Why we like this card: If you want a $0 fee and don’t need a lot of perks or cashback rewards, consider the PNC Cash Rewards Visa Credit Card. Plus, there’s a welcome bonus.
Pros
- No annual fee
- 0% intro APR on balance transfers
- Modest new customer bonus
Cons
- Foreign transaction fee
- Cap on certain rewards categories
- High APR
- Limited redemption options
PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card: Overview
APR
- Intro: 0% introductory APR on balance transfers for the first 12 billing cycles following account opening when the balance is transferred within the first 90 days following card opening. After that, 19.24%–30.24% variable.
- Purchase: 19.24%–30.24% variable
- Balance transfers: 19.24%–30.24% variable, plus either $5 or 3% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater, for the first 90 days following account opening. After that, either $5 or 4% of the amount of each balance transfer, whichever is greater.
- Cash advance: 30.24% variable, plus either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater
- Penalty: 34.24% variable, plus up to $38 for late and returned payments
Annual fee: None
Foreign transaction fee: 3% of each foreign transaction amount in U.S. dollars
The PNC Cash Rewards Card is a $0 annual fee card offering customers higher cashback rates on gas, dining, and grocery store purchases. While the card offers solid cashback rates, there’s a cap on those rates, so you’re limited in the amount of rewards you can earn. If you want a cashback card that earns you higher rewards in those key spending categories, there are more lucrative $0 annual fee card options on the market.
Another drawback of the PNC Cash Rewards card is the high interest rate charged on purchases: the card has a 19.24%–30.24% variable APR. In other words, if you don’t have the best credit score, you could be charged an annual percentage rate (APR) upwards of 30%. To put that into perspective, the average credit APR is slightly above 20%.
PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card: Rewards
With the PNC Cash Rewards card, you can earn 2% on grocery store purchases, 3% on dining purchases at restaurants and 4% on gas station purchases for the first $8,000 in combined purchases in these categories annually.
After you’ve hit the spending cap in those categories, you’ll get 1% cash back. Plus, you’ll get 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
Does PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card offer a new customer bonus?
Cardholders can earn a $200 bonus if they spend $1,000 or more in purchases during the first three billing cycles following account opening.
How to redeem PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card rewards
Since this is a cashback card, when you redeem your rewards, you’re restricted to redeeming your cashback for either a statement credit or direct deposit.
Receive statement credit or direct deposit
To redeem your cash back, you must have at least $25 cash back accrued. You can use your rewards to reduce your card balance with a statement credit or have them directly deposited into your PNC account, which could be a nuisance for cardholders who don’t have an account with the bank already.
Additional benefits
- Cell phone protection. By using your card to pay your cell phone bill, you’ll receive up to $800 of reimbursements if your phone is stolen or damaged.
Is the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card right for you?
The PNC Cash Rewards Card is a decent option for cardholders who don’t plan to spend a lot of money on their card and want a straightforward cashback card with only a couple redemption options.
Because of the spending category cap, cardholders who anticipate spending less than $8,000 across gas, grocery, and dining annually could still score a decent amount of rewards. In fact, PNC provides an online calculator that allows you to determine how much cashback you earn with the card based on your spending habits.
And if you want to consolidate your credit card debt and take advantage of a 0% interest rate, the PNC Cash Rewards card has a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for the first 12 billing cycles following account opening. After that, 19.24%–30.24% variable.
Credit cards similar to PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card
Cardholders who want a $0 annual fee card with more flexibility in redeeming rewards and better cashback potential should consider cards like the Wells Fargo Autograph.
Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card vs. PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card
The Wells Autograph has no spending category caps, a generous welcome bonus, and multiple redemption options.
When you sign up for the Autograph card, you’re eligible for a larger welcome offer (albeit with a higher spending requirement) than the PNC Cash Rewards Card. Autograph cardholders can earn 30,000 bonus points, worth a $300 cash redemption value when they spend $1,500 in purchases in the first three months from the date the account is opened.
And cardholders earn points in various essential spending categories, too: You’ll earn 3X points on restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans.
You can then use your points to get gift cards, book travel, or receive a statement credit. And like the PNC Cash Rewards card, you’ll get up to $600 of cell phone protection if you use your card to pay your monthly bill.
Frequently asked questions
Is the PNC Cash Rewards Visa credit card good?
If you’re not a big spender and don’t need a ton of perks or redemption choices, the PNC Cash Rewards Visa credit card could be a good fit for you.
What is the credit limit on the PNC Cash Rewards credit card?
For the PNC Cash Rewards credit card, PNC doesn’t disclose a minimum or maximum credit limit.
Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.
