Wells Fargo · Strategy · Mid · 45 to 60 minutes

How Should Wells Fargo Structure the Bilt Card?

Wells Fargo is a large US bank that offers consumer and business banking, lending, and credit cards. Answer this product management case and get it graded line by line against a weighted rubric.

Strategic thinking
Product economics
Partnership design
Risk analysis
Metrics

The situation

The head of Wells Fargo's cards business has asked you, a PM in card strategy, for a recommendation on a proposed co branded rewards card partnership with Bilt, a consumer rewards partner with appeal among younger adults. The goal is to reach a customer segment Wells Fargo wants more of, strengthen relevance in rewards cards, and do it faster than building a new proposition alone. The partnership could bring customer growth and brand attention, but it would also lock Wells Fargo into product economics, reward funding, and operating responsibilities that may be hard to change later. Finance wants confidence that the card can create durable value, risk and compliance want limited complexity, and the partner wants an offer strong enough to stand out in a crowded card market. The decision must be made before commercial terms are finalized for a multi year deal. You need to advise whether Wells Fargo should move forward, and if so what product and partnership design principles should be in place before launch.

What to produce

A 1 to 2 page strategy memo.

Your answer must

State a clear recommendation, proceed, proceed with conditions, or pause, and explain the reasoning.
Define 2 to 3 target customer segments and the core value proposition for each.
Assume a simple base, upside, and downside economics model, with the main drivers such as acquisition, engagement, rewards cost, partner funding, and retention.
Identify the top 3 strategic risks, and for each give one mitigation and one metric or trigger to monitor after launch.
Recommend 3 partnership guardrails or terms that should be settled before launch, and name a north star metric plus 3 supporting launch metrics.

Constraints

Stay at the product area level, do not redesign Wells Fargo's full card portfolio or Bilt's full business model.
Keep the recommendation consistent with a regulated bank that must satisfy risk, compliance, and credit standards.
Assume limited historical data exists for this exact partnership, so use first principles and reasonable analogs.

Format

Use headings for decision, segments, economics, risks, guardrails, and metrics. A small scenario table is encouraged.

How Wells Fargo actually played it

Studies the Wells Fargo and Bilt rewards card partnership, in which savvy young users found ways to extract more value than the bank expected. It frames the deal as a case where one party wins at the other's expense.

Partnership terms need aligned incentives
Reward products attract users who optimize them
Model how the savviest users will use your offer

Built from FinTech Gamble: How Millennials Turned Wells Fargo's Rewards Card Strategy Into a $10 Million Monthly Drain by Michael Goitein (Product Strategy Decoded).