Bilt Users Get Surprise Wells Fargo Cards as Partnership Ends

After almost four years, Wells Fargo’s relationship with Bilt is winding down.

However, that hasn’t stopped customers of the credit rewards provider who closed their accounts with the bank to nonetheless receive credit cards, Bloomberg News reported Saturday (Feb. 7), the same day the partnership officially ended.

Bilt unveiled a series of updated offerings with new partners in January, telling cardholders to choose one by Feb. 1 or automatically receive a Wells Fargo card, the report said.

Many customers who choose to close their Wells Fargo accounts began getting the bank’s Autograph card in the mail, Bloomberg said. Both companies have been working in recent days to reassure customers this was intentional.

A Wells Fargo email viewed by Bloomberg told customers that the bank had received their request through Bilt to close their accounts and if a card arrived in the mail “you can discard it.”

Sources familiar with the matter said that Wells Fargo had begun mailing out cards on Jan. 26 to make sure everyone who wanted one would receive it in time. However, Bilt’s deadline wasn’t until Feb. 1, and many customers had yet to decide on a new card.

Thus, Wells Fargo sent cards to them all, even as it recognized that many customers would close their credit lines with the bank in the days to come, making the cards useless, the sources told Bloomberg.

“The important thing is their account closes as they requested, the card has no impact and can simply be destroyed or returned as it isn’t active and cannot be used,” said a Bilt spokesperson.

Bilt and Wells Fargo announced their partnership in March of 2022. Two years later, The Wall Street Journal reported that Wells Fargo was losing $10 million per month on the arrangement, though both companies denied their relationship had soured.

However, last summer saw reports that Wells Fargo was winding down the partnership, which had been scheduled to run until 2029.

Bilt has since introduced three new cards, launched last month and with interest rates of 10% for 12 months. Those cards were announced days after President Donald Trump called on card issuers to cap rates at that percentage for one year.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last week about new research showing an increase in revolving credit card balances. According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s January data on credit card usage, average monthly card balances increased by nearly $200 from April into December, coming to $3,564, with increases recorded for most income and financial lifestyle categories.