Wells Fargo Ending Rewards Pooling and Gifting
Wells Fargo is making several changes to its rewards program that may disappoint customers who have multiple cards or regularly transfer rewards between accounts. These changes were first flagged by Travel with Grant.
The biggest change is the end of Combined Rewards Accounts. Previously, cardholders could pool rewards earned across multiple Wells Fargo cards into a single balance. That feature became particularly useful after Wells Fargo introduced airline and hotel transfer partners. Going forward, rewards will remain tied to the individual card that earned them.
Wells Fargo is also eliminating the ability to gift rewards to other customers. This option has been useful for those in multi-player mode looking to consolidate rewards into a single account. The gifting feature will be discontinued on September 25, 2026.
Another change affects automatic redemptions. Customers who currently have rewards automatically redeemed as statement credits, deposits or other redemption options will need to switch to manual redemptions. Wells Fargo plans to discontinue automatic redemption settings on September 25, 2026.
Conclusion
For most casual cardholders, these changes may not have much impact. However, anyone who pools rewards across multiple Wells Fargo cards or transfers points to family members will lose some valuable flexibility.
Wells Fargo has been on a positive streak lately with improvements to its rewards ecosystem with new cards and transfer partners. While the overall program is now much stronger than it was just a few years ago, these changes go in the wrong direction.
