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Credit Cards

PNC Cash Rewards Visa Credit Card Review

Updated Feb 28, 2022   |   7 mins read
Reviewed by Christy Rakoczy  
Updated Feb 28, 2022

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PNC Cash Rewards
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on PNC’s secure website
Editorial Rating

Editorial Rating

What we like:

The card offers bonus cash back in many common spending categories, as well as a small bonus for new cardmembers that’s easy to claim

Sign-Up Offer$100 after spending $1,000 during the first three billing cycles
Rewards RateUnlimited 1% cash back on most purchases

4% back at gas stations; 3% back on restaurants

2% cash back at grocery stores (up to a maximum of $8,000 combined purchases)
Regular APR15.24% to 25.24% variable APR based on creditworthiness
Annual Fee$0
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Card Summary

Pros

  • Bonus cash back for gas, dining, and groceries
  • No annual fee
  • Cash back is automatic (no need to enroll or track rotating categories) and can be redeemed as a statement credit or deposited into a PNC Bank Account
  • 0% introductory APR for balance transfers for the first 12 months if the transfer is made within 90 days of opening the card

Cons

  • $100 introductory bonus is lower than some other competitors
  • Balance transfer fee equal to 3%
  • 3% foreign transaction fee
  • Cash back is capped at $8,000 in combined spending across all three bonus categories

Recommended Credit Score

  • Good

PNC Cash Rewards Visa: Cash Back for Gas and Dining

The PNC Cash Rewards Visa is a great option for people who do most of their credit card spending on gas, dining, and groceries. If you live in the ‘burbs, drive a lot, and shop most often at gas stations and grocery stores, this card is a good choice for you.

If you already have a PNC bank account, opting for this card also gives you access to perks such as PNC Private Client, which provides personalized financial advice.

In this review:

Benefits of the PNC Cash Rewards Visa Card

The PNC Cash Rewards Visa card is probably most beneficial to people who want bonus cash back for most types of everyday spending but who don’t mind a cap on the bonus rewards they can earn. Here are some of the biggest benefits of this card that are worth considering.

Signup Bonus

New cardmembers can qualify for a $100 signup bonus after making $1,000 in purchases during their first three billing cycles. You must apply through a PNC.com link offering the bonus to be eligible. While this bonus isn’t a big one, the spending requirement is small so it’s easy to earn.

Rewards

PNC Cash Back offers 1% cash back on most purchases with no limits, but cardholders can earn bonus cash back on many common types of spending.

Cardmembers get 4% back on gas station purchases; 3% back on dining purchases (including fast food); and 2% back on grocery purchases. The downside is the bonus cash back is capped at a combined $8,000 in spending across all three categories.

>> Read More: Best credit cards for groceries

If you have monthly spending of $170 on gas, $100 on dining out, $400 on groceries, and $200 on general purchases, you could earn annual cash back of around $232 with this card.

Cash back is automatic, and you don’t have to do anything to enroll. It also never expires. You can redeem your cash back as soon as you have earned $25 in the form of a statement credit or a deposit into a qualifying PNC account.

No Annual Fee

Unlike some cash back cards, the PNC Cash Rewards Visa doesn’t come with an annual fee. This makes it a good choice for those who aren’t big enough spenders to justify a card with a more generous rewards program (which typically means a higher annual fee).

>> Read More: Best no annual fee credit cards

0% Promotional APR on Balance Transfers

The PNC Cash Rewards Visa offers a 0% promotional APR for 12 months on balance transfers made within 90 days of opening the account.

Unfortunately, you do pay a fee of 3% or $5 (whichever is greater) on each balance transfer you make. There are competitor cards with longer promotional APRs and no fees — but at least this card offers 0% for a year, which many other cash back cards don’t.

Downsides of the PNC Cash Rewards Visa Card

Although the PNC card has some advantages, there are also some downsides, including the following:

  • Bonus cash back is limited to $8,000 in combined spending across all three categories. There are other cash back cards with no limits or larger limits on bonus cash back.
  • You have to pay foreign transaction fees. If you use your card outside of the U.S., you’ll owe a 3% fee on every purchase you make.
  • There’s no 0% promotional APR for purchases. You’ll have to start paying regular as soon as you carry a balance.
  • You can’t redeem cash back until you’ve earned $25 in rewards. Depending on how much you spend, this could take months.
  • The new cardmember bonus isn’t very generous. You earn just $100 after $1,000 in spending within the first three months.

How it Compares to Similar Cards

Although there are other cash back cards out there that offer bigger signup bonuses or more generous rewards, some of these cards charge an annual fee while the PNC Cash Rewards Visa doesn’t. You’ll need to consider whether you’ll earn enough cash back to make paying the fee worth it.

PNC Cash Rewards Visa vs. Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card

Like the PNC card, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards card also offers bonus cash back on dining, entertainment, and grocery stores (but not on gas). However, the Capital One SavorOne card provides unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment and unlimited 2% cash back at grocery stores (and 1% on all other purchases).

The Capital One SavorOne comes with a more generous signup bonus than the PNC Cash Rewards, too, although you need to do more spending to get it. You can earn a $150 cash bonus after spending $500 in the first three months of opening your account. Further, the SavorOne has no annual fee and an introductory 0% APR on both purchases for 15 months.

PNC Cash Rewards Visa vs. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

Not to be confused with its SavorOne sibling, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards card offers an unlimited 4% cash back rate on dining and entertainment, 2% on grocery stores, and 1% on all other purchases. You can also earn a one-time cash bonus of $500 after you spend $3,000 within the first three months of account opening.

Although the Capital One Savor card provides the potential to earn more rewards, it also comes with a $95 annual fee after the first year. You’ll need to spend enough to earn sufficient cash back rewards to make that fee worth paying.

Bottom Line

The PNC Cash Rewards Visa is a good cash back credit card if your spending isn’t high, you don’t travel abroad much, and you mostly shop at gas stations, restaurants, and grocery stores.

But if you’d prefer a card that doesn’t impose limits on how much bonus cash back you can earn or one that offers a 0% promotional rate on purchases, you’ll want to compare the best credit cards to find an option that meets your spending requirements.