<p>My D has a checking account with TD Bank where she keeps her earnings from part time jobs, gifts etc that is her personal spending money. However, there are no TD Banks in Pittsburgh. She wants to open an account with a bank that has a branch and ATMs convenient to Pitt, that is not PNC.</p>
<p>It looks like Citizens Bank has a branch and several ATMs in Oakland, but I don't think they offer free checking. Which other banks besides PNC are convenient to Pitt?</p>
<p>Dollar Bank, Parvale Bank and First Niagara Bank each have an ATM by campus. What’s wrong with PNC?</p>
<p>Its just to avoid confusion- I bank at PNC and my D has a PNC atm/debit card that she uses for necessary purchases like gas, groceries, etc. </p>
<p>She uses her personal account for things like going out to dinner, makeup, clothing and other things that I don’t foot the bill for. D was concerned that if she had two PNC accounts she’d get the accounts confused- two ATM cards that look the same except for the account number.</p>
<p>But if we can’t find another bank with free checking close to campus I was thinking I might use the option of linking her existing PNC checking account to her Panther Card- then she could use the Panther Card as a debit/atm card for necessary items that I pay for, and that card looks different from a PNC ATM card so she could keep the two accounts straight. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>Or she can make a big X in sharpie on her PNC card, or put a sticker of some sort on it to differentiate it.</p>
<p>If I recall, the Panther Debit is through Panther Funds not through PNC, but I could be wrong. We didn;t use that as a debit card much,</p>
<p>We have my son’s NY account hooked with his PNC account - they actually make it very easy to transfer funds between different banks.</p>
<p>DonnaMom, how do you do that? My daughter has graduated and will be closing her PNC account soon, but I’m curious how to transfer funds between banks. My bank charges $25 for a wire transfer.</p>
<p>It’s on the PNC site when I log into his account. I set p our local account and linked it to his. I have it set up to transfer $ in each week, no fees on either end. It’s not a wire, it is a transfer.</p>
<p>Wow, I wish I had known that four years ago! I have never logged into my daughter’s PNC account, and I guess she wouldn’t think to look for that. (Slapping palm against forehead now.) ;)</p>
<p>LOL Lurkness. Actually at Pittstart when he signed up for the account they gave me my own log in access.</p>
<p>I hope this helps new students at least :)</p>
<p>We used Citizens Bank because they have offices in our city with incredible hours. Some are located in grocery stores and Starbucks. There aren’t nearly as many ATMs as PNC but one is located outside the Union? (Panther statue outside and cathedral across the street.) For us the account is free IF you complete at least 5 transactions a month (maybe 6?) For another college student we set them up as a payee at the different bank.</p>
<p>I have TD Bank and typically if I needed cash I’d go buy something I need at Rite Aid and get cash back. That way you don’t waste money on ATM fees and you can keep the account that you can use at home. I have an account online to check my balance and access to an emergency account (my father’s) that I can transfer from if absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>However, I understand wanting an ATM specifically, so perhaps my advice isn’t too helpful after all.</p>
<p>thanks for all your advice. My D dediced to go with the PNC “Virtual Wallet” account and it turns out the ATM card is a different color from the regular PNC ATM cards so all problems solved! The Virtual Wallet also has some cool features she liked such as the ability to separate your money into sub accounts for spending, short term savings and long term savings. And she’ll have the convenience of all those PNC ATMs too!</p>
<p>Glad it worked out :)</p>