PNC Bank

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., better known as PNC Bank, is a 160-year old financial institution that bills itself as “one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States.”

The company has branches in most states and overseas. PNC is not operated specifically for the military community, but has military-friendly options for those looking for VA mortgages, personal and auto loans, wealth management, etc.

You do not have to be a military member to open accounts, get advice, or apply for loans, but the PNC Bank official site has a special section reserved for military banking. This section is located on the official site under the Products And Services heading. When contacting PNC Bank, new account applicants are encouraged to mention their military affiliation early in the call for faster service.

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PNC Bank Military Banking Options

Military members enjoy the following services aimed specifically at them including:

• Checking & Savings
• Debit Card Services
• Credit Card Services
• Home Loans And Personal Loans

PNC has roughly 2400 locations and 15,000 ATM machines in most states and the District of Columbia.

Military Checking And Savings Accounts

PNC Bank offers military members a variety of options including a Virtual Wallet for select checking accounts with perks that include a waived monthly fee for establishing  direct deposit for at least $1000 per statement cycle. Performance Money Market Accounts associated with certain checking account types can earn more rewards.

Unlike some military banking programs, PNC Bank does not advertise Early Pay features (where DFAS payments may be delivered to service member accounts a day early) on its official site and a search of PNC.com does not reveal any mention of such early pay options.

Debit And Credit Card Services

PNC advertises a military-themed debit card, but doesn’t list any military-specific perks or features. All applicants who are approved for this card can participate in the PNC Purchase Payback program billed as a “customized rewards program based on your spending habits.”

Credit cards are offered on a similarly open basis. Military and civilians alike can apply for one of several offers.

The credit card offer at PNC that may be the most advantageous to military applicants is the PNC Premier Traveler Visa Signature credit card. This offer includes bonus miles for air travel with minimum purchase amounts in the first three billing cycles, and more miles offered for every dollar spent. This credit card may also help military travelers with its “no transaction fees” policy for qualifying travel overseas.

Home Loans & Personal Loans

PNC Bank is a fairly typical VA lender. The services and programs it offers are similar to other military-friendly banks that offer VA mortgage services. You can apply for a purchase loan with PNC bank or apply for a VA mortgage to refinance an existing loan (VA or non-VA).

PNC Bank offers pre-approval services for house hunters, online application features and something called the Home Insight tracker which allows online updating and tracking of mortgage and refinance loan applications.

Home Insight allows the following online options:

• Create a household profile to learn how much loan you can afford
• Use online calculators to determine your home loan payment budget
• Connect budgets, mortgage loan rates, lending products, and home prices
• Search for homes with prices that fit your budget
• Save homes you want to review later

There is also a post-closing day support option available for those who need it.

Personal Loans offered at PNC include two unsecured lending options; one is a Personal Installment Loan with no collateral needed to apply, no early repayment penalty, and a range of repayment terms. The other is a personal line of credit that features on-demand borrowing with no collateral required, no prepayment period, and a “continuous draw period.”

Like the checking and savings account options, there are no specific military-themed perks advertised in conjunction with these accounts, but it’s good to ask at account setup time if there are any options on offer at application time that may be military-specific.

Joe Wallace is a 13-year veteran of the United States Air Force and a former reporter for Air Force Television News