Warning on PNC BTs

Some of you may already know this, but I figured I'd post it anyway. Someone already posted problems with PNC during an apporama, I'll add my story. I requested my first balance transfer from PNC and it was also my first request for a paper check issued to my BofA HELOC, since they don't ACH. If you allow PNC to mail a check, it will post on your credit card statement the day they mail the check. If the check is lost in the mail or just never clears at the receiving bank (stupid BofA!), PNC will give you a story that you need to wait 10-14 business days before they do anything. Even after 14 days, they will be reluctant to issue a stop payment and credit your account. Meanwhile, your first payment will be due for money you never received. Do yourself a favor, do not let them send the check, use the convenience checks that will show up within 2-3 weeks. Those checks won't post until they clear your bank. I thought I'd be saving time by having it sent out directly from them with my application. WRONG!

I would tell you to skip them altogether, but why should we miss out on 0% for 12 months with no BT fees. Just use the convenience checks.

Well, 11 months at 0% if you wait. Just got our convenience checks today, PNC Visa was approved at the time of application on 1/17. FWIW they were very nice in quadrupling the initial credit limit to 20k on request. It is annoying in this day and age that an issuer actually mails a check. We were paying a major credit card so I expect they mail all requested BTs. C'mon now, it's the 21st century for crying out loud.

Another thing is you need to charge something in order to get the $50. Someone on another thread said that they got the bonus for making the BT, but no such luck here. BT posted on 1/29 still no bonus so I paid them back, bought a $500 gift card, with a 0 balance just requested a new BT. So now I get to worry about something else. Oh well.

Well, I got the $50 today, the purchase was made on 2/16.

Is it because you BT to HELOC so PNC has to send in check?
If that is the case, then you can BT it to Citi card and then request refund check.

moneyfiend, my BT request from PNC to a BofA credit card made 2/19 has not been credited yet. A BT requested at the same time on the same form to a Citi credit card was credited 2/26. Rather interesting that both yours and mine were sent to BofA. I'm not sure that it isn't BofA's fault rather than PNC's as BofA is a freakin clown show. Anyway the darn BofA account closes tonight so I get to pay it out of my funds as I don't want the % utilization showing on the credit reports. I've decided that if the BT doesn't post by the time the PNC statement cycle closes on the 7th that I'm going to file a written dispute rather than mess around on the phone. This will legally obligate them to investigate the transaction instead of making up excuses why they shouldn't do so. Perhaps it will nudge them into learning to use ACH. Paper checks, for cryin out loud!

Anyway the point of this post is to reinforce your point that people might want to think twice about requesting a PNC transfer online. Especially if that transfer check is headed to the BofA clown show.

Has your situation been resolved? If so what happened?

The problem is PNC and not BOA or Citi.

I request my BT of $29.5K on 2-22-07 and it has yet to post to my Citibank account. On a side note I also request BT from FNBO on same day to same card that BT has not posted either.

I know I did BT from BOA to my checking account at Citibank for $90K and it showed up 2 days later in my checking account. I did BT from Discover Card to same Citibank card and the payment was posted within 48 hours of requesting it.

So moral of the story is when you deal with small clown bank like PNC(Elan) and FNBO(Smart One Bank) they mail out paper checks. Your guess is as good as mine how long it takes them to process your request. Both posted same day online and I doubt either bank mailed out a real paper check same day I requested the BT.

Update Citibank posted my PNC BT today. So it took 11 days from the time I requested the BT till the time Citi posted it.

I got my $50 credit for making the first purchase today. Since I applied for the PNC cards back in December (before $500 min purchase requirement), $5 purchase was enough to trigger it. And it did not mess up my BT since I have 0% on both BTs and purchases. Nevertheless, I paid off one of the cards and deposited a convenience check that they sent (written to myself). I was not charged the 3% fee. I actually did this to test whether such checks earn reward points, because it says it counts as a purchase in small print. Well, it does not - not for rewards.

it seems I overlooked posting the end of my story here, though I did post on a different thread. BofA finally posted my BT check from PNC on 3/7, which was requested on 2/19. I didn't have to dispute in writing though I did have the letter written and ready to go out on 3/9.

moneyfiend, I'd bet money the person who has that account # has the same name as you do. My wife got a letter from State Farm bank with a photocopy of a credit card application from a woman with the same name though a different middle initial. It's a good thing we're not identity theives as we had all of her info, ssn, dob, address, phone #, everything. My wife could even have shown ID at POS if requested. Anyway, we mailed it to her with a note.

Anyway, your story sounds like the typical clownshow behavior at BofA, so I think you're understating their level of blame. I still agree though, don't request BTs directly from Elan Card Services. They aren't actually PNC Bank, just a cobrand deal.

Rotten rat b@$^@)>s. I just did a mid cycle max out. Thx for the heads up.

edit: made me run and look and I think it's reported EOM since they're reporting my balance from 2/28, which was good that day only.

Their terms also say, you can write these checks at most $150 below your CL. I did not read it and wrote a check just $1 below CL, and it posted without any incident. Perhaps this is just standard wording that accomodates for their standard BT fee - is it capped at $150?

Snyder81 said: I keep all my BT's below 90% as this "Best Practice" has been discussed on this board extensively so no worries about the $150 unless the credit limit is really low.

I do the same, except that I make sure to have balance below 90% on the statement date. I had almost a full month before the next statement, so larger BT seemed to make sense then. Unfortunately, as I wrote earlier in this thread, ELAN reported it to the credit bureaus BEFORE my next statement printed. Perhaps I triggered it myself when I maxed it out.