PNC $400 Checking Bonus – In Branch Only [AL, DC, DE, FL, GA IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, VA, WI, WV only]

This bonus is back, fellow DoC writer Miles Whip reports seeing it in branch again, unsure of the exact expiration date.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $400
• Availability: PNC branches only, click here for branch locator. They have branches in the following states: AL, DC, DE, FL, GA IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, VA, WI, WV only. This is not available at all branches, it might be worth calling first.
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $5,000+
• Additional requirements: One online bill pay within the first three months
• Hard/soft pull: Soft
• Credit card funding: Up to $2,000, can be funded with Visa or MasterCard (because you’re applying in branch, you won’t be able to take advantage of this)
• Monthly fees:
• Early account termination fee: $25 if closed within six months
• Expiration date: March 15th or 31st, 2015 (different branches are giving different expiration dates).

The Offer

• Receive a cash bonus of $400 when you open a Performance Select Virtual Wallet checking account with PNC bank and complete the following requirements:
  • Establish a qualifying direct deposit of $5,000 or more
  • Complete one online bill pay

The Fine Print

• Both requirements (direct deposit and Bill Pay) must be completed within 60 days of account opening
• You’ll receive your bonus within 60 days of fulfilling the requirements, it post on your account as “Cash Trans Promo Reward”
• Only available to new PNC customers (considered a new customer if you don’t currently hold an account with PNC and haven’t held one in the last 90 days, you also must not have received a bonus within the last twelve months)
• This offer is only valid if you go into a PNC branch, you can find your closest branch here.
• Valid until March 15th, 2015
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Virtual Wallet With Performance Select $25 Monthly Fee

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

• You must pay a $25 early account termination fee if you cancel your account within 6 months of opening (source)

Our Verdict

PNC also offers bonuses of up to $300 on their other checking accounts, this can all be opened online which might be more convenient for some. I don’t live within the service area, but Chuck does and he went into a local branch and they didn’t have this offer so it’s obviously not available at all branches.

The main problem with this account are the requirements to keep it fee free, you should be able to get your bonus within three months (complete all the requirements within the first month and then it will post within 90 days), you’d be losing out on about $25 in interest if you kept the $5,000 in the for six months (to get the bonus and avoid the early account termination fee) – which isn’t too bad if you have a spare $5,000 laying around.

If I lived within the service area I would complete the bonus, here is how I’d do it:

• Open a Performance Select Virtual Wallet
• Add $5,000 in funds via ACH transfer (this would keep the account fee free and trigger the direct deposit requirement)
• Pay an bill using online bill pay (this would trigger the bonus after 60 days)
• Remove all the funds apart from $5,000 to keep it fee free
• Get my bonus (+$400)
• Wait six months from account opening date to avoid the early account termination fee
• Transfer all funds back into my regular savings accounts
• Close account

I’d make $400 and I’d lose about $25 in interest (although this would actually be $125 in interest if I had it in a rewards checking account).

Thanks to Hawtzi from reddit.com/r/churning for letting us know about this deal. If you go into your local branch, let us know if they did/don’t have this offer and what branch you went into.