Wells Fargo Business Platinum Review

Overview

Wells Fargo, the banking giant whose business practices have recently drawn the ire of federal authorities, is also an issuer of credit cards. The Wells Fargo Business Platinum card is an exclusive business credit card for businesses with annual sales of up to $2 million.

The Business Platinum card currently offers a signup bonus of either $500 cash back OR 50,000 bonus points (depending on whether you choose cash back or reward points as your rewards format) to card users who spend $3,000 within the first three months. It’s a smaller bonus (with a smaller spending threshold) than what Wells Fargo offers for its Business Elite card, though unlike the Business Elite, the Business Platinum also offers an introductory APR of 0% for the first nine months and carries no annual fee for the rewards program.

Cardholders get two options for earning rewards. They can a) earn 1.5% cash back for every $1 spent on net purchases automatically through statement credits or through deposits to a Wells Fargo business deposit account, or b) earn Reward Points instead. Choose this route, and you’ll earn one point for every $1 spent on net purchases. You’ll also get 1,000 bonus points when your company spending reaches $1,000 in any monthly billing period along with a 10% bonus when you redeem points online.

Is the Business Platinum card a good deal for your business? Read our review and you’ll be equipped to decide for yourself.

Business Platinum At A Glance

Eligibility

Applicants typically must have excellent credit to be approved for the Business Platinum card.

Rewards & Fees

Rating: Fair

• The Business Platinum card has no annual fee
• The 1.5% cash back reward has no cap
• Get up to 99 employee cards for no additional annual fees
• Wells Fargo points expire after three years
• There are no foreign transaction fees

In an effort to give cardholders flexibility in earning rewards, Wells Fargo gives you two reward options: the Cash Back Advantage program and the Reward Points program. With Cash Back Advantage, you earn 1.5% cash back on every purchase. There are no rotating bonus categories to track and no cap to the amount you can earn. By contrast, the Reward Points program lets you earn one point per dollar spent, also with no limits and no rotating categories. You’ll also get 1,000 bonus points whenever your company spends $1,000 or more in a billing period. The points can be used for gift cards, travel, and merchandise, amongst other things. And if you redeem them online, they’re worth 10% more than they would be otherwise.

By contrast, Wells Fargo’s Business Elite card offers you 5,000 bonus points after every billing period in which your business spends $10,000 or more. The Business Platinum isn’t as lucrative, points-wise, for the business with large monthly expenditures. Accordingly, you’ll likely want to go with the cash back reward instead, as you’ll be earning 1.5% cash back on each purchase — better than getting one point (roughly equivalent to one cent) per dollar spent.

Redeeming Rewards

Rating: Good

Redeeming your rewards with the Cash Back Advantage program is simply a matter of deciding how you’d like your cash back credited to you: as a statement credit or directly deposited into your Wells Fargo checking or savings account. If you choose the Reward Points program, rewards can be redeemed via Wells Fargo’s rewards redemption site. According to Wells Fargo:

The Wells Fargo Business Rewards program offers hundreds of rewards, including airline tickets, cash back to your business card account, gift cards from major retailers and restaurants, hotel/car rentals, cruises, merchandise, and charitable donations.

The exact value of your reward points will vary depending on what you redeem them for, though in most cases it’ll come out to about one cent per point. You’ll also get a 10% points bonus for redeeming your points online.

Benefits

Rating: Fair

According to Wells Fargo’s Business Platinum page, the card will entitle you to the following benefits:

• A grace period of up to 21 days on purchases
• Earn extra bonus points or discounts from Earn More Mall^® retailers
• Showcase your business with the Card Design Studio^® service
• Choose between consolidated billing or individual cardholder billing
• Manage spending, payments, and transfers online
• Manage your business expenses with the Business Spending Report
• Purchase Protection
  • Zero Liability Protection
  • Chip-enabled technology
  • Alerts
  • Fraud monitoring
  • Purchase Assurance provides coverage against theft

I’ll note that while the Business Elite card comes with travel protection, the Business Platinum card does not.

Final Verdict

Wells Fargo’s corporate reputation is poor, to put it charitably. And in some ways, their business card offerings seem like a bit of a throwback. For instance, if you’re not an existing Wells Fargo customer, you can’t apply for the Business Platinum card online. You actually have to go into a physical Wells Fargo branch to apply. It’s not exactly a policy that seems congruent with the times.

The Wells Fargo Business Platinum card gives businesses earning up to $2 million in sales annually the ability to earn rewards or cash back for their business spending. However, the rewards program isn’t exactly the most impressive in the industry. Chase and American Express offer rewards programs that carry both higher rewards rates and higher-value points. Plus, one can apply for said cards without having to walk into a physical bank location like it’s 1994. Furthermore, Wells Fargo’s Business Elite card offers a more generous signup bonus, 200 employee cards with no annual fee (the Business Platinum offers 99 employee cards), and other benefits that the Business Platinum card lacks.

Frankly, for the business seeking to earn rewards for its business spending, there are better credit card options to be found, both outside Wells Fargo and within.

2.5 stars.