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Back in the Fall of 2021, there was a lot of online chatter about Wells Fargo shutting down their credit cards. While this bank was up to a lot of restructuring and plans to make big changes in 2022, they are certainly not shutting down their credit cards.

In fact, the opposite. Wells Fargo launched a handful of new cards last year and plans to do more this year.

Below is a run down of what happened with Wells Fargo last year and what to expect in 2022 with their credit card line-up.

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What Happened?

In July 2021, Wells Fargo made a public announcement that it would be shutting down all personal lines of credit. Those with outstanding balances at the end of the 60-day notice would be expected to begin making fixed monthly payments until their debt was fully repaid.

Understandably, there was some backlash. Customers were furious that their credit scores would be negatively impacted. The closure of an account can cause credit utilization to go up (how much depends on total available credit and the borrowing limit for the closed account) and directly affect one’s credit score. It can also lower the age of accounts and bring one’s credit score down further. 

Even government officials were deriding Wells Fargo for the decision, threatening the bank with legal action if it went through with the shutdowns.

Then just a month later in August, Wells Fargo announced that it had changed its mind. With a “we have heard your concerns” message, it explained that existing personal lines of credit would not be shut down. Instead, customers who had been using their credit would be able to continue doing so and customers who had not used their credit in a while would be given the choice to either keep their account open or have it closed. 

Otherwise, the only change is that new personal lines of credit are no longer available through Wells Fargo, which is old news. This has not been a profitable product for Wells Fargo for some time. Previously offered in amounts of between $3,000 and $100,000, customers will need to choose a different product if they want to borrow money or a different bank if they want unsecured credit.

All of this very public flip-flopping caused a good deal of confusion about Wells Fargo credit cards, with some rumors going around that existing card accounts would be shutting down as well. But in reality, the changes to personal lines of credit were all part of a restructuring strategy designed to direct more resources to credit cards and loans. The bank is focusing more on credit cards, not closing them.

So Wells Fargo credit cards are very much still available, and there are even some new ones you might not know about.

The New Credit Cards

Want one of the new Wells Fargo credit cards for yourself? Below are the personal credit cards you can choose from as of February 2022.

It’s likely that we’ll see more cards rolled out here soon, but there are only three available for the time being (and if you don’t see an old Wells Fargo card on this list, it’s no longer available to new customers).

Wells Fargo Active Cash Card

You’ve probably seen the ads. This new card offers unlimited 2% cashback on qualifying purchases and a welcome bonus of $200 when you spend $1,000 within the first three months of opening. There are no reward categories and your rewards never expire as long as your account stays open. 

Only ATM transactions, balance or wire transfers, cash advances, checks, money orders, and gambling purchases don’t qualify to earn 2% back per dollar spent. This card also gives you cell phone protection up to $600 for stolen or damaged phones at no additional cost and zero liability protection for unauthorized transactions.

There is no annual fee for the Wells Fargo Active Cash Card. You need a credit score of at least 670 to qualify.

Wells Fargo Reflect Card

This new card is designed for people who intend to borrow more than they can immediately pay back, making it a great choice for those who used to have a personal line of credit with the bank. This card offers a 0% APR for 18 months after opening, with an optional three-month extension if you make your minimum payments on time during this period. After the introductory period, the APR is between 12.99% and 24.99%, depending on your credit.

This is not a rewards card, but it does come with a couple of other perks. Cardholders get up to $600 in cell phone protection, 24/7 roadside assistance, and access to My Wells Fargo Deals. 

There is no annual fee for the Wells Fargo Reflect Card. You need a credit score of at least 670 to qualify.

Hotels.com Rewards Visa Credit Card

Last but not least, the Hotels.com Rewards Visa Card. This is a unique travel credit card offering perks for fans of the travel booking site Hotels.com. You can earn one stamp for every $500 you spend in net purchases (do not have to be travel-related) and one stamp for every night you stay at eligible Hotels.com properties. Ten stamps can be redeemed for one reward night at a Hotels.com property that permits prepaid bookings.

Plus, earn two reward nights at a value of up to $125 each night when you spend $1,000 in qualifying purchases within the first three months of opening. The maximum redemption value of your award night is equal to the average value of your 10 stamps. You cannot cash out and must pay the difference if your total is greater than the value of your reward.

Although this card doesn’t offer as wide a range of redemption options as others, it’s a good option if you book with Hotels.com.

There is no annual fee for this card.

Understand Your Status

If you have a Wells Fargo revolving credit account, you probably received a letter from the bank stating your options when all of this was first announced. 

Basically, if you’ve been using the line of credit and making repayments, you don’t have anything to worry about. No changes should have been made to your account as a result of restructuring and you should still be in good standing with the bank. Review your credit report to make sure your credit score or history has not changed and check in with Wells Fargo with any questions you may have.

If you have not been using your line of credit for a while, Wells Fargo gave you the choice to either close your account or keep it open last fall. Customers had until November 2021 to ask Wells Fargo not to close their accounts. Your account was probably closed for you at the beginning of December if you did not specifically reach out to Wells Fargo to request this. 

Finally, if you have a loan or credit card with Wells Fargo, you should not have been affected by these changes.

What to Do If Your Account Was Closed

If you were one of the people who had an inactive personal line of credit that got closed, hopefully it didn’t come as a shock. You should have received notice about what was happening. So now what? 

The most important thing to know is that your credit probably took a hit. Unfortunately, there’s not really anything you can do about this. If your total available credit dropped dramatically as a result of this account closing, your score probably dipped because your credit utilization went up. 

You might have also seen a change in your score if your total age of accounts was lowered when this account closed. You can work to improve your score by keeping your credit card spend low and paying all of your bills on time, but it might take a while to recover the lost points.

Also, you should have received a repayment schedule from Wells Fargo at the time your account was closed. This will show you what fixed monthly payments you will make to pay back the balance you had, if any at all. You’re now locked into whatever interest rate you had when the account was closed. You will only pay interest on the money you borrowed, not on the total available credit.

If you really need to replace this account with something else, you could go find a different bank that offers personal lines of credit. You can open one with KeyBank, PenFed, or U.S. Bank, for example.

But rather than go searching for somewhere else to get a personal line of credit, you may decide that this product isn’t actually the best choice for you anymore.

Alternatives to Personal Lines of Credit

Personal lines of credit aren’t as popular or necessary as they used to be for most people. When they were first introduced, they offered more flexibility than loans and often better interest rates than credit cards. 

But today, credit card interest rates are comparable (and/or easier to avoid paying) and come with additional bonuses and spending perks that personal lines of credit didn’t offer. And many banks and credit unions offer personal loans and will let you see if you pre-qualify without a hard credit pull. These are much more readily available than unsecured personal lines of credit, which are a bit hard to come by.

Here’s a look at the advantages of these alternatives.

Credit Cards

The main advantage of credit cards over lines of credit is that you can avoid paying interest entirely with a card if you use it like you would a debit card and avoid carrying a balance. Many credit cards have 0% APR introductory offers as well.

You may also be able to borrow more than you could with a personal line of credit, depending on what credit limit you’re approved for. Plus, you can use the card for as long as you want and you’re not restricted to a borrowing period. 

Finally, credit cards are generally easier to qualify for and charge lower fees on average than lines of credit.

Personal Loans

Personal loans let you take out the total amount of money you need for a project or expense and pay it back in fixed monthly repayments. You can’t borrow a little at a time with a loan like you can with a line of credit, but you get all the money you need as a lump sum. 

If you have the time to plan how much you need to borrow, a personal loan might be a better option than a line of credit. You pay a fixed interest rate on the entire loan, typically lower than whatever the rate would be for a line of credit, and you don’t usually need to have great credit to qualify.

Wells Fargo does offer both credit cards and personal loans, but you might find better rates and promotions with a different bank.

Final Thoughts

We hope you’re a little more clear now on what’s going with Wells Fargo this year. Unless you had a personal line of credit account with the bank, the changes last fall probably didn’t affect you–or your credit–at all. And to recap: Wells Fargo isn’t shutting down current credit card accounts or loans for new or existing customers. You just can’t get a new personal line of credit.