Cash Rewards credit card is offered by PNC Bank to people with good or excellent credit scores. This card has many reasons to grab your attention. The list of pros include generous signup bonus, cashback rewards, intro APR, and no annual fee. It has few cons that you should be aware of.

Before you apply for PNC Cash Rewards Credit Card make sure to read my review. It can save you from some costly mistakes.

If you are eager to earn a cash bonus, then welcome to the club. Get $200 after you make $1,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Make sure to not overspend, but $200 is a good discount if you must buy something anyway. You should also know about PNC Core Credit Card that offers only $100 bonus on the same conditions.

After you spend the $1,000 you can and probably should stop using the card. Setup a monthly payment of $100 and forget about this card for the next 12 months. Its intro APR of 0% is a good choice. But after 12 months carrying any balance becomes prohibitively expensive. Regular APR of the PNC credit card ranges from 16% and up to 28%.

You can use the card from time to time to get 4% cash back at gas stations. It seems fine for dining and restaurants with 3% cash back. However you’d better use some other card for grocery stores and other purchases. PNC Cash Rewards with 2% cashback and 1% don’t have a chance.

Category	Cashback
Gas Stations	4%
Dining and Restaurants	3%
Grocery stores	2%
Other	1%

To redeem cashback you should have at least $25 in rewards account.  You can take it as a statement credit which should lower your balance or deposit it to your PNC savings account. The cashback doesn’t expire, but I would strongly advise to redeem your cashback as soon as you can.

Unlike PNC Secured Card this Rewards Credit Card has no annual fee which makes it a fine card to keep in the long term. After a few years it should strengthen your credit history.

The PNC credit card has an EMV chip for additional security. This way it is way harder to copy your card. It also has contactless payments technology that allows you to pay with a tap. It is on par with majority of other Visa cards offered by other banks.

What I don’t like about this card is foreign transaction fee of 3% which makes it a bad choice for any purchases other than in US dollars. You should take something else on your trip abroad.

Fees

Fee	Amount
Annual Fee	$0
Cash Advance fee	5% (min $10)
Balance Transfer fee	4% (min $5)
Foreign Transaction fee	3%
Late payment	$38

Late payment and returned payment fee can go up to $38. After late payment the penalty APR gets 31%. So make sure to make a minimum payment as soon as you get a statement. You can then make any additional payments. It is also a great idea to setup autopay to avoid termination of intro APR.

PNC Cash Rewards Credit Card requires good or excellent credit score. With high credit score you can get a lot of good credit cards. Why else do you need a credit score?

Lack of any other benefits concerns me the most. The card has no purchase protection. Many other cards insure your purchase for the first 3 months. It has no cellphone insurance, no extended warranty, no car rental waiver.

Let’s be honest. If you want easy cash, then go ahead and apply. Other than getting $200 signup bonus and using 12 months intro APR, the PNC Cash Rewards card is worthless.

The secured credit card offered by PNC Bank is supposed to help you to establish and build your credit score. Why is it important to build a credit score? A good score can save you a lot of money in interest on auto loans and mortgages. It can also give you valuable benefits in the form of cash bonuses when you open a new credit card and other perks.

Can I apply for PNC secured credit card online?

You CANNOT apply for PNC Secured Credit Card online. The only way to get this card is to visit banks branch and apply in person. This is very inconvenient, but it is what it is. Other PNC cards allow you to apply online, but this one is exception.

What credit score do you need for a PNC secured card?

Unlike other cards, this secured card doesn’t require you to have high credit score. You can get approved even with a low credit score. Approval odds depend on many factors and not only on score. You have to earn enough disposable income to payoff it in full every month.

Is it a legitimate card?

PNC credit card is one of those cards which you may consider. Offered by a big respectable bank this Visa card may seem appealing. The credit card has an EMV chip for additional security and a contactless payment feature. You can use it to make payments in person and online.

What credit limit can I get?

Your credit limit of determined by your security deposit. When you make a security deposit of up to $2,500 you can get the same credit limit. When you close the credit card you have to first pay it off in full and only the you can get the deposit back.

Does PNC Secured Credit Card have graduation?

No, unfortunately the secured credit card has no graduation. It means if you don’t want to pay the annual fee you must close the account. Then you can get your security deposit. The whole idea of a secured credit card is graduation when credit score improves.

Benefits

The Visa benefits package of this card is very limited. The only thing included is Roadside Dispatch. When you have some troubles on the road you can call 1-800-847-2869 and let them know what is your problem. It cost $70 per service call that provides towing up to 5 miles, tire changing, lockout, fuel delivery up to 5 gallons, winching, and jump-starting. While it is not free, it can be cheaper than local services.

Fees

Fee	Amount
Annual fee	$3 per month or $36 per year
Balance Transfer	3% of the amount ($5 minimum)
Cash Advance	4% of the amount ($10 minimum)
Foreign Transaction	3% of the amount
Late payment	$35
Returned payment	$35

How to make payments?

You can pay your credit card bill online using PNC Online banking account or through regular mail. The last way is to call automated phone service by calling 1-800-558-8472

Concerns

My first concern is that you can apply for the card only in person at a PNC Bank branch. That seems strange. Other banks like US Bank and Capital One allow you to apply for the secured card online.

My second concern is that the PNC secured credit card doesn’t have graduation. Graduation means your secured credit card is converted to an unsecured one and your security deposit is returned back to you. Then you can keep using the card. It is very useful when you build your credit score. One of the key factors that affect your score is the length of your credit history. How old is your oldest credit? You should always keep your first credit card. So if your credit score increased and you decide to close your secured card? Then the length of your credit history will go down and pull your credit score with it.

My third concern is that you cannot open this card online. You have to go to the branch and apply in person. This is super inconvenient.

My fourth concern is the monthly fee of $3. This is $36 per year. I don’t like credit cards for bad credit that have a monthly fee, annual fee, origination fee, etc.

So my conclusion is you should not waste your time on this PNC secured credit card. Bank made it as inconvenient as possible. Focus on a good card that you can keep for many years to come.

Mission Lane Credit Card is a Visa card for building your credit score. They often approve customers with a bad score below 670 points. The card has pre-qualification that can give you confidence before you apply. You can file the qualification form and should receive an offer in mail.

The offer gives you have a high approval odds. After application you should receive the card in mail. It shouldn’t take too much time for the card to arrive. I would recommend you to read how long it takes for a card to be delivered.

It is an unsecured credit card that may charge you an annual fee up to $59. In some cases, however, it can be free. Without annual fee it maybe a fine option. Make sure to read what is secured credit card.

Initial credit limit of Mission Lane credit card is $300 and quite typical for credit building cards. Low credit limit means you have to pay it off regularly to have low credit utilization. You should NEVER carry any balance on the card due to its high APR of almost 30%. Over time once your credit score improves, they can raise your credit limit.

Mission Lane provides access to your credit score and some credit building education.

Remember to never be late with your minimum payment. Late payment fee of $35 is bad, but not the worst thing. Late payment will ruin your efforts to establish a credit score. So, make sure to setup auto-payment right away. The Mission Lane credit card reports how you use it to credit bureaus, so over time it should help you to raise your FICO.

The most basic version of Mission Lane credit card has no cash back and only some basic benefits of Visa card. The advanced version called Mission Lane Cashback card and it pays % cashback on purchases, which is very nice.

The credit card may seem fine, however, in my opinion you should first try to apply for a secured credit card at a big bank. For example, US Bank Secured Credit card has graduation. It means after a year you may qualify for upgrade to unsecured credit card.

The Sable ONE Credit Card is a secured credit card for building and rebuilding bad credit scores. What is a secured credit card? Most credit cards, even if they are secured, make a credit score check when you apply. The unusual feature of Sable ONE card is that there is no credit check when you apply.

The good thing about Sable Credit card is that it has a $0 annual fee. I believe it is a must for a secured credit card. Having an annual fee for a secured card defies the goal of a good credit score which is to earn or save you money.

Cashback of Secured Credit Card

Other benefits that are rarely offered by secured cards include 2% cash back on purchases made on Amazon, Uber and Whole Foods. There is only 1% cashback everywhere else. However, you get a match cashback at the end of first year. So you effectively double your cashback with Sable ONE Credit Card

Sable One Credit Card has Graduation

Graduation is a nice feature of Sable One Card. Graduation means your secured credit card is converted to unsecured and you receive your security deposit back. You can get your security deposit back as early as 4 months. However, often it happens much later.

Cell phone protection

Cell phone protection is one of the a misleading benefit of the Secured Sable ONE Credit Card. The coverage is $100 with $50 deductible. Sure it is better than nothing, but it sounds better than it actually is. If you pay your cell phone bill with the credit card you are covered for potential theft or other damages. I should mention that this benefit is provided by MasterCard.

Extended warranty

Extended warranty covers up to $10,000 in repairs of items that have a warranty less than 12 months. Which is quite rare in products that are sold in the US. There are also a number of items and conditions that are excluded from coverage. So having this benefit of Sable ONE card is good, but taking advantage of it is rather hard.

Price protection

Price protection of Sable card covers the difference in your purchase and advertised price. The minimum claim amount is $25 or $50 up to $250, $500 or $1,000. Plus you are limited to 4 claims per year.

Rental car insurance

Rental car insurance covers 15 days when you rent a car that has MSRP below $50,000. Also it is worth mentioning that Sable One Card provides secondary insurance. Which means it covers damages after your own insurance and insurance of rental agencies.

The Sable card one more benefits that is called purchase protection.

As all credit cards Sable reports how you use credit to the credit bureaus every month. If you use the card responsibly and make payments on time you will see improvements in your credit score. Keep in mind, that credit score takes time to build, so be patient.

To get this secured credit card you need a Sable bank account from which you can make the security deposit. Although there’s no minimum deposit required, your spending limit equals the amount of your deposit.

Overall secured Sable ONE Credit card sounds like a good deal to me.

US Bank Secured Credit Card may come to your attention if you want to build your credit score. What is secured credit card? You can get the secured Visa card even with a bad credit score. Also you should keep in mind, that US Bank doesn’t use TransUnion to make lending decisions.

Unlike many other secured credit cards, this US Bank Secured Card has no annual fee. Maintenance fees and monthly fees are widespread among secured cards. In my opinion fees defy the purpose of building credit score.

Before you Apply for US Bank Secured Credit Card make sure to read my review. It can save you from costly mistakes.

Credit limit and security deposit

If you are approved you can get a credit limit between $300 and $5,000. But you will need to make a security deposit equal to your credit limit. The US Bank makes a savings account for security deposits and money earn a little interest. The security deposit is refundable when you close the credit card or after graduation.

US Bank Secured card increase limit is not guaranteed. If your debt to income ration changed, which means income increased or debt decreased, then after 6 months you can call customer support and ask to raise the limit. You may have to deposit more money as a security deposit.

Graduation from secured credit card

The important benefit of the US Bank card is so called graduation. It can happen as early as 6 months. However, to graduate you MUST pay your credit card bill in full every month and keep your credit utilization low. Graduation means the US Bank returns your security deposit and upgrades your secured credit card to unsecured. Graduation is not guaranteed and depends on many factors. To increase your chances of graduation make sure to set up auto payment, avoid late payment fees, and keep your credit utilization low.

Here is how you can setup autopay for US Bank credit card.

Benefits

The purpose of a secured credit card is to build your credit score, so don’t expect many benefits. US Bank reports monthly your utilization and payments to all 3 major credit bureaus TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. US Bank Secured Card offers no rewards, no bonus, no intro APR and regular APR is 24%.

The secured credit card has an EMV chip for additional security and contactless payments. Visually the card has no any difference from a regular credit card.

You should avoid using the secured US Bank Credit Card abroad, because it has a foreign transaction fee of 3%. So the card is not good for travelers.

Overall this secured credit card is good if you want to build a relationship with US Bank. There are much worse credit cards and way better. As an alternative consider secured credit cards from Discover Bank or Capital One.