PNC Bank Review 2025: Checking, Savings and CDs
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Overall institution rating
4.3
PNC Bank is the seventh-largest bank 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 Checking Pro. The trio of products — named Spend, Reserve and Growth, respectively — comes with a nice set of online financial management tools. The most competitive interest rate on savings accounts is much higher than you’ll find at traditional banks and comparable to what online banks offer, and there’s no monthly fee.
Best for: Those who want a combination checking and account and live in regions where the bank offers its highest interest rates.
- No monthly fee on some checking and 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 some accounts (though they are avoidable).
Full review
Full review
PNC Bank
Savings
PNC Virtual Wallet® Checking Pro - Growth
4.8
/54.8
/5APY
3.95%
With $1 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
APY
3.95%
With $1 min. balance for APY
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
PNC’s more competitive offering, Virtual Wallet Checking Pro, isn’t available nationwide but is offered in states without PNC branches (and a handful of states that do have branches); where Virtual Wallet Checking Pro is unavailable, Virtual Wallet, a low-yield alternative, is available. PNC’s Virtual Wallet Checking Pro bundle includes Growth, a savings account. The Growth account offers a competitive rate of 3.95% APY on balances over $1. Customers in regions where Virtual Wallet Checking Pro is not available earn a lower rate on their Growth accounts.
» COMPARE: Check out the best high-yield online savings accounts
Consumers can open the PNC Virtual Wallet Checking Pro account if they are in the following states: Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming or Missouri (only in the greater Kansas City area).
Checking
PNC Virtual Wallet® Checking Pro - Spend
4.9
/54.9
/5Monthly fee
$0
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
Monthly fee
$0
Bonus
$200
Requirements to qualify
Virtual Wallet Checking Pro Spend offers free mobile banking and online bill pay. There’s no monthly fee and no minimum deposit required to open an account. (For consumers in states where PNC offers Virtual Wallet instead of Virtual Wallet Checking Pro, there is a $7 monthly fee waived with $500 in direct deposits or as an average monthly balance.)
The bank offers a network of 60,000 ATMs across the country. The account offers tools that let you schedule bill reminders, track your balance and set up budgets and alerts.
In addition to the Spend account, Virtual Wallet Checking Pro 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 doesn’t earn interest.
» Compare another checking and savings combo: See our SoFi review
Certificates of deposit
PNC CD
1.4
/51.4
/51-year APY
0.02%
3-year APY
0.02%
1-year APY
0.02%
3-year APY
0.02%
5-year APY
0.02%
Minimum deposit
$1,000
Show details
PNC's fixed-rate CD yields for popular terms are some of the lowest. Other banks and credit unions have lower minimums and much higher yields on CDs.
» SHOP AROUND: See the best CD rates this month
Customer experience
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 2024 J.D. Power National Banking Satisfaction Study.
The PNC mobile apps also earn good ratings from both Android device users and iOS device users.
» COMPARE: See how PNC stacks up against the other best banks and credit unions for mobile banking
Overdraft fees
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
How does PNC compare?
Up to 3.80%
Up to $300
4.30%
N/A
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star. How we rate banks, credit unions and other financial service providers.