce this functionality, continuing the company’s history of customer-centered innovation. In addition, cardholders can redeem rewards as a deposit to their qualifying Wells Fargo checking or savings account.

In addition, the program helps customers reward themselves through an enhanced travel search engine – including an interactive “How Far Can I Go” feature that provides destination recommendations based on accumulated rewards.

Customers can also choose from redemption choices including merchandise, gift cards and digital downloads.

Easy to access rewards when, where and how customers want

Go Far^TM Rewards also supports customers’ on-the-go lifestyles with adaptive design – the ability for customers to navigate the site on their mobile device, tablet or desktop. Customers can personalize their experience using the “Tailor Your Preferences” widget that allows them to “Love It” or “Leave It” with regard to certain categories.

Recent updates to Go Far^TM Rewards have already begun to receive accolades. The program received a grade of “A-” in the Credit Card Monitor^SM report Rewards Redemption Options by Corporate Insight, a research company that focuses on financial institutions. The high grade, shared by only two other programs, came after Corporate Insight examined redemption options available through 11 card issuers’ programs with special focus on flexibility and choices as well as the design of the site and ease of use.