[Expired] Citibank $300 Checking Bonus with $15,000 Initial Deposit

This bonus has expired, you can view our new coverage of Citi checking bonuses here.

Offer at a glance

Maximum bonus amount: $300
Availability: Nationwide (can be done online)
Direct deposit required: Yes, see what counts here
Additional requirements: Maintain $15,000 for 60-days
Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
Credit card funding: None
Monthly fees: $25, avoidable
Early account termination fee: None
Expiration date: ~~December 31st, 2016~~ ~~January 12th, 2017~~ ~~March 31st, 201~~7 ~~April 14th, 2017~~ ~~June 30th, 2017~~ September 30th, 2017

Contents

1 The Offer
2 The Fine Print
3 Avoiding Fees
- 3.1 Monthly Fee
- 3.2 Early Termination Fee
4 Our Verdict

The Offer

Receive a sign up bonus of $300 when you open a new The Citibank Account Package and complete the following requirements within 30 days of account opening:
- Make a qualifying deposit of $15,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account or a new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account or Citi Savings Account, and maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 for sixty (60) consecutive calendar days following the date when you made the qualifying deposit.
- Within thirty (30) 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

Use the link from the landing page and it will pre-populate with the offer code; you need that offer code there to get the bonus. You can also apply in a Citi branch or over the phone at 1-866-422-1475 and use code CZVB (some people see CZRK).

[If you apply online from a non-cookied browser, you’ll get an error message after entering your home state. Just click the back button and everything should be smooth sailing from there.]

The Fine Print

To qualify to earn a $300 cash bonus, you must enroll in this offer either online by clicking apply now, with a Personal banker in a Citibank branch or over the phone: open a new eligible consumer checking account in The Citibank Account Package between 11/9/16 – 12/31/16.
Within 45 days after account opening you must complete the following: (1) Complete 1 qualifying Direct Deposit to your checking account or make 1 or more qualifying purchase transactions with your Citibank Debit Card totaling $250 or more, ( 2) make a qualifying deposit of $15,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking account or a new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account, and (3) maintain a minimum balance of $15,000 for 30 consecutive calendar days following the date when you made your qualifying deposit.
If you are eligible and fulfill the required activities then the cash bonus will be credited to your new checking account within 90 calendar days from the date when you completed all offer requirements.
A new consumer checking account in The Citibank Account Package is required. Customers must be 18 years or older to participate in this promotion.
Existing checking customers are not eligible.
Enrollment in this offer does not guarantee eligibility.
To qualify for this promotion, you must enroll in the promotion, meet the terms and conditions of this offer and perform the required qualifying activities contained in this offer.
To be eligible for this offer, you must not currently have a consumer checking account with Citibank or have been a signer on or owner of a Citibank consumer checking account within the last 180 days
Limit of one of each offer per customer and one offer per account.

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fee

This bonus is available on the Citibank Account Package.

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

As mentioned at the top of this post, they have extended this offer so I don’t think we will see the $400 offer again soon. Also keep in mind this bonus is churnable, so you really want to do is as often as possible.

Citi just offered a similar bonus, but that was for $400 and didn’t require the debit card purchase. Keep in mind with Citi that getting your bonus from these promotions is generally not that straight forward and usually requires some calling in (I’d recommend reading through that previous bonus post to get an idea about what I’m talking about). We will still probably add this to our best bonus list as you can churn these bonuses (just can’t currently have an account or have had one in the last 180 days), but you really should have done the $400 offer. There is also a current $500 offer but the requirements are much harder to meet.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses: