Offer at a glance
Maximum bonus amount: $2,500
Availability: CA, in branch only
Direct deposit required: No
Additional requirements: Deposit $300,000 by end of second month, maintain until end of third month but in different accounts (See below)
Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
ChexSystems: Yes
Credit card funding: None, but can fund up to $1,000 with a debit card
Monthly fees: $12, avoidable
Early account termination fee: None
Household limit: None listed
Expiration date: 6/30/26
The Offer
No direct link to offer, in branch only at California locations.More information in this comment.
Citibank is offering a bonus of $2,500 when you open a new checking account and complete the following requirements:
Fund with a minimum of $300,000 by the end of the second calendar month following the month of opening
Maintain during the third calendar month after account opening (a) $10,000 in the Regular Checking account and (b) $290,000 in another Eligible Account (new Citi saving or new Citi Personal Wealth Management Account)
The Fine Print
(1) Open a Regular Checking Account in branch and enroll, (2) Fund a minimum of $300,000 by the end of the second calendar month following the month of opening, (3) Maintain during the third calendar month after account opening (a) $10,000 in the Regular Checking account and (b) $290,000 in another Eligible Account, which can be either a new Citi Savings Account or a new Citi Personal Wealth Management Account, (4) Bonus is paid at the end of the fourth calendar month after account opening.
All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Regular & Access Checking fee waived:
in the month of account opening and for 3 months after account opening or
each month the account has $250+ in Enhanced Direct Deposits
Early Account Termination Fee
In the past, Citi has not charged any ETF, and none is mentioned for this offer.
Referral Bonus
You can refer people and if they sign up and complete the requirements you will get $100.The person being referred does not get an additional bonus, but they will get the standard bonus (e.g $325/$750/$1,500).Please do not share your referrals in the comments below, but you can use them in this linked thread.
Our Verdict
This is similar to the other Citi checking deal in that you can stack with Citi Gold, Citi 3.75% savings etc.
Bonus itself is good as the hold period is basically one month if you time it well.Obviously annoying having to go in branch and most people either don’t have $300,000 liquid to move around or don’t want to use their time for a relatively small bonus.
Hat tip to reader RM
Useful posts regarding bank bonuses: