Citi $300 & $500 Personal Checking Bonuses

This bonus has expired, but you can view the current $300 bonus that doesn’t require direct deposit by clicking here.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $500
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, two consecutive months after account opening
• Additional requirements: Deposit $15,000/$50,000
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $25-$30, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: September 30th, 2017 December 31st, 2017

The Offer

Direct link to offer

• Citi is offering two sign up bonuses for individuals opening a new checking account. One bonus is for $300 and the other is for $500.

$300 Bonus

• Receive a sign up bonus of $300 when you complete the following requirements:
  • Open a new eligible consumer checking account in The Citibank Account Package
  • Within thirty days, make a qualifying deposit of $15,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account or new or existing Citi Savings Account or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account, and maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 for sixty consecutive calendar days following the date when you made the qualifying deposit.
  • Within thirty days, 1 qualifying Direct Deposit must post to the new checking Account each month for 2 consecutive calendar months after opening the new checking account.

The Fine Print

• For the Citi Priority Cash bonus offer, “Eligible Customers” are “New-to-Citibank” customers who (1) enroll in the Priority Checking Offer, (2) open an “Eligible Checking Account” as first signer and are also (3) at least eighteen (18) years of age, and (4) have a valid W-9 or W-8 BEN on file with Citibank. (5) have not been a signer or owner of a Citibank checking account within the last 180 calendar days.
• “Eligible Checking Account” means a new checking account in The Citi Priority Account Package. Fiduciary, estate, business, and trust accounts that are not Living Trusts, are not eligible for this cash bonus Checking Offer, even if the account otherwise meets the definition of Eligible Checking Account. All accounts subject to approval. The Eligible Checking Account and, if applicable, Eligible Savings Account, must be in good standing for the Eligible Customer to receive this cash bonus offer
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

$500 Bonus

• Receive a sign up bonus of $500 when you complete the following requirements:
  • Open a new eligible consumer checking account in The Citi Priority Account Package
  • Within thirty days, make a qualifying deposit of $50,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account or new or existing Citi Savings Account or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account, and maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for sixty  consecutive calendar days following the date when you made the qualifying deposit.
  • Within thirty days, 1 qualifying Direct Deposit1 must post to the new checking Account each month for 2 consecutive calendar months after opening the new checking account

The Fine Print

• For the Citi Priority Cash bonus offer, “Eligible Customers” are “New-to-Citibank” customers who (1) enroll in the Priority Checking Offer, (2) open an “Eligible Checking Account” as first signer and are also (3) at least eighteen (18) years of age, and (4) have a valid W-9 or W-8 BEN on file with Citibank. (5) have not been a signer or owner of a Citibank checking account within the last 180 calendar days.
• “Eligible Checking Account” means a new checking account in The Citi Priority Account Package. Fiduciary, estate, business, and trust accounts that are not Living Trusts, are not eligible for this cash bonus Checking Offer, even if the account otherwise meets the definition of Eligible Checking Account. All accounts subject to approval. The Eligible Checking Account and, if applicable, Eligible Savings Account, must be in good standing for the Eligible Customer to receive this cash bonus offer.
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Citi Priority Account Package $30 Monthly Fee ($500 bonus)

• The Citi Account Package has a monthly fee of $30, this is waived if you maintain a combined average monthly balance of $50,000 or more in eligible linked deposits, retirement and investment balances. There is no early account termination fee for this account.

Citi Account Package $25 Monthly Fee ($300 Bonus)

• The Citibank Account Package needs $10,000 in combined average monthly balances to remain fee free. Otherwise, there is a $25 monthly fee.

Early Termination Fee

In the past, Citi has not charged any ETF, and none is mentioned for this offer.

Our Verdict

I thought it would be best to combine the $300/$500 bonuses into one post as readers seem to often think we don’t have both bonuses on the site and this way nobody can miss both options. There is also some new verbiage that states that the offers are only available to New-To-Citibank customers, but then it goes on to say you’re not eligible if you’ve been an owner or signer of an account in the last 180 days. I imagine this means they don’t truly mean “new customers”. Now onto the deal themselves.

I think it’s important to remember that you need to deposit $15,000/$50,000 for at least 60 days. In all likelihood you’ll need to keep that deposited for longer as you need the bonus to post as well and both accounts have monthly fees of $25/$30 if balance requirements are not met. You should really be comparing this to how much money you’d be missing out on if you put this money in high interest savings account. For example if you put $50,000 in an account for 60 days you’d receive the following amounts of interest:

• 0.1%: ~$8.2
• 1%: ~$82
• 3%: $246
• 5%: $410

Because of that I don’t think the $500 bonus is worth considering. The $300 bonus is more attractive as you need to deposit $15,000. If we do the same calculations as above we get:

• 0.1%: ~$2.5
• 1%: ~$25
• 3%: ~$74
• 5%: ~$123

The opportunity cost is a lot less. Just keep in mind you’ll likely need to have the account open for more a lot longer than 60 days and Citi is notorious for making it difficult when it comes to bank account bonuses. We’ll still keep listing the $300 offer on our best checking bonuses page. The other thing to keep in mind is that the account required for the $500 bonus will lower the annual fee on the Prestige by $100 as well.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• How To Use Our Direct Deposit Page For Bank Bonuses Page
• Common Bank Bonus Misconceptions + Why You Should Give Them A Go
• How Many Bank Accounts Can I Safely Open Within A Year For Bank Bonus Purposes?
• Affiliate Links & Bank Bonuses – We Won’t Be Using Them
• Complete List Of Ways To Close Bank Accounts At Each Bank
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
• Bank Bonus Posting Times