This has been extended until March 31st, 2018. Just realized this was first posted back in July 29th of 2016, so reposting in case people haven’t seen it before.
- Maximum bonus amount: Up to $300
- Availability: AL, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, VA, WI and WV
- Direct deposit required: $500-$5,000 depending on bonus
- Additional requirements: 10 debit card transactions
- Hard/soft pull: Soft
- Credit card funding: Up to $2,000 with Visa or Mastercard
- Monthly fees: $7-$25, waive-able
- Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within six months
- Household Limit: None
- Expiration date:
June 30th, 2016August 31st, 2016September 30th, 2016October 31st, 2016December 31st, 2016February 28th, 2017March 31st, 2017 June 30th, 2017September 30th, 2017December 31st, 2017March 31st, 2018June 30th, 2018
Contents
The Offer
- PNC are back and offering up to $300 in checking bonuses. All of the bonuses require at least 10 debit card transactions. How much you’ll receive depends on the account you plan to open and is broken down as follows:
- Open a Virtual Wallet Account and receive $50 with direct deposits totaling $500
- Open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend and receive $200 with direct deposits totaling $2,000
- Open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Select and receive $300 with direct deposits totaling $5,000
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
- You will only be considered for one reward amount, which is based on the product type you open
- Requirements must be met within 60 days of account opening
- Your checking account must remain open in order for you to receive the reward, which will be credited to the eligible account within 60-90 days after all conditions have been met and will be identified as “Credits_Web_Promos” on your monthly statement
- A qualifying Direct Deposit 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
- New account will not be eligible for offer if any signer has signing authority on an existing PNC Bank consumer checking account or has closed an account within the past 90 days, or has been paid a promotional premium in the past 12 months
Avoiding Fees
Virtual Wallet $7 Monthly Fee ($50 Bonus)
You can get this fee waived if you meet any of the following:
- Average monthly balance of $500 or more
- Qualifying direct deposit of $500 or more
- Provide proof of active enrollment in a qualifying educational institution (expires 6 years after the account is enrolled in the student banking program
Virtual Wallet With Performance Spend $15 Monthly Fee ($200 Bonus)
You can get this fee waived if you meet any of the following:
- Average monthly balance of $2,000 or more
- Qualifying direct deposit of $2,000 or more
- $15,000 in linked eligible accounts
Virtual Wallet With Performance Select $25 Monthly Fee ($300 Bonus)
You can get this fee waived if you meet any of the following:
- Average monthly balance of $5,000 or more
- Qualifying direct deposits of $5,000 or more
- $25,000 in linked eligible accounts
Early Account Termination Fee
There is an early account termination fee of $25. This is charged if you close your account within 180 days. There is some evidence to suggest that they don’t actually charge this fee, but YMMV.
Our Verdict
This is a good bonus, but PNC seems to offer bonuses of up to $400 with the exact same requirements, that being said this $300 offer has now been going for a long time so maybe the $400 offer is a thing of the past. Keep in mind you can only get this bonus once every twelve months. We’ve added this bonus to our list of the top checking account offers.
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:
- A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
- PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
- Introduction To ChexSystems
- Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
- What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
- How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
- Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
- How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
- Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
- Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
- Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
Hat tip to reader Jay
This comment was posted by Carol below. Sorry for reposting but I think there is a slight change to the procedure. Instead of the dropdown, I found a slider in my account and instead of “Edition” it now says “Version”. Just a quick update in case you are looking for downgrading.
You can downgrade online without eyes on the account.
My Accounts > Preferences -> Account Setup -> VIRTUAL WALLET VERSION-> drag the slider towards left until “Virtual Wallet (without a anything)” appears > Change “Edition” (at bottom) . Agree to the new terms (fees, minimums, etc.). The change is instant.
For the OOS Virtual Wallet Perf Select, it doesn’t seem like a downgrade option is now available on the Account Pref page after clicking thru Preferences. Anybody have a similar experience?
The current open doesn’t require debit card transactions. My Ally ACH posted on 9/3. It’s been 2 weeks. No bonus. Does Ally stop working as DD?
P2 opened account Dec 12th
10 Amazon gift cards Dec 16th
Capital One deposit Dec 20th
Bonus posted Jan 28th
What happened to the chat? Is it missing for everyone or just me?
DP: For PNC Bank (Personal Checking / Virtual Wallet Performance Spend)
$200 Bonus
[Requirements]: $2k in DD’s within 60 days of account opening.
Account Opened: 08/04/2019 ($0 initial deposit)
DD #1: $1000 push from Amex Serve (09/03/2019)
DD #1 Coded as: ACH CREDIT XXXXXXX SERVE ENTERPRISE EXCHANGE
DD #2: $1020 push from Amex Serve (09/04/2019)
DD #2 Coded as: ACH CREDIT XXXXXXX SERVE ENTERPRISE EXCHANGE
Bonus Posted ($200): ACH CREDIT ID PROMO REWARD CASH TRANS (09/30/2019)
Why did you choose Serve (w/ $1/mo fee) over BlueBird w/o fees?
Opened Virtual Wallet Acct. on 5/10 with a $25.00 deposit.
Chase Bank Transfer $5,000 on 5/17.
Completed 10 Debit Card purchases by 5/28
Received $300.00 on 6/25.
Thanks for the efforts everyone!
Credit card funding appears to code as cash advance CA now.
Did not work today. My husband and I both tried the $300 PNC bonus and our $2k CC deposit was declined. Barclay said the transaction coded as a cash advance, NOT a purchase.
I’m trying to meet a Chase Ink Business sign-up bonus spending requirement ($5K) and double-dip by getting a PNC bonus at the same time, letting each meet the others’ requirements. I believe that’s what others here are doing also? BUT – when “CHASE” is listed here, and in comments – are people funding their PNC account w/ a Chase *checking* account – or a Chase credit card (like Ink)? On the PNC side, do I need to open a PNC checking &/or savings account – or can I open something like the PNC Virtual Wallet w/ Performance Select which currently has a $300 bonus? My preference is to open a PNC Virtual Wallet account – and use my Chase Ink Business credit card to deposit PNC’s required $5K of “direct deposits” – but it’s unclear to me from this page whether that works and is what everyone is doing. Thanks!! [edit: looks like Virtual Wallet *is* a checking acct? Either way – same questions. TY]
so did you do it with chase ink?im about to open and fund with chase ink but dont know if it will be cash advance or purchase.if anyone recently tired please let us know
Call and set your cash access line to either $100 or $0 (whichever is allowed) and then do the credit card funding to your PNC checking account. If it does not go through then this means credit card funding gets treated as a cash advance. Hope this helps.