PNC Bank Review 2026: Checking, Savings and CDs
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Many or all of the products on this page are from partners who compensate us when you click to or take an action on their website, but this does not influence our evaluations or ratings. Our opinions are our own.
Overview
PNC Bank is one of the ten largest banks in the country by assets. Its current size is partly due to a series of acquisitions in 2021 when PNC absorbed all former BBVA and Simple customers. PNC offers a combo checking, short-term planning and long-term savings account called Virtual Wallet. The trio of products — named Spend, Reserve and Growth, respectively — comes with a nice set of online financial management tools.
For customers in states where PNC doesn’t have branches, there’s also a standalone high-yield savings account. It has a comparable rate to what you’d find at online banks as opposed to traditional banks, and there are no monthly fees.
No monthly fee on savings accounts.
Large branch network.
Large, free, nationwide ATM network.
Overdraft grace period.
Expensive overdraft fee.
Low rates on some savings accounts and CDs.
Monthly fees on checking accounts (though they are avoidable).
Product reviews
Savings
High rate but limited availability. PNC offers a competitive rate of 3.30% annual percentage yield on its High Yield Savings account. However, the account is only available online (or by phone) in states where the bank doesn’t have branches. Since this account is the better option for customers who can get it, this account is used for the Savings rating in this review.
No opening minimums or monthly fees. The savings account charges no monthly fees and no fees for online or paper statements, and there’s no minimum to open online.
Two things to note: You need at least $1 in the account to earn interest. And if you make more than six transfers from the savings account in a month, there’s a $3 transaction limit fee per excess transfer.
» COMPARE: Check out the best high-yield online savings accounts
States with PNC High Yield Savings®
Consumers can open the PNC High-Yield Savings account if they’re in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, or Wyoming.
PNC High Yield Savings®
Savings
Rate is decent but not competitive. The savings account attached to PNC’s Virtual Wallet checking and savings package has a decent rate of up to 1.51% for balances above $2,500 and up to 1.26% for balances below that. (Rates vary depending on where you live.) But you can get far higher rates at many online banks.
No monthly fees. The account doesn’t charge a monthly fee and has a $0 minimum deposit to open online. (There is a $25 minimum to open a Virtual Wallet account in a branch.)
Nationwide availability. Unlike the PNC High-Yield Savings, the Growth account is offered to U.S. customers nationwide.
PNC Virtual Wallet - Growth
Checking
Monthly fee, but can be waived. PNC’s standard checking account is the Spend account within the Virtual Wallet package. It has a $7 monthly fee that can be waived either with $500 in direct deposits monthly or with $500 average monthly balance across Spend and Reserve accounts. The fee is also waived if you are 62 or older.
» Compare another checking and savings combo: See our SoFi review
Extensive ATM network. PNC customers have free access to about 60,000 ATMs from PNC and its partners.
No interest. The Spend account doesn’t earn any interest, which is fairly common for a checking account.
In addition to the Spend account, Virtual Wallet automatically includes a secondary checking account called Reserve. This account, which didn't factor into our ratings, is meant for setting aside money for upcoming expenses and earns minimal interest.
PNC Virtual Wallet - Spend
Certificates of deposit
Low rates on standard CDs. PNC's fixed-rate CD yields for popular terms are some of the lowest. The bank occasionally offers high promotional rates on atypical CD terms, but availability can vary by state. Other banks and credit unions have lower minimums and much higher yields on popular CD terms.
Full List of CD Rates
| Term | APY | Min Deposit |
|---|---|---|
| 3 months | 0.02% | $10,000 |
| 6 months | 0.02% | $10,000 |
| 1 year | 0.03% | $25,000 |
| 1 year | 0.02% | $1,000 |
| 1 year | 0.01% | $1 |
| 2 years | 0.02% | $10,000 |
| 3 years | 0.03% | $25,000 |
| 3 years | 0.02% | $1,000 |
| 3 years | 0.01% | $1 |
| 4 years | 0.02% | $10,000 |
| 5 years | 0.03% | $25,000 |
| 5 years | 0.02% | $1,000 |
| 5 years | 0.01% | $1 |
PNC CD
Customer experience & overdraft fees
Customer experience
Solid support channels. Customer service representatives are available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. Support is also available by live chat. PNC has about 2,200 branches across the northwest, northeast and some of southern U.S. PNC Bank earned fifth place in the 2025 J.D. Power National Banking Satisfaction Study.
High app ratings. The PNC mobile apps also earn good ratings from both Android device users and iOS device users. The apps allow transfers via Zelle, mobile check deposit, locking your debit card for security purposes and more.
Overdraft fees
High overdraft fee, but multiple free overdraft programs. PNC Bank has high overdraft fees but it also offers some easy, free ways to avoid them. If a transaction causes your account to go more than $5 negative, the fee is $36 per item and can be charged a maximum of once per day. PNC offers a Low Cash Mode program, which is available with Virtual Wallet accounts. With the program, customers get a 24-hour grace period to bring negative balances to $0 or higher to avoid overdraft fees.
PNC doesn't charge for overdraft transfers from a linked account, such as the Growth account.
» MORE: Get more details on PNC Bank’s overdraft fees and policies
Rating methodology
How we rate banks and credit unions
Banking writers and editors use an objective methodology to rate banks, credit unions, and other providers, and to recommend the best products.
100+
Financial institutions reviewed
100+
Financial institutions reviewed
We took a close look at around 100 financial institutions and financial service providers, including the largest U.S. banks based on assets, internet search traffic and other factors; the nation’s largest credit unions, based on assets and membership; and other notable players in the industry. We rated them on criteria including annual percentage yields, minimum balances, fees, digital experience and more.
30+
Categories assessed
30+
Categories assessed
Each provider is evaluated across five weighted categories and 30 subcategories, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, customer experience, and overdraft services. For banks or credit unions without one or more types of accounts, the overall rating is modified to include only applicable categories. Institutions are not penalized if they don't offer every type of account.
60+
Data points analyzed
60+
Data points analyzed
We considered more than 60 data points for each provider. Depending on the category, these included account fees and rates (such as annual percentage yields), ATM and branch access, account features, account bonuses, customer service access and user-facing technology, such as innovative tools and mobile apps. We gathered this information for each financial institution from its website, a media representative or both.
Star rating categories
The review team is made up of seasoned writers and editors who cover personal banking deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and certificates of deposit, as well as related banking services, such as overdraft programs and ATM networks. For providers without one or more types of accounts, the overall rating is modified to include only applicable categories. Institutions are not penalized if they don't offer every type of account.
Financial institutions and providers surveyed are: Affirm, All America Bank, Alliant Credit Union, Ally Bank, Alto, Amalgamated Bank, American Express National Bank, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Associated Bank, Axos Bank, Bank of America, Bank5 Connect, Barclays, Bask Bank, BMO, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Bread Savings®, BrioDirect, Capital One, Cash App, CFG Bank, Charles Schwab Bank, Chase, Chime, CIBC U.S., CIT Bank, Citibank, Citizens Access, Citizens Bank, Climate First Bank, ConnectOne Bank, Connexus Credit Union, Consumers Credit Union, Current, Customers Bank, Discover® Bank, E*TRADE, EverBank, Fifth Third Bank, First Foundation, First Internet Bank, First Tech Federal Credit Union, FNBO Direct, Forbright Bank, FourLeaf Federal Credit Union, GO2bank, Golden 1 Credit Union, Hope Credit Union, HSBC Bank, Huntington Bank, Ivy Bank, KeyBank, Lake Michigan Credit Union, LendingClub Bank, Live Oak Bank, M&T Bank, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, My Banking Direct, NASA Federal Credit Union, Navy Federal Credit Union, NBKC, Newtek Bank, OMB Bank, OnePay, Openbank, PayPal, Peak Bank, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, PNC, Poppy Bank, Popular Direct, Quontic Bank, Regions Bank, Revolut, Salem Five Direct, Sallie Mae Bank, Santander Bank, SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, Security Service Federal Credit Union, Securityplus Federal Credit Union, Self-Help Credit Union, Service Credit Union, SoFi, State Employees’ Credit Union of North Carolina, Synchrony Bank, TAB Bank, TD Bank, Truist Bank, U.S. Bank, UFB Direct, Upgrade, USAA Bank, Valley Bank, Varo, Venmo, Vio Bank, Wells Fargo, Western Alliance Bank, Zolve and Zynlo Bank.
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