The PNC Cash Rewards Visa is a general credit card for gas and restaurant purchases. It isn’t significantly better than competitors, but it’s better than some. There’s an annual spending limit for bonus categories, so most people will prefer a card for unlimited rewards, even if the limit is high.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- No annual fee
- 3% foreign transaction fee
- 4% cash back on gas
- 3% cash back on restaurants
- 2% cash back on groceries
- 1% cash back on everything else
SIGN UP BONUS
If you apply between October and November 2022, PNC doubles your cash back for the first 12 months, like Discover does. You’d earn 8% back on gas, 6% back on dining, 4% back on groceries, and 2% on everything else. This is a pretty strong offer especially for higher spenders. The average American family would earn about $600 total cash back ($300 bonus) from a year of just gas/dining/grocery expenses. If you’re not a churning type of person, it’s a good option to take this sign-up bonus.
In February 2022, you’d earn $100 after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of having the card. This is a 10% ROS (Return on Spend) which easily exceeds the card’s ongoing cash back rate. A 10% sign-up bonus (SUB) rate is, however, much lower than competing cards.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE PNC CASH REWARDS CARD
- Visa Signature benefits (if eligible, otherwise Visa Traditional)
- Zero Liability Fraud Protection
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 670+
Bureau used: Experian
There’s a combined $8,000 annual spending limit for earning 4/3/2% rewards. Once you reach $8,000 on the card (gas/dining/grocery expenses) you’ll earn 1% cash back regardless of the spending category. You’d have to spend $667+ every month to exceed this limit.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE PNC CASH REWARDS CARD
A 2021 CNBC article said the average American household spends $3,675 per year with restaurants and $2,218 at gas stations each year. This is just under $6,000 in spending, which is comfortably below PNC’s $8,000 annual limit. If you spend the average amount, you’d earn almost $200 in annual cash back ($110.25 for dining and $88.72 for gas).
For rewards earned, the cash back is simply cash back. There aren’t any transfer partners or anything to maximize rewards beyond the stated value of $0.01 (1 cpp) each.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE PNC CASH REWARDS
When the Cardless Pelican Mastercard was introduced in February 2022, the PNC Cash Rewards nearly became obsolete, but in late 2022 Cardless destroyed their card line-up and made everything useless.
The PNC Cash Rewards remains one of the better options for gas, and only a few cards earn more cash back year-round: Abound Credit Union, USAA Cashback Rewards Plus, PenFed Platinum Rewards, and Citi Custom Cash Card.
For dining, there are plenty of options which earn more cash back. Big spenders will prefer the American Express Gold or Chase Sapphire Reserve. People who prefer no-fee cards should start with the US Bank Altitude Go (or Everyday Rewards+), Citi Custom Cash, or Chase Freedom Flex.
The PNC card is useless for groceries (2% back) and the “other” category (1% back). Over a dozen cards earn unlimited 2% cash back on all purchases, without category restrictions. Several cards also earn 3-6% cash back on groceries. It wouldn’t make sense to use PNC for anything except gas and dining expenses, unless it’s your first and only card.
CONCLUSION
PNC Cash Rewards is only useful for gas and restaurant purchases. It isn’t the best in either category, although PNC is generally an okay alternative to cards like the Citi Costco credit card. PNC is underwhelming overall. Not great, not terrible. It’s easy to get better rewards by opening different credit cards.
The PNC card is okay for gas, and the restaurant cash back is only a slight bonus to that. There isn’t any specific reason to get the PNC card primarily for eating out, since other cards earn the same or more cash back. PNC doesn’t have the highest earn rates, utility, or convenience. Other card combinations are worth considering first, especially since PNC has unnecessary spending limits.
We rate the PNC Cash Rewards card 3 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐
Note: This review was last updated in February 2022. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!