Wells Fargo offers balance transfers on two consumer cards, and they sit at opposite ends of the same tradeoff. Reflect gives you 21 months at 0% and charges 5% to move the money. Active Cash gives you 12 months and charges 3%.
Wells Fargo also gives you longer than most banks to actually request the transfer: 120 days from account opening, against 60 days at Chase, American Express and U.S. Bank.
Terms taken from Wells Fargo’s own credit terms and conditions, which state the rate and fee information is correct as of September 2026. Card terms change without notice. Verify current rates and fees on the issuer’s application page before making a credit decision.
Wells Fargo balance transfer cards compared
| Card | 0% intro APR on transfers | Transfer fee | Request deadline | APR after | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Reflect | 21 months from account opening | 5%, $5 minimum | 120 days from account opening | 17.74%, 24.24% or 28.49% | $0 |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash | 12 months from account opening | 3%, $5 minimum, for 120 days, then up to 5% | 120 days from account opening | 18.74%, 24.74% or 28.74% | $0 |
Note the APR structure. Wells Fargo does not publish a range like most issuers. It publishes three specific rates and assigns you one of them based on your creditworthiness. You will land on 17.74%, 24.24% or 28.49% on Reflect, not somewhere in between.
Nine extra months, or $120 back
That is the whole decision between these two cards. On a $6,000 balance:
| Card | Fee | Total owed | Months at 0% | Monthly payment to clear it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo Reflect | $300 | $6,300 | 21 | $300 |
| Wells Fargo Active Cash | $180 | $6,180 | 12 | $515 |
Active Cash saves you $120 in fees and costs you $215 a month. For most people carrying a balance large enough to transfer, that is not a close call: the breathing room is worth more than the fee.
Active Cash makes sense in one specific case. If you were going to clear the balance inside twelve months regardless, you keep the $120 and the card earns 2% cash rewards on purchases afterward, which Reflect does not. Choose it because you want the ongoing rewards card, not because you want the cheaper transfer.
You get 120 days to request the transfer
Both cards state it the same way: “A balance transfer request must be made within 120 days from account opening to qualify for the introductory APR.”
That is roughly twice the window Chase, American Express and U.S. Bank allow, and it is the most forgiving term Wells Fargo offers. If you are still waiting on a payoff quote from your current issuer, or you want to see your approved credit limit before deciding how much to move, Wells Fargo gives you time the others do not.
On Active Cash the same 120 days governs the fee. Transfer inside it and you pay 3%. After it, the fee rises to as much as 5% and the transfer no longer gets the 0% rate, so a late transfer on Active Cash is doubly expensive.
Do not confuse the deadline with the clock. The 0% period runs from account opening, not from the date the transfer posts. Using all 120 days on Reflect leaves you roughly 17 months of interest-free time, not 21.
The transfer cannot exceed your available credit, fee included
Wells Fargo does not publish a flat dollar cap the way American Express does with its $7,500 limit. Instead the constraint is your own credit line: “The total amount of your balance transfer request(s), including fees, cannot exceed your available credit.”
The consequence is worth understanding before you apply. If your requests come in over the line, Wells Fargo says “we may send less than the amount requested, or no amount, to your creditor.” A partial transfer leaves debt on the old card that you may not be expecting.
Practical version: on a $6,000 transfer at 5% you need $6,300 of available credit, not $6,000. Do not spend on the new card before the transfer completes.
Two weeks to process, and keep paying the old card
Wells Fargo states it will take “about two weeks to complete the processing of your balance transfer request(s),” and elsewhere that it may take up to 14 days from approval for the transfer to post.
Your old account stays live and due during those two weeks. Missing a payment there because you assumed the transfer had gone through is a self-inflicted late mark, and on the new card a missed payment can cost you the promotional rate entirely.
If you need to cancel a request, Wells Fargo directs you to call 1-800-642-4720 immediately and before confirming your card.
Transferring costs you the grace period on purchases
Wells Fargo is unusually blunt about this, and it applies to every card it issues, not just these two:
Balance transfers have no grace period. If you transfer amounts owed to another creditor and maintain a balance on this credit card account, you will not qualify for future grace periods on new purchases as long as a balance remains on this account.
Both of these cards happen to carry 0% on purchases for the same intro period, which softens it while the promotion runs. Once that ends, any new spending on a card still carrying the transferred balance starts accruing interest from the transaction date.
Wells Fargo also confirms balance transfers earn no rewards. On Active Cash, the transferred amount will not generate the 2% cash rewards.
You cannot move a Wells Fargo balance to a Wells Fargo card
“You cannot transfer a balance from any account issued by Wells Fargo or any of its affiliates.” Chase, Citi, American Express and U.S. Bank all apply the same restriction to their own accounts. Check who issues your current card before you apply anywhere.
How Reflect compares to the other 21-month cards
Four cards we have verified run 21 months at 0%. On a $6,000 transfer:
| Card | Fee | Monthly payment | Request deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citi Diamond Preferred | $180 (3%) | $295 | 4 months |
| Wells Fargo Reflect | $300 (5%) | $300 | 120 days |
| U.S. Bank Shield | $300 (5%) | $300 | 60 days |
| Chase Slate | $300 (5%) | $300 | No stated deadline |
Reflect, Shield and Slate are effectively tied on cost. Citi Diamond Preferred is $120 cheaper for the same interest-free window, which makes it the better pure balance transfer card if you qualify.
Where Reflect earns its place is the 120-day request window and the fact that the 0% covers purchases too. If you have been declined by Citi, or you need more than 60 days to organize the transfer, Reflect is the strongest remaining option at 21 months.
How to do a balance transfer with Wells Fargo
- Confirm the debt is not on a Wells Fargo card or an affiliate account.
- Apply for Reflect or Active Cash. Balance transfers are contingent on approval of the account and are subject to eligibility.
- Once approved and you have received the card, request the transfer in your online account, by phone, or with the balance transfer SUPERCHECKS if they came with your card.
- Keep the requested amount plus the fee inside your available credit.
- Make the request well inside 120 days of account opening, and sooner rather than later, because the 0% clock started at account opening.
- Keep paying the old card for the two weeks or so it takes to process.
- Divide the total, fee included, by the months remaining in your intro period and pay that every month.
Common questions
What is the Wells Fargo balance transfer fee?
On Wells Fargo Reflect it is 5% of each balance transfer with a $5 minimum, with no lower introductory rate. On Wells Fargo Active Cash it is an introductory $5 or 3%, whichever is greater, for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5% with a $5 minimum.
How long do I have to make a Wells Fargo balance transfer?
120 days from account opening on both cards. A request made after that does not qualify for the introductory APR. This is a longer window than Chase, American Express or U.S. Bank, which each allow 60 days.
How long does a Wells Fargo balance transfer take?
Wells Fargo says it takes about two weeks to complete processing, and that a request may take up to 14 days from account approval to post. Keep making payments on the old account until you see the balance credited there.
How much can I transfer to a Wells Fargo card?
There is no published dollar cap. The limit is your available credit, and the transfer fee counts toward it. If your requests exceed available credit, Wells Fargo states it may send less than requested, or nothing at all, to your creditor.
Which Wells Fargo card is better for a balance transfer?
Reflect, in most cases. Its 21 months at 0% against Active Cash’s 12 cuts the monthly payment needed to clear a $6,000 balance from $515 to $300. Active Cash saves $120 in fees, which only matters if you were going to finish inside a year anyway.
Do Wells Fargo balance transfers earn rewards?
No. Wells Fargo states that balance transfers do not earn rewards. On Active Cash, the transferred balance will not generate the card’s 2% cash rewards.
Sources
- Wells Fargo Reflect Visa Card credit terms and conditions, wellsfargo.com, correct as of September 2026
- Wells Fargo Active Cash Card credit terms and conditions, wellsfargo.com, correct as of September 2026
- Wells Fargo balance transfer feature page and frequently asked questions, wellsfargo.com
Compare with Chase, Citi and American Express, or work out your own numbers with our guide to calculating a balance transfer fee.
Every Wells Fargo term on this page is recorded with the date we verified it in our Balance Transfer Terms Tracker, alongside the other issuers we track.