(EXPIRED) $100-$1500 bonuses with Citi checking & savings accounts [Targeted]

Citi is sending out an offer for some excellent checking and savings bonuses that could mean a pretty easy $100 – $1500 depending on how much you can afford to transfer to Citibank and leave for 60 days. If you’re targeted, this could be a great way to jumpstart your bank account bonus collecting hobby.

The Deal

• Citi is offering bonuses of $100-$1500 for opening a new checking account in the basic account package. The bonus requires depositing new-to-Citibank money within 30 days of account opening and maintaining one of the following thresholds for 60 days thereafter:
  • Deposit $2,500 & get a $100 bonus
  • Deposit $5,000 & get a $200 bonus
  • Deposit $15,000 & get a $400 bonus
  • Deposit $50,000 & get a $700 bonus
  • Deposit $200,000 & get a $1,500 bonus
• There is no link for this offer as it comes via targeted email.

Key Details

• You can earn a $100, $200, $400, $700 or $1,500 Bonus by opening a new Checking Account in the Basic Account Package, funding it with New‑to‑Citibank Funds within 20 days, and maintaining that balance for another 60 days. You must also have a Citi credit card from the time you open your account until you receive the Bonus.
• Qualify So long as you are at least 18 years old, are a primary Citi cardmember, have received a communication from Citi inviting you to participate, and furnish or have a valid Form W‑9 or Form W-8BEN on file with Citibank and are not subject to backup withholding, you can participate in the Tiered Cash Bonus Checking Offer in select markets. Customers who open via phone or apply online with a residential/home (not mailing) address in an Eligible Location can qualify.
• “Eligible Locations” include Military Customers elsewhere in the Americas, Military Customers in Africa, Canada, Europe or Middle East, AK, AL, Military Customers in the Pacific, AR, American Samoa, AZ, CO, DE, GA, GU, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, Northern Mariana Islands, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VI, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY and select markets in Florida and Illinois.
• Certain “Checking Accounts” are eligible for the Tiered Cash Bonus Checking Offer. Your new Checking Account must be a Regular Checking Account in the Basic Banking Package from the time you open your account until you receive your Bonus.
• Checking Accounts that are living trust accounts and custodial accounts are eligible, but fiduciary, estate, business, retirement (IRAs, SEPs, CESAs, money purchase pension plans and profit sharing plans), and other trust accounts will not qualify for this offer.
• International Personal Bank customers are not eligible for this offer.
• Here are the steps to qualify:
  • First, open a new Checking Account in the Basic Account Package between July 1, 2021 and September 30, 2021 (“Offer Period”).
  • Second, so long as September 30th has not passed, enroll in the Tiered Cash Bonus Checking Offer on the same day you open your new Checking Account pursuant to the instructions provided. You can enroll online by clicking “enroll now” and following the instructions for online account opening or by contacting a Citibank representative by phone and asking the representative to enroll you in the Tiered Cash Bonus Checking Offer. However, if you open your account on citi.com by any other means than those described, you will not be eligible to earn the Tiered Cash Bonus Checking Offer.
  • Third, on the 20th Day after you open your account, we will check your “On Deposit” balance in New‑to‑Citibank Funds which will determine the Bonus you can try to earn (“Balance”). Your Balance must be held in your eligible Checking Account. As long as you maintain at least a $2,500 Balance every day for 60 calendar days after your 20th Day (“Maintenance Period”) you will remain eligible for a Bonus, but please understand if your Balance falls into a lower Balance Tier for even one day during the Maintenance Period, your Bonus will change (see Chart).
• For example, if your Balance on the 20th Day is $200,000, the Bonus you can try to earn is $1,500. If your Balance is $150,000 on day 45, however, the Bonus you can earn changes to $700.
• “New‑to‑Citibank Funds” are 1) funds deposited from external accounts or payees other than Citibank, N.A. and 2) must be deposited using domestic ACH transfer, Direct Deposit, checks drawn on banks other than Citibank, N.A. or wire transfer. Cash deposits, Citi Global Transfers, international ACH transfers, Zelle® transactions and person‑to‑person transfer services such as Apple Pay, PayPal®, and Venmo, and Zelle®, do not qualify as New‑to‑Citibank Funds.
• You cannot use a Citi Accelerate Savings Account or a Citi Savings Account to maintain your Balance as part of this offer and still be eligible to earn the Bonus.
• “20th Day” means the 20th calendar day after you open your Checking Account, but don’t worry if your 20th Day falls on a weekend or U.S. National holiday. If that happens, we will count the next Business Day as your 20th Day instead. If you open your new Checking Account by calling Citibank at 1‑833‑382‑0004 EXT 10‌73, we will look at the 30th Calendar Day to determine your Bonus.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Quick Thoughts

I’m a big fan of bank account and brokerage bonuses and I’ve written several posts on my progress with them over the past couple of years (See: 2020 bank account bonus tally: $4680 earned, $1525 more on the way and Earning $6,000+ in bank and brokerage bonuses: the time spent makes sense/cents.).

Note that I’ve copied the key terms above from Doctor of Credit. While the screen shot that Doctor of Credit posted said that you need to make the initial deposit within 30 days of account opening, the terms reference your balance on the 20th day after account opening as being the threshold that you’ll need to maintain. It’s possible that DoC had an older set of terms, so I’d recommend checking the terms closely if you’re targeted for this offer to make sure you maximize the bonus.

Given that you only need to maintain your deposit for 60 days from whenever it is evaluated (the 20th day apparently?), this offer represents a decent return for keeping your money with Citi for a little while. Even at the $200K level, assuming you need to keep the money with Citi for 3 months, that’s like 3% annualized. I guess the sweet spots are the $5K or $15K levels if you can meet them, though I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed with the return even on the higher amounts assuming you’d be keeping the money in a savings account with low interest anyway. It should be quite easy to keep your account fee-free since that only requires an average daily combined balance of $1500 and you’ll have more than that in your account to trigger one of these bonuses.

H/T: Doctor of Credit

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