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.
How To Earn The Bonus
The PNC Virtual Wallet® promotion requires you to set up eligible direct deposits in order to earn the up to $400 bonus (step-by-step breakdown is listed above!).
As with any offer, don't forget to read the fine print before opening your new account. It's where the bank will clearly state who is eligible for the deal along with any nuances you'll want to be aware of.
The fine print
- Offer is contingent on product availability and may vary based on where you open your account and the Zip code of your primary address.
- A qualifying Direct Deposit for this offer, is defined as a recurring Direct Deposit of a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income electronically deposited by an employer or an outside agency into the Spend account of a Virtual Wallet with Performance Select, Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend, or Virtual Wallet.
- Credit card cash advance transfers, wire transfers, person to person transfers, transfers from one account to another or deposits made at a physical PNC location or ATM do not qualify as qualifying Direct Deposits.
- New account will not be eligible for offer if you or any signer on the new account has an existing PNC Bank consumer checking account or has closed an account within the past 90 days, or has been paid a PNC promotional premium in the past 24 months.
- You can only receive one new checking account opening related bonus once every two years.
- If you change your Virtual Wallet product type after account opening, the product type that you are in at the end of the month in which you opened your account will determine your offer eligibility, terms and corresponding reward amount, if applicable.
Open a Virtual Wallet® account now to earn the up to $400 bonus
How does this personal checking offer from PNC compare?
To help you determine how this bonus stacks against the rest, here are some of the most popular offers available right now:
TD Bank
Beyond Checking
- Bonus
- $300
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 53 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
BMO
Personal Checking
- Bonus
- $400 Cash Bonus*
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- 123 days
- Requires
- Direct Deposit
Discover
Discover® Cashback Checking
- Bonus
- up to $360
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Expires In
- Limited Time
- Requires
- Card Spend
Why PNC Bank?
PNC Bank is the 7th largest in the U.S., with over 60,000 ATMs and approximately 2,300 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 many 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).
Learn more in our PNC Bank review
Virtual Wallet®
Virtual Wallet® is PNC's basic offering, which has its lowest (and easiest to waive) maintenance fee, but offers no interest on your balance.
All Virtual Wallet accounts come with 2-layers of overdraft protection, access to PNC's online and mobile banking tools, and in-person service in one of their branches.
Fees
Virtual Wallet® does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $7, but there are ways to get this waived:
- At least $500 in direct deposits to the account each month
- OR, maintain a $500 monthly balance in Spend + Reserve
- OR, account holder is older than 62
Virtual Wallet® with Performance Spend
At PNC, a personal checking account is called a Spend account, and is intended for day-to-day spending. It pairs with short-term planning account (called Reserve) and a long-term savings account (called Growth) to fill out your "Virtual Wallet".
Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend is PNC's middle-tier offer, which still has a relatively easy-to-waive maintenance fee, but also offers (a small amount of) interest on your balance.
All Virtual Wallet accounts come with 2-layers of overdraft protection, access to PNC's online and mobile banking tools, and in-person service at one of their branches.
Fees
Virtual Wallet® with Performance Spend does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $15, but there are ways to get this waived:
- At least $2,000 in direct deposits to the account each month ($1,000 for WorkPlace Banking customers)
- OR, maintain a $2,000 monthly balance in Spend + Reserve
- OR, maintain a monthly balance of $10,000 in all PNC consumer deposit accounts
Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select
At PNC, a personal checking account is called a Spend account, and is intended for day-to-day spending. It pairs with short-term planning account (called Reserve) and a long-term savings account (called Growth) to fill out your "Virtual Wallet".
Virtual Wallet with Performance Select is PNC's premium offer (with a matching premium maintenance fee), but offers PNC's highest interest rates on your checking balance.
All Virtual Wallet accounts come with 2-layers of overdraft protection, access to PNC's online and mobile banking tools, and in-person service at one of their branches.
Fees
Virtual Wallet® with Performance Select does charge a monthly maintenance fee of $25, but there are ways to get this waived:
- At least $5,000 in direct deposits to the account each month
- OR, maintain a $5,000 monthly balance in Spend + Reserve
- OR, maintain a monthly balance of $25,000 in all PNC consumer and/or investment accounts
Open a Virtual Wallet® before the bonus expires on June 30, 2025
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.
Share Your Thoughts or Questions
There have been 9 comments about the PNC Virtual Wallet® up to $400 Bonus.
Rebecca
November 17, 2023I was aiming for the generous $400 bonus. Unfortunately, I mistakenly signed up for the wrong type of account, and only received $200. Took 3 months from opening to closing. The account names (like many banks) are odd...pay close attention, unlike me!
ReplyReply to Rebecca
Joseph Lee Robbins
November 17, 2023Good bonus payout and really easy to get. I had zero issues with this one.
ReplyReply to Joseph Lee Robbins
Jon Snow
November 16, 2023It's a straightforward bonus here by PNC. I did this offer last year and after getting the $400 bonus, I downgraded my account to Virtual Wallet for the easier requirements to avoid the monthly maintenance fee.
ReplyReply to Jon Snow
JAMON
November 16, 2023I got a $400 bonus. Had to leave in $5000 for about 3.5 months to avoid a fee, but that's OK with me for such a generous bonus. Had to call to close the account.
ReplyReply to JAMON
sn
November 14, 2023I had a nice experience with PNC. I got my bonus less than a week after I finished my direct deposit requirement.
ReplyReply to sn
Nicholas
November 14, 2023This seems like a great opportunity to earn a bonus with options ad varying levels of investment. I'm holding off because I expect to be able to hit the higher bracket later in the year, but until then I'll be looking forward to this $400 opportunity!
ReplyReply to Nicholas
Doug
November 14, 2023This bonus is for PNC's virtual wallet, which is actually comprised of three accounts: spend, reserve, and growth. Be careful when doing this bonus to fund the spend account. Funding the other two will not trigger the bonus. This requirement is mentioned in the terms and conditions.
ReplyReply to Doug
Bill B
November 11, 2023I was able to earn a $400 PNC bonus in late 2022. This was actually my very first bank bonus because we opened a checking account as part of other banking we were doing with them. I then stumbled across this bankbonus.com web site and learned I could earn a free $400 just by meeting the direct deposit requirements of the offer. Thus began my pursuit of many other bonuses through this web site! Definitely recommend pursuing this bonus.
ReplyReply to Bill B
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