PNC Bank historically did not have a very great reputation. In fact, I swore I would never do any business with PNC after one of their ATM machines ate my husband’s card, and the teller said it was illegal for her to return the card to him. I used to work at a bank as a teller, and our policy was to return cards after banking hours (3 pm) as long as the customer showed 2 forms of ID with one being a picture ID. Therefore, I knew that teller was not very truthful, and it tarnished my image of the company. But, after years of banking through a virtual arrangement only, it was time for me to venture back into banking at a physical branch office, and PNC was the best fit in terms of convenience and competitive rates. One year later, we are still very happy with PNC.

Products and Services

PNC Bank has physical branch locations in many parts of the county. You can go to the PNC Bank website to determine if they have a location near you. Simply click on “Locate PNC” and then enter your zip code, state, or other pertinent information to see how close the nearest PNC locations are to you. However, you do not need to have a physical PNC Bank location near you to do business with PNC; they offer a full range of services online as well.

There are a variety of products and services offered at PNC Bank. These include checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, IRA’s, mortgages, home equity loans, personal loans, auto loans, and more. Within the general product offerings, they have even more products tailored to meet specific objectives. For example, they offer a wide variety of CD’s, including callable and non-callable, with multiple durations to accommodate all types of investors. They also offer various checking and money market accounts, each with different features and minimum balance requirements. Therefore, you should be able to find a product which fits your needs, whether you want to invest $1 or $1 million.

What caught my eye with PNC was their “truly free checking” advertisement campaign. And I can confirm – it is indeed truly free! I have their “Performance Checking” product, which requires a $2,500 minimum. However, the teller advised me that the minimum is spread across all of your investment products at PNC, so in theory I could have $1 in my checking and $2,499 in my savings account, and I would not be charged any fees for going below the minimum. Also, the minimum balance requirement is calculated based on the average daily balance, whereas other banks charge you if you fall below the minimum balance at any time during the month. So, as long as you average $2,500, you will not get charged if you fall below.

Since the day I signed up one year ago, I have not been charged one penny from PNC. I was never charged for my checks, for my Visa debit card, or for any ATM transactions. In fact, PNC reimburses you when other banks charge you an ATM fee! So, when I go to another bank’s ATM and they charge me $1.50 on a $40.00 withdrawal, I will see a transaction for -$41.50 the next day in my account. I will then see a subsequent transaction for +$1.50, depositing the ATM fee back into my account. This is great! I thought it was great when my prior bank reimbursed up to $8 per month, but with unlimited reimbursement now it is really amazing. I am sure I have saved hundreds in ATM fees over the last year.

PNC Bank also offers online banking and bill pay, which I do use. I was skeptical about transitioning to PNCBank.com, because I was so used to the look and feel of my old online bill pay service. But, the teller at PNC was kind enough to walk me through the set up of online bill pay, and it was so easy to use. I now pay all of my bills online and have not once had a problem.

As part of the services offered at PNC Bank, you can sign up for VISA Rewards if you get a Visa debit card through PNC. This program is free, and it gives you points every time you use your Visa card for purchases. It also gives you points (up to a maximum amount) for every payment you make online). These points can be redeemed for rewards, including cash rewards, gift certificates, and a variety of items as well. After one year of bill pay but almost no debit card purchases, I almost have enough to trade in for a $10 gift card. So, certainly the rewards are not huge (particularly if you do not use the debit card for purchases), but it is free money so I cannot complain.

In terms of interest rates, I found PNC Bank to be competitive as compared to other physical banks, but they cannot compare with INGDirect and the other virtual banks out there. In fact, I am slowly moving our savings out of PNC and into CD’s and other products at websites like ING because they offer much more competitive rates. I wish PNC would be more competitive so that I would not have to do that, but I understand that they simply have higher costs than these internet-only banks. But, they also have added convenience, and that is the reason why I will continue to use PNC Bank in addition to my internet only bank.

Customer Service

I was very impressed by the customer service at my local PNC branch. The person I dealt with was very knowledgeable about the multiple products and services offered at PNC, and he was able to find the best ones to meet my needs. He was also very understanding of my time constraints (I was attempting to open an account with my one and two year old children in tow), and he did most of the required items after I left the bank, and then called me at home when everything was set up. He then emailed me and I made an appointment to come back. At that point, he showed me how to use the PNC Bank ATM, and he walked me through the online bill pay. He was also able to give me a cash bonus for opening my account, even though the marketing materials stated that the offer had expired already.

I also had questions a few times and opted to call PNC Bank’s toll free number. I found that the people at that hotline were very knowledgeable and friendly as well. In general, I really have no complaints about the people or service at PNC anymore!

Overall

Overall, I think PNC Bank is a great bank. No, it will not give you the same rates of return as those internet only banks. But, what they cannot offer in higher interest rates that make up for in terms of customer service and convenience. I love being able to deposit checks at a physical bank, rather than mailing them to my internet bank or depositing them through an ATM. PNC Bank also delivers in terms of its “no fees” promise. One year later, and I have never paid a fee. I could not be happier for that!


Recommended: Yes