Update 1/26/25: Available again.
Update 6/30/24: Extended through 9/30/24
Update 5/9/24: Extended through 6/30.
Update 10/25/23: Extended through 3/31/24
The Offer
- Citi is offering a bonus of up to $500 when you fund a new or existing Citi Self Invest Account by 4/30/22. Bonus you receive depends on how much you deposit:
- Deposit $10,000 – $49,999: Get $100 bonus
- Deposit $50,000 – $199,999: Get $200 bonus
- Deposit $200,000+: Get $500 bonus
The Fine Print
- Fund a new or existing Citi Self Invest Account between 11/1/21 – 4/30/22.
- Fund the Citi Self Invest Account with a minimum of $10,000 in New-To-Citi funds within the
- Account Funding Period shown below (see below for definition of “New-To-Citi funds”).
- Maintain the New-To Citi funds in your Citi Self Invest account through the Maintain Funds deadline shown below based on month of account opening.
- During the account opening process, allow for eDelivery of statements and confirmations.
Our Verdict
Citi launched Self Invest earlier this year, I think this is the first bonus we’ve seen on this new account. The up to $3,500 Citi Wealth Management bonus is supposed to work on self directed accounts as well, but this new account is slightly different from my understanding. Probably not worth the hassle for only $500, but might be worth it for some people.
Post History:
- Update 7/3/23: Extended through 9.30.23
- Update 5/17/23: extended 6/30
- Update 7/16/22: Deal is back and valid until 10/31/22.
- Update 11/25/21: Looks like this is actually a public bonus. If you click the direct link it says ‘Learn how you can earn a cash bonus when you open a Citi Self Invest account’, click that and then it shows details of this promotion. Hat tip to Terp.
It looks you need to have a citi checking or savings account first.
I opened a savings account and it still does not let me open this brokerage account.
Does Citi usually take a long time to post this bonus? I know the terms say it can take up to “90 days” to post but I’m around day 60 now and no sign of bonus. Just wondering. Tia
did anyone run into this issue before ? TIA !
“Unfortunately, you’re not eligible to open a Citi® Self Invest account today.
Here’s why we’re unable to start opening your account today:
Can I do this bonus and the Wealth Management bonus at the same time? Anyone have experience getting both bonuses in the same quarter?
I ask because I think they are under the same division at Citi bank
They’re unrelated; you can do both.
I see this offer while logged into my Citi account. I don’t see any anti-churning language, or any specific dates, or saying it needs to be 12 months since last bonus, etc. Let me know if I missed something. I don’t see any targeted language and the link seems to work so maybe this is open to everyone.
Fund a “new” or “existing” Citi Self-Invest account…….
I just pulled $20 from Discover to start the “initial funding month” to my existing self-invest account which currently has a $0 balance.
You are right. But is still has this one clause in the T&C, “Customers who receive a bonus are not eligible to receive or qualify for an additional bonus offer”.
offer doesnt appear to be updated FYI requires funding by 7/31/24
I saw the same thing after opening the account today. Should we be concerned?
Just a word of caution if you are thinking of using Citi Self Invest for real. They are not dependable, at least not for me. This month, they
1) instead of withdrawing funds from Citi to deposit into my registered external bank, they instead pulled money FROM my external bank INTO Citi. Luckily it was only a small amount of $ otherwise it could have resulted in big financial issues for me. And that money was on hold for a week at Citi, so I couldn’t just immediately send it back. CSR did it for me over the phone; verbally there is confirmation of what they did, but nothing written/sent describing that they did. They did admit to fault. But the reason a CSR had to do it was
2) Their system doesn’t allow you to schedule any transfers online after 2pm (or 2:30pm) EST. But you can call in and a CSR can schedule it for you (which is what I did in 1 with horrible results)
3) I scheduled a transfer online before 2pm EST. I got an email confirming the transfer and indicating it would be finished the next day. The $ never transferred. 12 days later I get a redeposit back into Citi because they said there was some error (this is the registered bank they took $ out of before, so the link is correct). My bank said there was never an attempt at a deposit from Citi, and Citi later said they never sent it out (but it still took 12 days for it come back into my account?). I guess it just sat there to be executed and never did??
Do the deal, get your $500, and get out. If you have a Citi checking account, it’s safer to transfer your brokerage money there first, and then transfer out from the Citi checking.
Don’t think the 10K tier makes financial sense. It’s about 120 days of lost interest, which is about $150 on a 4.5% APY account.
$10K — 30 days – $100 Bonus = 12% + 4% = 16% ROI
$50K — 30 days – $200 Bonus = 4.8% + 4% = 8.8% ROI
$200K 30 days – $500 Bonus = 3% + 4% = 7% ROI
The $10K tier makes the most sense from a ROI perspective,
Do you know if they’re going off of calendar month?
Like I open the account today Jan 28
Feb 27 I fund the account
then I just need to keep the funds for March.
April 1 can withdraw?
Does that timeline make sense?
If “Initial Funding” occurs in Feb it will push your plans out by a month.
gotcha! thanks! that’s helpful to understand tia
i guess just deposit $1 so it kick starts the initial funding period
I’m planning to transfer 50k in cash into my Citi brokerage account by end of March.
The holding period for that bonus is till end of April.
I then need the funds again in early May for sth else.
What exactly should I do/buy once my cash is in the Citi brokerage to follow your above advice of “putting the money into a Money Market Fund earning 4%+” for the month of April and still be able to transfer back out as cash in early May?
Thanks in advance!
Here are some MMFs that I currently own or have owned in the past. Info is from today – 1/30/2025
WMPXX – Allspring Money Market Premier ———— 4.43/35
GABXX – Gabelli US Treasury MMKT I —————– 4.31/56
VUSXX – Vanguard Treasury Money Market Investor 4.28/33
VUFXX – Vanguard Federal Money Market Investor – 4.28/23
NOTE: “4.43/35” = 7-day Current Yield/Weighted Ave Maturity
SGOV ISHARES 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF – 30 Day SEC Yield 4.48
There are a lot of options/opinions, so you need to do some research to decide what works best for you. I hope others will add to this limited list.
My apologies. I had wrongly assumed the money had to be kept in there for the 90 days after the Maintain Funds period. Yes, it’s only 30 days then.
Thanks for this. Question! I opened June 14, deposited June 18, so I can take the money out August 1, 2025? Or is that Sept 1, 2025? Thank you!
Initial Funding Month ——— Month 1 (June)
Account Funding Period —– Through end of Month 2 (July 31st)
Maintain Funds Period ——- Through the end of Month 3 (August 31st)
Cash Bonus Credited to Account – Within 90 days of end of Maintain Funds Period
Delete
I don’t see any expiration date on this latest offer. Did anyone see any expiration date?