One of the best features of the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card is the points structure that allows low spenders to maximize their rewards.
All purchases earn unlimited 1% cash back rewards, but many purchases can earn much more.
With this card, the points structure is only applicable to the first $8,000 in purchases in the gas, dining and grocery categories annually.
So how do PNC cash rewards work? The points breakdown is as follows: Earn 4% on gas station purchases, 3% on dining purchases at restaurants, and 2% on grocery store purchases for the first $8,000 in combined purchases in these categories annually. Earn at least 1% cash back on all other purchases everywhere.
After hitting the annual $8,000 cap, all purchases, including gas, dining and grocery purchases will accumulate only 1% cash back. That reason is why this card is particularly good for low spenders who will not be at risk of exceeding $8,000 in spending in these categories.
Note that the annual spending cap is based on when you opened the card, not on a calendar year. If you open your card in October, your year does not reset on Jan. 1 of the following year but rather the following October.
As shown in the infographic above, the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card is competitive with other top cash back cards such as the Citi Double Cash® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates & fees). These cards earn an average of $0.02 in rewards per dollar spent based on typical spending behavior.
The one card that does surpass the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card is the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which charges an annual fee (see rates & fees).
Note that if you are a high spender, the Citi Double Cash® Card and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® may be better choices for you because of the $8,000 spending cap by the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card on its bonus categories. If you spend more than $667 a month on new charges to your credit card, the PNC Cash Rewards® Visa® Credit Card is probably not an ideal choice if you want to maximize cash back earning potential.