Strategies to Sidestep Monthly Maintenance Fees at PNC Bank
PNC Bank, like most banks, charges a monthly maintenance fee for its checking and savings accounts. If you’ve ever wondered why you’re being charged $7 a month, it’s likely due to this fee. However, the good news is that you can avoid paying it by understanding how PNC’s products work.
### What Is the PNC Monthly Service Charge?
PNC Bank’s monthly service charge for checking accounts ranges from $5 to $25, depending on the account type. Here’s a breakdown of the fees for different PNC accounts:
#### Checking Account Fees
– **Virtual Wallet**: $7
– **Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend**: $15
– **Virtual Wallet with Performance Select**: $25
– **Virtual Wallet Student**: $0
– **Foundation Checking**: $5
– **Interest Checking**: $13
#### Savings Account Fees
– **S is for Savings**: $5
– **Standard Savings**: $5
– **PNC High Yield Savings®**: $0
– **Premiere Money Market**: $12
### How To Avoid the PNC Maintenance Fee
There are several ways to avoid the monthly service charge:
1. **Maintain a Minimum Checking Account Balance**
– **Virtual Wallet**: $500 in direct deposits or an equivalent balance in all combined checking accounts.
– **Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend**: $2,000 in direct deposits or an equivalent balance in all combined checking accounts.
– **Virtual Wallet with Performance Select**: $5,000 in direct deposits or an equivalent balance in all combined checking accounts.
– **Foundation Checking**: No minimum balance required.
– **Interest Checking**: $2,000 minimum balance.
2. **Maintain a Minimum Savings Account Balance**
– **S is for Savings**: $300 minimum balance.
– **Standard Savings**: $300 minimum balance.
– **PNC High Yield Savings®**: No minimum balance required.
– **Premier Money Market**: $5,000 minimum balance.
3. **Link Your Bank Accounts**
– If you have a Performance Select account, you can avoid fees on Interest Checking and Standard Checking accounts by linking them as benefit accounts.
4. **Set Up Direct Deposit**
– For Virtual Wallet accounts, avoid the $7 monthly fee by signing up for direct deposit and receiving at least $500 per month.
5. **Take Advantage of PNC’s Age-Based Waiver**
– If you’re 62 or older, you can benefit from PNC Bank’s age-based waiver on select accounts.
6. **Become a PNC Bank Employee**
– PNC waives maintenance fees for its employees, so consider a career with PNC if you’re looking for a new job and a new bank account.
### How To Avoid PNC Bank Overdraft Fees
PNC Bank offers features like Low Cash Mode to help you avoid overdraft fees:
– **Extra time**: Avoid fees by bringing your account balance up to $0 within 24 hours of an overdraft.
– **Payment control**: Decide which checks to pay and which to return to avoid overdrafts.
– **Alerts**: Stay informed and take action before an overdraft fee is charged.
– **Overdraft protection accounts**: Link up to two other PNC accounts for overdraft protection.
### How To Avoid PNC Bank ATM Fees
You can avoid ATM fees by using one of the approximately 60,000 PNC and Partner ATMs nationwide. If you have PNC’s Virtual Wallet®, you can also get up to two fee reimbursements per payment cycle for non-PNC ATM transactions, limited to $5 per occurrence.
### How PNC Bank Fees Compare to Other Banks’ Fees
Here’s a comparison of PNC Bank’s fees with those of Wells Fargo:
– **Monthly maintenance**: PNC up to $25, Wells Fargo up to $35
– **Out-of-network ATM withdrawal**: PNC $3 in the U.S., $5 outside the U.S.; Wells Fargo $2.50 in the U.S., $5 outside the U.S.
– **Overdraft (nonsufficient funds)**: PNC $36, Wells Fargo $35
– **Wire transfer**: PNC $15-$50, Wells Fargo fees vary
– **International debit purchase**: Both charge 3% of the transaction
By understanding these details, you can better manage your PNC Bank accounts and avoid unnecessary fees.