[Expired] Citibank $400 Checking Bonus with $15,000 Initial Deposit – No Direct Deposit Needed

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $400
• Availability: Nationwide (can be done online)
• Direct deposit required: Not required
• Additional requirements: Maintain $15,000 for 30-days
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• Credit card funding: None
• Monthly fees: $25, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None
• Expiration date: August 31, 2016 October 31st. 2016 November 15th, 2016

The Offer

Direct Link to Offer

• Get a $400 bonus when you open a new Citigold or Citibank Account checking package, deposit $15,000 of non-Citi funds within 30 days, and keep the funds there for 30 consecutive calendar days

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 CZPE. 

[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

• Cash bonus will be credited to your new checking account within 90 calendar days from the date when you completed all offer requirements.
• This offer is for new consumer checking customers only, 18 years or older. Enrollment in this offer does not guarantee eligibility. To be eligible for this offer, customer must not currently have a consumer checking account with Citibank. Customers are not eligible for this offer if the customer was a signer on or owner of a Citibank consumer checking account within the last 60 days. Eligible accounts must have been opened within 60 calendar days of enrollment in this offer. However, signers on fiduciary, estate, business and certain trust accounts are not eligible. Customer can have an existing Citibank Savings Plus Account.
• Effective November 1, 2016, the $30 monthly service fee will be eliminated for customers in The Citigold Account Package.
• The new checking account in The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package and/or new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account must be open and in good standing at the time the cash bonus is credited to the checking account.
• Offer may be modified or withdrawn at any time without notice, is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other checking offer.
• The bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest on a 1099 INT form.
• Limit of one of each offer per customer and one offer per account (sounds like two people living in the same household can each do this offer separately).

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fee

This bonus is available on the Citigold Account Package and the Citibank Account Package.

• The Citigold Package needs $50,000 in combined deposits and retirement balances to remain fee free or $100,000 in deposits, retirement balances, and investments. Otherwise there is a $30 monthly fee.
• 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

In order to get the bonus, you just need to leave the funds there for 30-days, but you do need $10,000 in the account to avoid the $25 monthly fee on the Citibank Account Package. And it can take up to 90-days from the end of the 30-days until you get the bonus. Overall, you’ll have $15k tied up for 30-days and $10k tied up for another 90-days.

Now let’s dive into the math. $10,000 is being tied up for 4 months, and another $5k for 1 month. If you had the $10k in a 1% APY account for 4 months, you’d get around $33 of interest. If you had $5k in a 1% APY account for 1 month, you’d earn around $4. Overall, you’re losing ~$37 in interest by doing this deal when comparing it to a 1% account, so you’re netting an extra $363.

Looking at it another way, you are earning a return of around 10% APY for tying up this $10k for 4 months and $5k for 1 month. Pretty awesome.

If you can’t tie up $10k for 4 months, but you have $15k to tie up for 30-days, you might consider doing this offer and depositing $15k for 30-days and then just paying the $25 monthly fee for a few months. Typically, Citi waives the first couple months, so let’s say you’ll end up paying $75 in fees and net $325. Still a good deal.

If I didn’t already have a Citibank checking account, I’d jump on this offer. While there have been other great offers for Citibank checking accounts, those seem to be by invitation-only going forward and aren’t publicly available. This offer has a public landing page and isn’t targeted for specific people.

Here’s how I’d go about this offer:

• Apply for the Citibank Account Package (not the Citigold Account Package) using the offer landing page, making sure the offer code is correctly populated
• Transfer $15,000 from my regular (non-Citi) checking or savings account and leave it there for 30-days
• Transfer out $5,000 to my regular savings account and park the remaining $10k there for 3 more months until the bonus posts so as to keep the account fee free
• Then I’d downgrade the account to Citi Basic (can be done via chat or Secure Message)
• Then close it out a month later

This added downgrade step is is to avoid an extra fee/hassle as described in this post.

In fact, I think I’ll close out my Citi checking account today and wait 60-days to apply for this offer – it runs until August 31. As noted in the fine print, so long as you haven’t been a checking customer for 60 days you can get the bonus. I’m a bit worried that closed accounts linger in Citi’s system for some time so I’ll push off applying for the offer until close to August 31.

We’ll add this to our list of Best Bank Account Bonuses.

Hat tip to eChaos on r/churning

 

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• 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