PNC Bank Review 2025
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At a glance
Overview
PNC Bank offers a full suite of deposit products, and you can open most accounts online. One of the big exceptions to that is certificates of deposit (CDs), which can only be opened in a branch. The bank offers some competitive rates to customers who live in certain states but those who live elsewhere earn yields below the national average.
Highlights:
Digital Leader Highly Rated AppHighlights:
CDs
Checking
Savings
MMA
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These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.1/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Overall
PNC Bank has a large variety of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. They also have accounts geared for students and kids. Some of the savings accounts come with competitive rates, but only for customers who live in certain states. Those who live elsewhere earn yields well below the national average. This makes PNC less than ideal for savings if you don’t live in the right place. But you can do your banking online once you start, and the bank does offer a well-rated mobile app that incorporates tools for money management.
Pros
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Competitive APY on savings in certain states.
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2,000 branches around the country.
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Around 60,000 fee-free ATMs.
Cons
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On the whole, rates are low except for a few promotional or geo-targeted rates.
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At $36, its overdraft fee is higher than average.
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Navigating and comparing PNC’s various bank products online can be difficult.
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CDs have low rates and cannot be opened online.
PNC’s account structure makes it hard to compare products and find rate information
For example, rates for the Growth savings account — which is nested in its Virtual Wallet Product — aren’t displayed with the other product details or in the account disclosures. You have to call to get that info or dig through a rate page for a different savings account to see what you could earn with Growth. In contrast, PNC shows you rates for its high-yield savings account right away once you enter your ZIP code.
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PNC bank products
PNC High Yield Savings®
Pros
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PNC’s High Yield Savings account option offers a competitive APY in certain states.
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The account comes with an ATM card.
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The account doesn’t charge a monthly service charge.
Cons
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There’s a limit of six transactions out of the account per month. PNC will charge a $3 fee each time for going beyond that maximum.
While PNC’s High Yield savings account pays a competitive yield, you may not have access to it. You’ll have to go on PNC’s website and enter your ZIP code to see if you can open this account. Many states where PNC has branches don’t qualify for this account. Instead, those customers have access to the bank’s standard savings account, which earns a much lower rate.
PNC Fixed Rate CD
Pros
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The bank offers many different term options.
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Some promotional CDs in some locations have competitive rates.
Cons
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All standard CD yields are very low compared with what online banks offer.
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CDs can only be opened at branches, which aren’t available in every state.
PNC Bank customers have access to a wide range of CD terms ranging from one month to ten years but the CDs at this bank have two major drawbacks: the standard rates in many states are very low and all CDs must be opened in a branch. In fact, the bank doesn’t even list CDs as one of its offerings in its main website navigation, like it does checking and savings, though you can still see the rates for CDs in your area if you go into the rate sheet for a different deposit product.
PNC Premiere Money Market
Pros
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The bank offers a competitive promotional rate to customers who meet certain conditions, including keeping a balance of $10,000 and more.
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There’s no minimum deposit requirement.
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An ATM card is available with this account.
Cons
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The standard rate on the account is very low.
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This account doesn’t support check-writing privileges.
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The account has a high monthly service fee (though you can get it waived).
PNC’s Premiere Money Market Account is offered with a minimal standard rate, as well as a higher promotional rate for those who qualify. If you aren’t eligible for the account or don’t qualify to earn the high rate, look elsewhere. You can find similar or higher rates for money market accounts at online banks.
PNC Spend Account (checking) overview
Pros
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No minimum deposit is required to open the Spend account.
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Around 60,000 fee-free ATMs are available nationwide.
Cons
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There is a $7 monthly maintenance fee (though there are ways to avoid it).
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The overdraft fee is quite high at $36, although the fee is capped at one per day.
Some checking accounts at PNC are integrated into its Virtual Wallet product; others aren’t. The Spend account, which is the account we reviewed, has to be opened as part of the bank’s Virtual Wallet account. You can choose to put just the Spend account into your Virtual Wallet, or add on two other accounts, a secondary checking account called Reserve and a savings account called Growth.
The Virtual Wallet product also comes in three tiers, with different perks and fees. For the purposes of this review, we looked at the features of the Spend account only within the lowest, standard Virtual Wallet tier.
How PNC Bank compares to other banks
Bank fees
| Fee | Charged? |
|---|---|
| Overdraft fee | $36 |
| Non-sufficient funds fee | None |
| Monthly maintenance fee | Varies by account |
| Out-of-network ATM fee | $3 |
| Excessive transaction fee | $3 |
Customer experience
Customer support
Physical Presence. PNC Bank offers branches in 27 states and the District of Columbia, and some of its deposit accounts can be opened online. The bank offers access to approximately 2,000 branches.
Middling customer satisfaction. PNC’s overall customer satisfaction scores vary by region in J.D. Power’s 2025 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. It either sits toward the bottom or just below average in many states and regions, though it does have a few high points in Florida and Pennsylvania.
Customer service. PNC customer service representatives can be reached by phone seven days a week. On weekdays, they’re available from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Eastern. On weekends, you can reach them from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Digital experience
Product lineup is not the easiest to navigate. The differences between the deposit products at PNC aren’t easy to grasp, particularly if you’re trying to compare your options by fees and rates. Understanding the differences between the available accounts may require some careful review from you.
Highly rated mobile app. PNC Bank’s mobile app receives high ratings on both the Apple App and Google Play stores. Collectively, more than 1.5 million users have reviewed the app. The app has tools to monitor your budget, such as a color-coded “Money Bar” that shows how much of your money is scheduled for bills and savings goals, as well as what’s available to be spent.
Bankrate staff insights
“I’ve been banking with PNC for 18 years,” said a Bankrate staff member who uses PNC personally. “Overall, I like the organization of the accounts with having quick visibility into all my accounts through the Virtual Wallet dashboard. I also appreciate their budgeting and savings tools.”
Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.
Featured customer reviews
The consumer reviews posted on Bankrate.com ("Bankrate") are individual, subjective opinions of reviewers, and not of Bankrate. Bankrate does not endorse any of the opinions expressed by reviewers or any responses to reviews. Bankrate cannot guarantee or verify the accuracy of the opinions shared by individual reviewers. Some reviews may be edited for length and clarity.
Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
