- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $95
- APR
- 29.74% Variable
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
-
580 – 739
Fair – Good
- Rewards rate
-
1x – 10x Earn 10x points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner site; Earn 5x points on eligible travel, dining, and gas; Earn 1x points on all other purchases
Take a look at the best travel credit cards and you’ll find one commonality: You’re going to need good -- perhaps even excellent -- credit to get approved.
The Credit One Bank Wander® Card gives people with average credit the opportunity to earn travel rewards at a higher rate than what some top-tier travel cards provide.
However, there’s no welcome bonus, which is uncommon among travel cards that charge an annual fee. There are more rewarding choices to pick from for the same price. There are no foreign transaction fees, so you can take the card with you when traveling overseas.
The Wander card has a higher-than-average APR. It’s closer to what some credit card issuers use as a punitive rate than to the industry standard, so avoid carrying a balance.
Rewards and redemption
The Credit One Bank Wander gives the biggest rewards to cardholders who want to do exactly what the name implies: wander around the world.
You’ll earn 10x points on eligible hotels and car rentals that are reserved through the Credit One Bank travel partner site, 5x points on eligible flights and other travel, and 5x points on eligible restaurant and gas purchases. All other purchases earn 1x point per dollar.
As you rack up points with the Wander card, you can redeem them in exchange for statement credits to pay off your bill, gift cards with certain retailers and travel booking via the Credit One Bank travel partner site. Every point is worth 1 cent when redeemed for statement credits.
One major drawback with this card is the lack of any transfer partners. The best travel credit cards typically allow you to convert your card points into miles with airlines, which can exponentially increase the value of your rewards.
Credit One isn’t the only bank that’s working to get cardholders to book their travel directly through its own portal. Cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card -- which also has a $95 annual fee but is geared toward people with better credit -- earns 5x points for travel booked through Chase Travel℠.
However, booking through a bank’s portal isn’t always the most lucrative way to redeem. Credit card issuers may offer incentives for booking through its portal, but it’ll mean missing out on any hotel or airline loyalty points. You might even miss out on lower rates.
So while you can earn 10x points per dollar by booking hotels and car rentals through Credit One’s travel partner site, compare prices with the hotel’s site before booking.
Welcome bonus
Unlike most travel cards at this fee level, the Wander Card does not offer any welcome bonus. That makes it far and away from the best travel card to choose.
What makes it still worth considering is its lower credit requirement -- but even then, there are better cards to choose from that have no annual fee or a lower fee, like the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card*.
Other card perks
If you’re looking for additional benefits and product features, the Credit One Bank Wander falls short in this department.
While some travel credit cards offer perks, such as credits to cover the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and access to premium lounges, this card doesn’t offer anything of the sort. It comes with zero-fraud liability and access to your credit score, but these are standard features with any decent credit card.
There is a 10% cash-back rewards opportunity that will give you accelerated rewards with certain retailers. However, none of these retailers are listed online, so it’s tough to actually determine whether any of these fit into your regular spending habits.
Alternative cards
The Credit One Bank Wander occupies a unique space as a rewards card for people with average credit, but here are two other cards to consider.
Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card doesn’t boast as high a reward potential as the Wander card, but it’s less complex. It earns 1.5% cash back for every purchase with a higher rate of 5% cash back for hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Plus, the annual fee is much lower -- just $39.
Additionally, you’ll automatically be considered for a credit line increase in as little as six months. This is key to helping move from the fair credit category to good credit. However, the QuicksilverOne doesn’t feature a welcome bonus.
Chase Freedom Flex℠
If you have average credit, you probably won’t be able to get approved for the Chase Freedom Flex℠* just yet.
However, it might be smart to take other steps to improve your credit and then apply for this card. It beats the Wander in just about every category: It has a welcome bonus ($200) in exchange for spending $500 in the first three months, an introductory APR offer and no annual fee. Plus, the Freedom Flex is designed to reward your globetrotting with 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal with no spending limit.
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $95
- APR
- 29.74% Variable
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Fair – Good
- Rewards rate
-
1x – 10x Earn 10x points on eligible hotels and car rentals booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner site; Earn 5x points on eligible travel, dining, and gas; Earn 1x points on all other purchases
- Intro Offer
-
$200 Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 20.49% – 29.24% Variable
- Intro Purchase APR
- 0% Intro APR on Purchases for 15 months
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- Good – Excellent
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 5% 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories each quarter!; 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, our premier rewards program that lets you redeem rewards for cash back, travel, gift cards and more; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service; Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.
Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card
- Intro Offer
-
No current offer
- Annual fee
- $0
- APR
- 18.24% – 32.24% (Variable)
- Intro Purchase APR
- N/A
- Recommended Credit A credit score is used to indicate an applicant’s credit worthiness and may provide guidance about account eligibility. It does not necessarily guarantee approval for any financial product.
- No Credit History
- Rewards rate
-
1% – 1.5% Up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.; 1% cash back on eligible purchases right away.
FAQs
You’ll need to consider a credit card’s rewards and your spending patterns. While some premium credit cards include high fees -- upwards of $500 -- plenty of cardholders can justify those costs based on the card’s rewards and other perks, which can include airport lounge access and elevated membership status with certain airlines or hotels. However, there are plenty of great credit cards that don’t charge annual fees.
When you’re applying for a credit card, average credit is also commonly referred to as fair credit. The definition isn’t set in stone. As a guide, a FICO score of at least 580 will put you in the average or fair category while a VantageScore of at least 601 qualifies as fair or average.
The value of credit card points varies based on the type of card you have and the way you redeem them. With some credit card programs -- including Chase, Amex and Capital One -- cardholders can transfer their credit card points/miles to travel partners at a 1:1 rate (1 credit card point per mile:1 partner mile).
Our approach to credit card evaluation
CNET reviews credit cards by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria developed for each major category, including cash-back credit cards, welcome bonus credit cards, travel rewards credit cards and balance transfer credit cards. We take into consideration the typical spending behavior of a range of consumer profiles -- with the understanding that everyone’s financial situation is different -- and the designated function of a card.
*All information about the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Freedom Flex has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.