I grew up in on Long Island in New York and went to school in Pittsburgh for several years and would end up settling in Maryland. I've only ever lived in the Mid-Atlantic region, if Long Island counts, and for my adult life, PNC Bank has always had a location nearby.
When I went off to school in Pittsburgh, I opened a student checking account at a local PNC Bank.
One of my first bank accounts was at PNC Bank, opened at the branch on the corner of South Craig and 5th Avenue. I did it because they had ATMs in the University Center and I didn't have a car. Back then, you had to do a lot in a branch. Nowadays, you can do most of it on a mobile app.
When I opened up my account, I think I got a t-shirt.
If you open up an account today, they'll give you hundreds of dollars. 🙂
Bank of America $100 New Checking Account Bonus Offer
For new checking customers, Bank of America has a $100 cash bonus offer. To qualify, open an account through the promotional page by June 30th, 2021 and set up and receive at least 2 qualifying direct deposits of $250 or more into that account within the first 90 days of opening.
This is a limited time offer!
How to get $50 – $300 from PNC Bank
PNC Bank is offering big bonuses if you open a checking account that includes their Virtual Wallet Product. The offer you get will depend on whether you are inside or outside PNC Bank's geographic footprint.
PNC Bank will give you up to a $400 cash bonus reward if you open up a new account. There are three accounts that qualify:
- Open a Virtual Wallet account and establish total qualifying direct deposits of $500+ and get $50.
- Open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend account and establish total qualifying direct deposits of $2,000+ and get $200.
- Open a Virtual Wallet with Performance Select account and establish total qualifying direct deposits of $5,000+ and get $300.
What's nice is you can open this completely online, no need to visit a branch. If you do need to visit a branch, use this branch locator to find them.
Learn more
(Offer expires 6/30/2021)
How to Avoid Account Fees
There are account fees associated with each of the three accounts but they are easy to avoid. In fact, if you meet the bonus requirements and maintain that direct deposit, you avoid the monthly fee.
Otherwise, there are other ways to avoid them if you remove the deposit.
For the Virtual Wallet (no bonus), you can avoid the $7 monthly fee if you do one of the following:
- $500+ in qualifying direct deposits each statement period,
- $500 average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve accounts,
- Be age 62 or older.
For the Virtual Wallet with Performance Spend, you can avoid the $15 monthly fee if you do one of the following:
- $2,000+ in qualifying direct deposits each statement period,
- $2,000 average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve accounts,
- $10,000 combined average monthly balance in PNC consumer deposits.
For the Virtual Wallet with Performance Select, you can avoid the $25 monthly fee if you do one of the following:
- $5,000+ in qualifying direct deposits each statement period,
- $5,000 average monthly balance in Spend and Reserve accounts,
- $25,000 combined average monthly balance in PNC consumer deposits.
Oh, to set up the direct deposit, you may need to lookup your PNC Bank routing number.
Is This A Good Bank Offer?
There are offers with high dollar amounts but they often have deposit minimums or higher direct deposit requirements. This offer, of $200 to just open an account and receive a qualifying direct deposit (and make 10 purchases), is very easy to achieve.
Wells Fargo – $200
Wells Fargo has a nationwide promotion of $200 for a new checking account when you open a new checking account with at least $25 and receive a total of $2,000 or more in qualifying direct deposits into the new checking account within 90 days from account opening.
You can learn more about the Wells Fargo promotions to see how to get it.
Axos Bank – $100
Axos Bank has a great promotion where you can get $100 when you open a high yield savings account and an Essential Checking account using promotion code GET100. The high yield savings account has a $250 minimum deposit. On the checking account, you have to receive direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more within 60 days.
Click here to see how you can get $100 from Axos Bank.
SoFi Money – $50 – $100
SoFi Money will give you $50 if you open an account and deposit $500. The bonus is small but the requirements are so simple that I had to list it first.
If you are willing to set up a deposit of $500 or more, you can get a bonus of up to $100.
These bonuses are so easy to get. Learn more about SoFi promotions here.
Bank of America – $100
Bank of America offers a $100 cash bonus if you open a new account and set up and receive at least 2 qualifying direct deposits of $250 or more into that account within the first 90 days of opening. It has a monthly fee that is easy to have waived, you can learn more about this offer here.
So the PNC Bank promotion is a slightly lower bonus but has much easier bonus requirements to get the money.
Cassandra Cooper says
I was not able to find the Performance Select option. I called PNC, and they were aware of a $300 offer for Virtual Wallet with Performance Select, but the website only gives me two options: Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend, Reserve & Growth, or Virtual Wallet Checking Pro with Spend. The website prompted me to enter my zip code, so I wonder if that is what is limiting my options.
Hmmm that’s interesting, the page doesn’t seem to imply there’s a geographic limit but it’s possible they’re doing it.