What are the disadvantages of PNC Bank?

PNC Bank has limited locations and rates will vary depending on which region you live in.

What is PNC Bank rating?

PNC Bank was named as one of GOBankingRates' Best National Banks for 2024 , with a ranking of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

What is so good about PNC Bank?

PNC Bank has many financial planning tools, and is great for people who want the benefits of a combination checking account and short-term savings account.

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PNC Bank Review: Combination Checking and Many Ways To Save

Name: PNC Bank Review: Combination Checking and Many Ways To Save
Item: PNC
Rating: 4.5

September 24, 2024

8 min Read

Written by Caitlyn Moorhead

Edited by Melanie Grafil

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GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

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GOBankingRates Score

PNC

4.5

SCORE

Quick Take: PNC Bank provides one-stop shopping for banking, including checking, savings and money market accounts. It also provides credit cards, mortgages, auto loans and student loans. Through their Virtual Wallet® accounts, it offers a combination of checking, short-term planning and long-term savings. Each account is a part of PNC Bank's Spend, Reserve and Growth model.

Checking Account

4.8
Savings Account

4.7
CD Account

4.1
Money Market Account

4.5
Banking Experience

4.3

How did we calculate this?

Pros

Variety of management and planning tools
24-hour grace period for overdraft fees
No minimum deposit required

Cons

Limited branch locations
High overdraft fees
Rates vary by location

PNC Bank Overview

PNC Bank offers a full suite of banking and lending products for consumers and businesses. It also has a strong digital presence through the PNC online banking options which are just as solid as its traditional banking model. GOBankingRates has ranked PNC Bank among the Best National Banks of 2024.

PNC Bank Review: Key Features

PNC is one of the largest banks nationwide and has many financial products and services which earned its ranking among the Best National Banks of 2024 by GOBankingRates. The following are some of the factors considered for this ranking.

Checking Accounts

The basis of the Virtual Wallet® is Spend, Reserve and Growth. Get ready to break out your debit card as this checking account would be the Spend portion of the wallet, of which there are three levels.

Spend: You must have a $500 monthly direct deposit into your Spend account, have a monthly balance of at least $500 in Spend + Reserve or be over age 62. If you don’t meet one of these requirements, your monthly service charge is $7.
Performance Spend: You must have at least one of the following qualifications for this account to avoid paying the $15 monthly fee.
- $2,000 direct deposited monthly
- $1,000 in direct deposits for WorkPlace Banking or Military Banking customers
- $2,000 in Spend + Reserve
- $10,000 total in PNC deposit accounts
Performance Select: An option for customers who can maintain a combined average monthly balance of at least $5,000 in this account and up to seven eligible linked PNC accounts. You must have at least one of the following qualifications for this account to avoid paying the $25 monthly fee:
- $5,000 in monthly direct deposits
- $5,000 monthly balance in Spend + Reserve
- A combined $25,000 in all PNC accounts, including investment accounts

Each of these accounts includes free access to PNC’s network of over 60,000 free ATMs, plus reimbursement of other banks’ ATM fees — up to $5 per statement period for Performance Spend and up to $10 for Performance Select.

These accounts also include Low Cash Mode^®, which notifies you if you’re about to overdraw your account.

Savings Accounts

PNC Bank has a Standard Savings account which has a great growth model for savers of all varieties, especially for mobile banking. Here are some key takeaways:

No minimum deposit
The minimum to earn interest is only $1
$5 monthly service charge
$0 monthly service charge if you meet any of the following requirements: are under 18 years old, average a $300 monthly minimum balance, account is linked to a PNC checking account, have a monthly Auto Savings transfer set up

PNC Bank also has the PNC High Yield Savings which boasts the following features:

APY
No minimum balance requirements
No monthly service charges

You can add a Reserve or Growth account to your Virtual Wallet for savings. Reserve and Growth account APYs will vary depending on which type of Spend account you have and whether you qualify for Relationship Rates, which involve minimum balances and/or direct deposits. If you open a Virtual Wallet Checking Pro account, which includes Reserve, Growth and Spend accounts, then you qualify for a competitive APY.

CD Accounts

With a CD, you can enjoy a predictable rate of return on your investment. Compare other banks’ rates to make sure that PNC Bank CD rates are the best for you as they can come in a bit low. Here are some factors to consider.

Wide variety of CD rates and terms.
Longer terms earn higher rates.
Better interest return than savings or money market accounts.
PNC CD rates are on the lower side when compared to some leading competitors.

Money Market Account

PNC Bank offers a Premier Money Market Account that is also part of your Virtual Wallet. Interest rates depend on your balance, the type of checking account you have and whether you qualify for Relationship Rates. This account also has an Auto Savings feature so you can build your balance with ease.

Banking Experience

PNC Mobile Banking offers several tiers of Virtual Wallet, including a student version. With each option, customers get a primary checking account, an interest-bearing checking account and a long-term savings account. The Virtual Wallet options offer an array of tools to help you manage your funds.

Mobile App

The PNC mobile app offers a Low Cash Mode feature, which notifies you when your balance is low, and gives you options for how to handle it. It’s rated 4.8 stars on the App Store and 4.5 stars on Google Play.

Customer Service

Banking doesn’t mean you have to only visit your local branch. You can bank with PNC in a few ways:

Find your nearest location and ATM
Call 1-888-PNC-Bank
Visit the Customer Service Center for more options
Go online and visit the Secure Message Center
Through the mobile app
Tweet @PNCBank_Help

Overdraft Fees

If you overdraw your account, you’ll have 24 hours to bring your account at least to zero before overdraft fees are charged. If you have multiple items that, combined, will bring your account negative, you can choose which of the items you want paid and which of those you want returned.

Other Products and Services Offered

PNC Bank offers a few other products and services that are noteworthy. Here’s a look at a few of them:

Mortgage purchase and refinance: PNC Bank offers tools to help you determine the affordability calculator, home insight planner, start a preapproval process and start a refinance application.
Auto loans: You can find and finance your car with PNC Bank tools such as Explore PNC Total Auto, Explore Auto Loans and apply for a refinance loan.
Credit cards: PNC Bank offers a variety of personal credit cards with offer features such as cash back, low rates, rewards and travel.
PNC investments: PNC Investing tools include many features for you no matter where you are on your investing journey. These features include, but are not limited to, retirement planning, brokerage accounts, education accounts, insurance, stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

How PNC Bank Compares

Here’s how PNC Bank compares to its competitors.

PNC Bank vs. Wells Fargo

PNC Bank is a regional bank with over 2,000 branches. Wells Fargo has a larger network of local branches with over 4,000 locations across the U.S.

In addition, Wells Fargo has more accounts available to fit your personal needs.

PNC Bank vs. M&T Bank

PNC Bank and M&T Bank can both be considered regional banks with a big presence on the East Coast. Comparing the two, PNC comes out on top with more branches.

When it comes to interest, M&T and PNC Bank offer similar rates. However, M&T Bank offers higher interest for its CDs.

Final Take To GO

PNC Bank is best for people who live in select Midwest, Northeast or Southern states where brick-and-mortar branches are located. If you live in one of the areas served by PNC Bank, or if you want to bank online only, it’s a solid choice. The breadth of product offerings and the advanced technology make it worthy of consideration if you’re in the market for a new bank.

Anyone interested in “bundling” multiple bank accounts to receive added benefits, such as relationship rates and fewer overdraft fees, will appreciate banking with PNC. This among other variables is why GOBankingRates has ranked PNC Bank among the Best National Banks for 2024.

Compare to Other Banks

FAQ

Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about PNC Bank.

What are the disadvantages of PNC Bank?
- PNC Bank has limited locations and rates will vary depending on which region you live in.
What is PNC Bank rating?
- PNC Bank was named as one of GOBankingRates' Best National Banks for 2024, with a ranking of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.
What is so good about PNC Bank?
- PNC Bank has many financial planning tools, and is great for people who want the benefits of a combination checking account and short-term savings account.

Karen Doyle and Cynthia Bowman contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Sept. 24, 2024.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To discover the Best National Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions (excluding online banks and neobanks) that have branches in 25-plus states and/or over $400 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) checking product minimum deposit; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) savings product minimum deposit; (5) savings product APY; (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1), (2) and (4) were weighted 0.5 times; factor (5) was weighted 2.5 times; and factor (7) was weighted 1.5 times.