PNC Bank Promotions and Bonuses

PNC Bank is the 7th largest in the U.S., with over 60,000 ATMs and approximately 2,400 physical branches across the country. This includes the former BBVA locations, which they acquired in 2021.

PNC offers "Spend, Reserve and Growth" virtual wallets. Spend is for day-to-day activity, Reserve is for short term planning, and Growth is a long term savings account. A single fee covers the trio of accounts and, like most linked accounts, it's easy to transfer money between the three (plus offers 2-layers of fee-free overdraft protection).

Ultimately, however, PNC isn't our top pick if you're shopping for a new bank. Typical of the big national brands, their interest rates are low in some markets. And while they offer online and mobile banking with all of the major features, their apps feel more dated than competitor products (and definitely more than the tech-based banks).

Current Best PNC Bank Promotions

Here are the active PNC bonuses that you can benefit from today:

• Virtual Wallet®: up to $400 bonus
• Virtual Wallet Pro: $200 bonus
• Enterprise Checking Account: $500 bonus
• Business Checking Account: $200 bonus
• PNC Points® Visa® Credit Card: 50,000 bonus points

1. Virtual Wallet® - up to $400 bonus

Available in 23 states plus the District of Columbia, PNC is back with a competitive welcome bonus for opening a personal checking account online and meeting direct deposit requirements within the first 2 months.

This is a tiered offer with the entry level Virtual Wallet® offering $100, $200 for opening a Virtual Wallet® with Performance Spend or $400 for opening a Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select - all with qualifying direct deposit requirements.

Assuming you don't have an account with PNC (and haven't within the last 90 days), we definitely recommend grabbing this easy bonus.

2. Virtual Wallet Pro - $200 bonus

Don't live in a state where PNC has a branch? No worries, PNC is offering a $200 bonus when you open a Virtual Wallet Checking Pro account, which is only available to customers outside their in-branch footprint. Just complete the direct deposit requirements within 60 days. If you're in any one of the following states, this bonus is for you: AK, AR, CT, HI, ID, IA, KS, LA, ME, MA, MN, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, ND, OK, OR, RI, SD, TN, UT, VT, WA, WY.

3. Enterprise Checking Account - $500 bonus

PNC is running a couple of welcome bonus offers targeting business owners. For this one, you'll need to open either a Treasury Enterprise Plan or Analysis Business Checking account and then meet balance requirements.

This is a straightforward, nationally-available bonus for business owners.

If you're a small business owner with smaller balance or transaction volume, PNC is also running a $200 bonus for their small business checking accounts, so check those out, too!

4. Business Checking Account - $200 bonus

PNC is running a couple of welcome bonus offers targeting small business owners. For this one, you'll need to open either a Business Checking or Business Checking Plus account and then meet balance and debit card requirements.

This is a straightforward, nationally-available bonus for business owners.

If your company has higher balances or transaction volume, PNC is running a larger bonus for their enterprise checking accounts, so check those out, too!

5. PNC Points® Visa® Credit Card - 50,000 bonus points

Summary: PNC's Current Bonuses

Here’s a recap of the current PNC Bank promotions and offers that you can claim right now:

Expired Offers From PNC

These bonuses were recently offered by PNC, but are not available at this time. Check back often as PNC may revive these deals or offer similar promotions in the future.

Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select - $300 bonus (Expired)

PNC is offering a competitive welcome bonus for opening a personal checking account and using direct deposit within the first 2 months. You'll need to use the apply now buttons found on PNC's offer page to be sure the promo is attached to your account, or you can opt for a code by email if you prefer to open in-branch.

If the $5k in direct deposit is too high, they're also running a couple of smaller offers with lower deposit requirements.

Assuming you don't have an account with PNC (and haven't within the last 90 days), we definitely recommend grabbing this easy bonus.

Virtual Wallet® - $100 bonus (Expired)

Available nationwide, PNC is offering a welcome bonus for opening a personal checking account and using direct deposit within the first 2 months. This is their smallest offer, and only requires $500 in direct deposits. But if you can, we recommend choosing one of their larger offers (with higher deposit requirements). Remember, even this $100 makes you ineligible for any other personal checking welcome offer for the next 2 years – so grab as much as you can.

You'll need to use the apply now buttons found on PNC's offer page to be sure the promo is attached to your account, or you can opt for a code by email if you prefer to open in-branch.

Assuming you don't have an account with PNC (and haven't within the last 90 days), we definitely recommend claiming this easy bonus.

Virtual Wallet® with Performance Spend - $250 bonus (Expired)

Available nationwide, PNC is offering a competitive welcome bonus for opening a personal checking account and using direct deposit within the first 2 months. You'll need to use the apply now buttons found on PNC's offer page to be sure the promo is attached to your account, or you can opt for a code by email if you prefer to open in-branch.

If you can deposit more than the $2k required here, they're also running a $400 offer with a $5k requirement.

Assuming you don't have an account with PNC (and haven't within the last 90 days), we definitely recommend grabbing this easy bonus.

PNC Cash Rewards®Visa® Credit Card - $100 bonus (Expired)

PNC Core® Visa® Credit Card - $100 bonus (Expired)

Tips And Tricks For PNC Bank Promotions

In order to earn the "free" cash from PNC, you'll need to follow the rules of each bonus offer.

These are clearly outlined in the fine print of every offer, but there are some common themes that are helpful for you to know up front:

01. Enrolling in PNC offers

With most offers from PNC Bank, you'll need to enroll in the promo by clicking "Apply Now" straight from the promotion's landing page on the PNC website. We link to this unique landing page from the individual bonuses above.

Alternatively, some offers allow you to open an account at your local branch, but you'll need to explicitly request to be enrolled in the offer. Be sure to check to the terms of the bonus offer to make sure this option is permitted.

Regardless of which route you take, you want to be sure that the offer is being applied at the time you open the account. If not, you won't receive the bonus, regardless of whether or not you meet the other requirements.

To verify, be sure you're seeing the "Offer reward was successfully applied!" call out (or something similar) on your application screen:

Sincerely, we can't underscore this enough. PNC's internal systems track these offers automatically. If you open an account by any other means, you won't receive the bonus, regardless of whether or not you meet the other requirements.

02. Existing versus new customers

Nearly all PNC Personal Checking Account offers only apply to new customers.

That means you're not eligible if you currently have an existing account in that product category or if you've closed an account in that category within the past 90 days.

By "product category", we mean "consumer checking account", "business savings account" or the like.

For example, having an existing Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select account would not exclude you from opening a PNC Enterprise Checking Account and receiving that account's welcome bonus. But having a Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select account would exclude you from earning any other Virtual Wallet® welcome offers.

03. Where you live matters

PNC offers different products to customers depending on which state they reside in.

For example, Virtual Wallet® Checking Pro is only available to those who live in AK, AR, CT, HI, ID, IA, KS, LA, ME, MA, MN, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, ND, OK, OR, RI, SD, TN, UT, VT, WA, or WY.

Because offers are tied to specific accounts, you'll want to pay attention only to the accounts you're eligible to open.

Fortunately, both our website and PNC's website make this fairly straightforward.

On BankBonus.com, we clearly call out each bonus offer's availability.

04. Every 2 years limit

For nearly all PNC bonus offers, PNC limits you to receiving a welcome bonus only once every 2 years.

Again, this is within that product category or per credit card.

05. Taxes

Remember that like all bank promotions, bonuses from PNC Bank are taxable. Unlike your regular salary, PNC does not withhold interest from your earned bonuses. Instead, PNC will send you a 1099-INT at the end of the year, and that bank interest will be taxed as ordinary income.

The exception here are credit card offers. Credit card rewards are typically treated as a rebate or discount by the IRS, rather than income. So earning a welcome bonus for opening a new Chase credit card is not usually taxable.

06. Fine print

Ultimately, every offer is unique. While the above tips are typical of most PNC promotions, they aren't guarantees. Make sure to thoroughly read the fine print of the bonus you're interested in.

Also know that offers can be changed at any time. Until you've fully enrolled in that offer by opening the account, the terms aren't "locked in".

That also means that the promotion may end earlier than the advertised expiration date – and truly, that happens all the time, even from a relatively consistent bank like PNC. If you're interested in a bonus, don't wait until the last minute to enroll.

How to Avoid PNC Account Fees to Maximize Your Bonus

Many of the checking accounts offered by PNC Bank have monthly maintenance fees. But there are steps you can take to have these waived, which vary by account.

You should definitely be considering these monthly maintenance fees when calculating the value of a PNC promotion or bonus offer.

If you can't meet the requirements to waive the fee, the PNC product is probably not a great fit long-term for you. In the short-term, you'd at least need to subtract 4-6 months worth of fees from the bonus amount, and then consider whether the reward is still worthwhile.

Tip: If you need help with the math, use our Bonus ROI Calculator.

Personal Accounts From PNC:

• Virtual Wallet: The $7 monthly fee can be waived if you receive at least $500 in direct deposits each month, OR if you maintain a monthly balance of at least $500 across the Spend and Reserve balances, OR if you're at least 62 years old.
• Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend: The $15 monthly fee can be waived if you receive at least $2,000 in direct deposits each month (this requirement drops to $1,000 for some customers, like military and employees of WorkPlace partners), OR if you maintain a monthly balance of $2,000 across the Spend and Reserve balances, OR if you maintain $10,000 cumulatively across all of your consumer deposit accounts, including MMA and CDs.
• Virtual Wallet with Performance Select: The $25 monthly fee is waived similarly to Performance Spend, except that each required amount is slightly higher. Direct deposits will need to top $5,000 each month, the balance in your Virtual Wallet will need to be $5,000+, or you'll need to maintain $25,000 in all of your consumer PNC accounts (but this time, the balance requirement also factors in your investment accounts).
• Virtual Wallet Checking Pro: This account has no monthly fee, but keep in mind that this option is only available to customers in select states. As a trade off, the bonus offer for new customers is typically lower for Checking Pro compared to the other Virtual Wallet offers.
• Standard Savings Account: While the Virtual Wallet accounts are PNC's most popular and bundle together checking and savings into one convenient product, you can opt for their Standard Savings account instead. The account is exactly as it sounds: a personal savings account that you can use to stash away cash for emergencies or big purchases. There is a monthly fee of $5, but it can be waived by maintaining a balance of at least $300, OR by linking it to a PNC checking account, OR by setting up an automatic transfer of at least $25, OR if you're under 18 years old.

Business Accounts From PNC:

• Business Checking: The $10 monthly fee can be waived if you maintain an average balance of $500, OR if you use a PNC business credit card to make $500 in purchases, OR if you open a PNC Merchant Services account and generate $500 in qualifying monthly processing deposits.
• Business Checking Plus: The $20 monthly fee can be waived if you maintain a balance of $5,000 (or $20,000 cumulatively across all PNC business checking and MMA accounts), OR if you spend $5,000 on a PNC business credit card, OR if you generate $5,000 in qualifying monthly processing deposits using your linked PNC Merchant Services account.
• Treasury Enterprise Plan: The $50 monthly fee is waived if you maintain a combined balance of $30,000 in the master and all additional beneficiary business checking accounts.
• Analysis Business Checking: Unlike the other business checking accounts from PNC, the Analysis Business Checking account has a $25 fee that cannot be waived. Instead, you can offset the account fees with an "Earnings Credit", which you can think of as something similar to an interest rate on your deposit balance. The key difference, however, is that you won't just collect that "interest"; instead, your earnings can only be used to offset account fees.

Is a PNC Bonus a Good Deal For You?

When it comes to bank bonuses, you want to make sure first and foremost that the account is a good match for you long-term.

At the very least, you don't want to be incurring unnecessary fees that will totally wipe out the value of the offer.

Fortunately, there is a lot to like about PNC.

Their Virtual Wallets are a unique and convenient spin on traditional checking and savings accounts. Their business products are straightforward and scale from small start-ups to enterprise accounts. And all but one of these accounts have multiple ways to waive the monthly fee.

Overall, only you can know your exact needs, but PNC should definitely be in the running if you're comparing big banks.

And, fortunately, if you're a non-PNC customer, there's a good chance at least one of their deals could be worthwhile for you.

Good luck!

Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank or financial institution. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.