Citi is headquartered in New York and has around 2,600 locations worldwide (about 1,000 of those are here in the U.S.) and over 65,000+ ATMs worldwide. So you really never need to worry about getting access to your cash.
Citi is best known for their credit cards, but they offer just about every product you'd expect from a big national bank – covering banking, lending, investing, and wealth management.
What we really love about Citi is the consistent promotions, usually available nationwide. When you open a new account or credit card, Citi will very often give you bonus cash.
What's more, Citi promotions are often tiered. The low requirements make the offers accessible to most people, but even better, Citi will reward you big if you can meet the highest terms.
Current Citi® Promo Codes & Bonus Offers
Here are the active Citi® bonuses that you can benefit from today:
- Relationship Tier: up to $1500 bonus
- Citigold® Checking Account: up to $1500 bonus
- Enhanced Direct Deposit: $325 bonus
- Citi Mortgage Relationship Pricing: up to $500 or 0.625% off
- Business Checking Account: up to $2000 bonus
- Personal Wealth Management: $5000 bonus
- Citi® Self Invest: up to $500 bonus
- Citi Custom Cash℠ Card: $200 bonus
- Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer: up to 2% Cash Back
- Citi Premier® Card: 60,000 bonus points
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®: 50,000 bonus miles
- Citi Rewards+® Card: 25,000 bonus points
- American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card: $50 + 10,000 bonus miles
- Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®: 50,000 bonus miles
- CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®: 65,000 bonus miles
Relationship Tier
- Bonus Amount
- up to $1500
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Offer Expires
- January 7, 2025
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Open a new eligible checking account using the link below and enroll in the offer the same day.
- Within 45 days, deposit $30,000 into your new account to earn $500 or $200,000+ to earn $1,500
- Maintain that balance for an additional 45 days from the 46th day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 30 calendar days after completing the requirements.
- New to Relationship Tier customers can choose their relationship tier.
at Citi®
Citigold® Checking Account
- Bonus Amount
- up to $1500
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Offer Expires
- January 7, 2025
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Open a new Citigold® Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $10,000 into your new account to earn $500, or $200,000+ to earn $1,500
- Maintain that balance for 60 days or more after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 30 calendar days after completing the requirements.
at Citi®
Enhanced Direct Deposit
- Bonus Amount
- $325
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Offer Expires
- January 7, 2025
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Open a new eligible Citi Checking account with Enhanced Direct Deposits.
- Within 90 days, complete at least 2 Enhanced Deposits directly into your new checking account totaling $3,000 or more. (Deposit your way from recurring paychecks, retirement payments, pensions, and more)
- Bonus will be deposited within 30 days after required activities have been completed
at Citi®
Citi Mortgage Relationship Pricing
- Bonus Amount
- up to $500 or 0.625% off
- Account Type
- Personal Checking
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Have an existing Citi deposit account or open a new one (be sure to check for any sign-up bonuses!).
- Within 5 business days following final loan approval, have a combined balance across all eligible accounts of less than $50,000 to earn a $500 closing cost credit. Balances above $50,000 will earn a tiered interest rate discount, starting at 1/8%, up to 5/8% for those with $2M+.
- Set up automatic mortgage payments from your deposit account.
- Bonus will be applied at closing.
at Citi®
Business Checking Account
- Bonus Amount
- up to $2000
- Account Type
- Business Checking
- Availability
- CA, FL, IL, MD, NV, NY, DC
- Offer Expires
- January 7, 2025
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Open a new Citibank business checking account in-branch and ask to be enrolled in this offer.
- Within 45 days, deposit $5,000 to earn $300, $20,000 to earn $750, $100,000 to earn $1,500, or $200,000 to earn $2,000.
- Starting Day 46, Maintain that balance for 45 consecutive days.
at Citi®
Personal Wealth Management
- Bonus Amount
- $5000
- Account Type
- Investment
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Offer Expires
- December 31, 2024
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Contact Citi to open or enroll a new or existing eligible Citi Personal Wealth Management account
- Fund the Citi Personal Wealth Management account with New-to-Citi Funds within 2 months of account opening (deposit $50,000 for a $500 bonus, $200,000 for a $1,000 bonus, $500,000 for a $2,000 bonus, $1,000,000 for a $3,000 bonus and $2,000,000+ for the $5,000 bonus)
- Enroll into e-delivery of statements within 2 months of account opening.
- Maintain the new funding through the end of the next month (or 3 months after the month of account enrollment).
at Citi®
Citi® Self Invest
- Bonus Amount
- up to $500
- Account Type
- Investment
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Open a new Citi® Self Invest account or add new-to-Citi funds to an existing account.
- Opt-in to eDelivery of statements and confirmations.
- Bonus will be tiered based on the total amount added: $10,000 to earn $100; $50,000 to earn $200; $200,000 to earn the full $500.
- Maintain the New-To-Citi funds in your account through the “maintain funds” deadline as outlined in the chart.
- Bonus will be credited on the last day of the 3rd month following the “maintain funds” period.
at Citi®
Citi Custom Cash℠ Card
- Bonus Amount
- $200
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi Custom Cash℠ Card using the link below.
- Within 6 months, spend $1,500 using your new card.
- Bonus will be credited as $200 cash back.
Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer
- Bonus Amount
- up to 2% Cash Back
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi® Double Cash Card using the link below.
- Spend with your new card, earn 1% cash back.
- By the due date, pay at least the minimum balance due, earn an additional 1% cash back.
Citi Premier® Card
- Bonus Amount
- 60,000 Points
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi Premier® Card using the link below.
- Within 3 months, spend $4,000 using your new card.
- Bonus will be credited in the form of 60,000 points, which can be redeemed for $600 in gift cards.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
- Bonus Amount
- 50,000 Miles
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® credit card using the link below.
- Within 3 months, spend $2,500 using your new card.
- Bonus miles will be credited in your AAdvantage® account in 8-10 weeks.
Citi Rewards+® Card
- Bonus Amount
- 25,000 Points
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi Rewards+® Card using the link below.
- Within 3 months, spend $1,500 using your new card.
- Bonus will be credited in the form of 25,000 points, which can be redeemed for $250 in gift cards at thankyou.com.
American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card
- Bonus Amount
- $50 + 10,000 Miles
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® using the link below.
- Within 3 months, spend $500 using your new card.
- Bonus miles will be credited in your AAdvantage® account and $50 will appear as a statement credit in your Citi account in 8-10 weeks.
Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
- Bonus Amount
- 50,000 Miles
- Account Type
- Personal Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® credit card using the link below.
- Within 3 months, spend $5,000 using your new card.
- Bonus miles will be credited in your AAdvantage® account in 8-10 weeks.
CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard®
- Bonus Amount
- 65,000 Miles
- Account Type
- Business Card
- Availability
- Nationwide
- Bonus Requirements
-
- Apply for a new CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® credit card using the link below.
- Within 4 months, spend $4,000 using your new card.
- Bonus miles will be credited in your AAdvantage® account in 8-10 weeks.
Summary: Citi®'s Current Bonuses
Here’s a recap of the current Citi® promotions and offers that you can claim right now:
| Account | Account Type | Amount | Expires | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relationship Tier | Personal Checking | up to $1500 | Jan 7 | Min Balance | Details |
| Citigold® Checking Account | Personal Checking | up to $1500 | Jan 7 | Min Balance | Details |
| Enhanced Direct Deposit | Personal Checking | $325 | Jan 7 | Direct Deposit | Details |
| Citi Mortgage Relationship Pricing | Personal Checking | up to $500 or 0.625% off | Limited Time | Min Balance | Details |
| Business Checking Account | Business Checking | up to $2000 | Jan 7 | Min Balance | Details |
| Personal Wealth Management | Investment | $5000 | Dec 31 | Min Balance | Details |
| Citi® Self Invest | Investment | up to $500 | Limited Time | Min Balance | Details |
| Citi Custom Cash℠ Card | Personal Card | $200 | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| Citi® Double Cash Card - 18 month BT offer | Personal Card | up to 2% Cash Back | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| Citi Premier® Card | Personal Card | 60,000 Points | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® | Personal Card | 50,000 Miles | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| Citi Rewards+® Card | Personal Card | 25,000 Points | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| American Airlines AAdvantage® MileUp® Card | Personal Card | $50 + 10,000 Miles | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® | Personal Card | 50,000 Miles | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
| CitiBusiness® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® Mastercard® | Business Card | 65,000 Miles | Limited Time | Card Spend | Details |
Expired Offers From Citi®
These bonuses were recently offered by Citi®, but are not available right now.
Check back often as Citi® may revive these deals or offer similar promotions in the future. In the meantime, it can sometimes be helpful to compare Citi®'s current bonuses to their previous deals.
Citigold® Checking Account - up to $1500 bonus (Expired)
Expired: July 17, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $1500 for opening a Citigold® Checking account.
To earn the bonus, you needed to:
- Open a new Citigold® Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $15,000 - $49,999 into your new account to earn $300, $50,000 - $199,999 to earn $700, or $200,000+ to earn $1,500. *Must be New-to-Citi funds
- Maintain that balance for 60 days or more after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
Citibank® Account - up to $1500 bonus (Expired)
Expired: July 17, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $1500 for opening a Citibank® account.
The steps to earning this bonus were:
- Open a new Citibank® Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $15,000 into your new account to earn $300, $50,000 to earn $700, or $200,000 to earn $1,500.
- Maintain that balance for 60 days or more after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
Citi Priority Relationship Tier - up to $1500 bonus (Expired)
Expired: July 17, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $1500 for opening a Citi Priority Relationship Tier account.
Earning this bonus required you to:
- Open a new Citi Priority Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $15,000 into your new account to earn $300, $50,000 to earn $700, or $200,000 to earn $1,500.
- Maintain that balance for 60 days or more after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
Citi® Savings Account - up to $2500 bonus (Expired)
Expired: July 17, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $2500 for opening a Citi® Savings account.
The requirements for this bonus were:
- Open a new Citi® Savings Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $10,000 - $29,999 into your new account to earn $25; $30,000 - $49,999 to earn $75; $50,000 - $99,999 to earn $125; $100,000 - $249,999 to earn $250; $250,000 - $499,999 to earn $625; $500,000 - $999,999 to earn $1,250; or $1,000,000+ to earn $2,500.
- Maintain that balance for 60 days after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
Personal Wealth Management - up to $3500 bonus (Expired)
Expired: June 30, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $3500 for opening a Personal Wealth Management account.
To earn the bonus, you needed to:
- Contact Citi to open or enroll a new or existing eligible Citi Personal Wealth Management account
- Fund the Citi Personal Wealth Management account with New-to-Citi Funds within 2 months of account opening (deposit $50,000 for a $500 bonus, $200,000 for a $1,000 bonus, $500,000 for a $1,500 bonus, $1,000,000 for a $2,500 bonus and $2,000,000+ for the $3,500 bonus)
- Enroll into e-delivery of statements within 2 months of account opening.
- Maintain the new funding through the end of the next month (or 3 months after the month of account enrollment).
Citi® Savings Account - up to $2000 bonus (Expired)
Expired: March 31, 2022
Citi® previously offered up to $2000 for opening a Citi® Savings account.
Earning this bonus required you to:
- Open a new Citi® Savings Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $10,000 - $24,999 into your new account to earn $20; $25,000 - $49,999 to earn $50; $50,000 - $99,999 to earn $100; $100,000 - $249,999 to earn $200; $250,000 - $499,999 to earn $500; $500,000 - $999,999 to earn $1,000; or $1,000,000+ to earn $2,000.
- Maintain that balance for 60 days after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
Citibank® Account - $300 bonus (Expired)
Expired: June 30, 2021
Citi® previously offered $300 for opening a Citibank® account.
To earn the bonus, you needed to:
- Open a new Citibank Account Package using the link below.
- Within 30 days, deposit $15,000 between the new checking and savings accounts and then maintain that balance for 60 days.
Citi Priority Relationship Tier - $700 bonus (Expired)
Expired: June 30, 2021
Citi® previously offered $700 for opening a Citi Priority Relationship Tier account.
The requirements for this bonus were:
- Open a new Citi Priority Account Package using the link below.
- Within 30 days, deposit $50,000 into the new checking account and then maintain that balance for 60 consecutive calendar days.
Citi® Accelerate Savings - 4.45% APY (Expired)
Citi® previously offered 4.45% APY for opening a Citi® Accelerate Savings account.
Earning this bonus required you to:
- Open a new Citi® Accelerate Savings account using the link below.
- Transfer money from a different bank or an existing Citi account.
- Interest compounds daily and will be credited to your account each month.
Citi® Savings Account - up to $3500 bonus (Expired)
Citi® previously offered up to $3500 for opening a Citi® Savings account.
The steps to earning this bonus were:
- Open a new Citi® Savings Account using the link below.
- Within 20 days, deposit $10,000 - $29,999 into your new account to earn $40; $30,000 - $49,999 to earn $100; $50,000 - $99,999 to earn $200; $100,000 - $199,999 to earn $400; $200,000 - $499,999 to earn $800; $500,000 - $999,999 to earn $1,750; or $1,000,000+ to earn $3,500.
- Maintain that balance for 60 days after the 21st day that the account was opened.
- Bonus will be credited to your open, eligible account within 90 calendar days after completing the requirements.
About Citibank
Founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, Citibank is the consumer banking division of Citigroup — the third-largest financial institution in the U.S.
They have nearly 1,000 branches in the US, most of which are concentrated in the six major metropolitan areas: New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Miami, and San Francisco.
For their consumer banking, Citi offers a slight twist to the typical separation of checking and savings accounts, instead offering packages that include a checking account and a linked savings product, with a monthly service fee (waivable) that covers both.
Ultimately, there's certainly nothing to complain about with Citi, but there's also not much to really set them apart. They offer fewer physical branches than the other national brands, but the same low rates.
One exception to this is Citi Accelerate Savings, which is a HYSA that has an APY considerably higher than most of the other big national banks.
To get the best rates out of Citi (and pretty much any of the big banks) though, you'll definitely want to take advantage of their nearly year round bonus offers – the extra cash is a low-risk way to put your savings to work and earn an effective rate that's remarkably better than any advertised APY.
How To Avoid Account Fees to Maximize Your Citi Bonus
Many of the checking and savings accounts offered by Citi have monthly maintenance fees. But there are steps you can take to have these waived, which vary by account.
You should definitely be considering these monthly maintenance fees when calculating the value of a Citi promotion or bonus offer.
If you can't meet the requirements to waive the fee, the Citi product is probably not a great fit long-term for you. In the short-term, you'd at least need to subtract about 6 months worth of fees from the bonus amount, and then consider whether the reward is still worthwhile.
Personal Accounts From Citi:
- Access Account: The $10 monthly fee can be waived if you maintain a combined average monthly balance of at least $1,500 across your linked accounts, OR if you make one bill payment each month, OR if you receive one direct deposit each month. The Access Account has no overdraft or check writing fees.
- Basic Banking: The $12 monthly fee is automatically waived if the account owner is 62 years or older OR if the account is jointly held with a minor. Otherwise, you can also waive the monthly fee by making a single bill payment or receiving a single direct deposit each month, or by maintaining an average monthly balance of at least $1,500 across your linked accounts.
- Citi Elevate℠: The $15 maintenance fee for this high-yield interest checking account is waived by maintaining $5,000 or more in the account.
- Citibank®: The Citibank® Account Package has a $25 monthly fee, or $0 if you keep at least $10,000 in combination across eligible linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts.
- Citi Priority: Citi Priority is part of Citibank's premium products, but you can still waive the $30 monthly service fee by holding $50,000 or more in linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts.
- Citigold®: With the Citigold® Account Package, Citi takes a slightly different approach compared to the other accounts. Citigold® has no monthly fee by default, but instead requires you to keep at least $200,000 in linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts.
- Citigold® Private Client: Citigold® Private Client is an elevated tier of the Citigold account, introducing what Citibank calls "premier banking and investing services" as well as a dedicated wealth team. Like the basic Citigold® account, the Citigold® Private Client has no monthly fee, but instead bumps up the required balance from $200,000 to $1 million.
- Citi® Accelerate Savings and Citi® Savings: Both the HYSA and regular savings options from Citi have no additional monthly fee if they're linked as a package to any of the above checking options. If you'd like to open them as a standalone account, the Citi® Accelerate Savings and Citi® Savings Account have the same fee structure: $4.50 each month, which you can waive by maintaining just $500 in the account.
Business Checking Accounts From Citi:
- CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking: The basic business checking account from Citi has a $15 monthly fee, which can be waived by maintaining at least $5,000 in the account.
- CitiBusiness® Flexible Checking: A step up from Citi's Streamlined Checking account, the CitiBusiness Flexible Checking account doubles the transaction and deposit allowances to 500 transactions and up to $20,000 cash deposits each month. It also increases the monthly fee to $22, or $0 if you maintain $10,000 in the account.
- CitiBusiness® Analyzed Checking: The CitiBusiness® Analyzed Checking advertises the ability to offset your banking fees by earning credit (the rate is variable and based on the 90-day U.S. Treasury Bill interest rate) for every month that your accounts hold a combined balance of $5,000 or more. This is not to be confused with an interest-earning account, however, since this credit is only to offset fees and cannot be carried over month-to-month. The maintenance fee is $24, with no waiver terms – instead, the fee can only be offset by the credits you earn.
- CitiBusiness® Interest Checking Account: The premium small business checking account from Citi has a $30 monthly fee that can be waived by maintaining at least $10,000 in the account.
What's The Catch With Citibank Offers?
Seeing the bonus cash could make you want to immediately open your new Citibank account, but be sure to pause long enough to understand the fine print.
Like most banks, Citi does put some specific limitations on their promotions that could disqualify you. And it's no fun at all to meet the requirements only to realize that you weren't eligible in the first place.
For example, their Citi Priority, Citigold®, and Citibank® "New to Citi Checking" welcome bonuses aren't available to anyone who has had a Citi checking account in the last 6 months, and you need to be at least 18 years old.
Like we mentioned above, you'll also definitely want to understand the fee structure for each account. For example, a $30 monthly fee can nullify a $300 sign-up bonus pretty quickly.
Fortunately, a lot of the time these maintenance fees can be waived – you just need to know the requirements.
If you click "full details" on any of the active offers above, we include all of the fine print and account fees for each promotion. Be sure to read these before moving on to the next step!
We also cover some good tips and tricks that apply to most Citi offers in the next section.
Tips and Tricks for Citi Promotions
In order to earn the "free" cash from Citi, you'll need to follow the rules of each bonus offer.
These are clearly outlined in the fine print of every offer, but there are some common themes that are helpful for you to know up front:
01. Citi Promo Offers
With most offers from Citi, you'll need to enroll in the promo by clicking "Apply Now" straight from the promotion's landing page on the Citi website. We link to this unique landing page from the individual bonuses above.
Alternatively, you can open an account by phone, but you'll need to explicitly request to be enrolled in the offer – the representative won't just volunteer this step!
Sincerely, we can't underscore this enough. Citi's internal systems track these offers automatically. If you open an account by any other means, you won't receive the bonus, regardless of whether or not you meet the other requirements.
02. Tiered Rewards
Citibank's deposit and savings bonuses are unique in that they're almost always tiered. That means the more cash you can deposit into your new account, the bigger the reward Citi will give you in return.
We personally think this is great for new account holders.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all, meet-the-terms-or-miss-out approach that most banks take, Citibank's promotions are different.
Even if you have only a small amount of cash to put in your new account, you'll still get something (and often times, the lower tiers give you a higher effective APY on your deposit).
But if you have a large chunk of cash that you'd like to put to work risk-free, then Citi has higher tiers with bonus amounts that are often in the thousands.
As a tip, you'll often have a window to cumulatively deposit the required amount, rather than being required to make the full deposit in a single transaction. Typically, that window is the first 20-30 days after opening the account.
But, keep in mind that if you withdraw cash and fall below that tier any time within the holding period (typically a full 60 days after the accumulating window) – even if for just a single day – your bonus tier will be dropped to match that now lesser amount. Unfortunately, it doesn't also work the other way (deposit more to move up a tier). ;)
03. Existing versus new customers
Most Citi bonus offers only apply to new customers.
That means you're not eligible if you currently have an existing account in that product category or if you've closed an account in that category within the past 180 days.
By "product category", we mean "consumer checking account", "business savings account" or the like.
For example, having an existing Citigold® Checking Account would not exclude you from opening a CitiBusiness® Streamlined Checking account and receiving that account's welcome bonus. But having a Citigold® Checking Account would exclude you from earning a Citi Priority welcome bonus.
04. Every 2 years limit
For nearly all Citi bonus offers, Citi limits you to receiving a welcome bonus only once every 2 years.
Again, this is within that product category or per credit card.
05. Clawbacks
Unlike many banks and credit unions – including national bank competitor, Chase – Citi doesn't have an early termination fee or clause in the fine print of their banking bonus terms.
You will, however, need to keep the account open until you've received the bonus. If you close the account prematurely, you'll forfeit the reward.
That means you're likely still committed to your new Citi account for the same 6 months that Chase requires by default: 30 days to deposit the money, 60 days of maintaining that balance, and then a waiting period of up to 90 days before you actually get paid.
06. Citi credit card restrictions
For some card categories, the 2-year restriction we mentioned earlier crosses multiple cards. For example, the fine print on the Citi Rewards+® bonus says that you’re excluded if you’ve already earned a welcome bonus for Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi Premier® or Citi Prestige® cards.
07. Taxes
Remember that like all bank promotions, bonuses from Citibank are taxable. Unlike your regular salary, Citi does not withhold interest from your earned bonuses. Instead, Citi will send you a 1099-INT at the end of the year, and that bank interest will be taxed as ordinary income.
The exception here are credit card offers. Credit card rewards are typically treated as a rebate or discount by the IRS, rather than income. So earning a welcome bonus for opening a new Citi credit card is not usually taxable.
08. Fine print
Ultimately, every offer is unique. While the above tips are typical of most Citi offers, they aren't guarantees. Make sure to thoroughly read the fine print of the bonus you're interested in.
Also know that offers can be changed at any time. Until you've fully enrolled in that offer by opening the account, the terms aren't "locked in".
That also means that the promotion may end earlier than the advertised expiration date – and truly, that happens all the time, even from a relatively consistent bank like Citi. If you're interested in a bonus, don't wait until the last minute to enroll.
Citibank Promotions FAQs
How do I find a Citi promotional offer?
You can find most of Citi's active bonuses right on this page. From time to time Citi offers targeted offers that may vary slightly from what you see here.
Do Citi offers expire?
Yes. As with most bank bonuses, Citi offers usually have expiration dates (see above examples).
Again, bonuses are fluid. Don't feel like you have to jump on one just because it's about to expire. The big banks like Citi and Chase are almost always offering some form of a welcome offer because the competition for new customers is so fierce.
With that said, if you find a great bonus with an account you want, there's no point in waiting. It could be a while before the same promotion becomes available again; plus you run the risk of the requirements being increased or the reward lowered. So if you're sure, just go for it.
Are Citi sign-up bonuses taxed?
Yes, all bonuses coming from Citi promotions will be reported to the IRS and taxed as income. Keep this in mind when you're figuring out your total return on any given offer.
The exception here is credit card bonuses. Since most credit cards require a minimum spending amount to qualify for a bonus, the reward doesn't count as taxable income.
How long does it take to get paid a Citi bonus?
Account bonus payouts vary in the amount of time they take to hit your account. With Citi, most bonuses will arrive within 90 days of completing the qualifying activities.
If you haven't received your bonus in the expected amount of time, double-check to make sure you didn't miss anything in the requirements, and then contact their customer support team to find out what the hold up is.
How do I get my Citibank bonus?
To earn a bonus by opening a new account with Citi, you'll need to meet all of the promotional terms (be sure to also read the fine print!). Once you've met the requirements, your bonus will be deposited as cash directly into your new account, or as points or miles into the rewards account tied to your new Citi credit card.
Can I get multiple Citibank promotions?
Probably not. Most offers are only available to new Citi customers, and you usually only get one shot at a particular bonus.
Keep in mind that by "new", we mean new for that particular account category. For example, receiving a Citi Priority sign up bonus doesn't keep you from also getting a Citi credit card bonus. It only excludes you from the Citigold® and Citibank promotions.
Is a Citi Bonus a Good Deal For You?
Citi is not the only bank with active and nationally available bonuses and promotions. For example, Chase Bank runs these deals nearly year round.
What's different about Citibank promotions, however, is that they're often structured to reward you with more cash if you can meet higher balance requirements.
That means that if you have a sizeable savings just sitting in a bank account, you could instead put it to work with a Citi bonus offer.
BUT, not being able to meet the max reward doesn't mean you can't get anything. For example, the "New to Citi Checking" welcome bonuses start with a $300 tier.
Either way, bank bonuses will very often give you an effective interest rate that is WAY higher than any HYSA, while still being low risk compared to the short-term volatility of say, the stock market.
In addition to the welcome cash, Citibank accounts have a lot to like, including free financial advising services, interest-bearing checking accounts, and their Citi ThankYou Rewards program.
Like we mentioned before, be sure to read the fine print and understand the account's fee structure – the information is readily available and not buried or hidden.
But if you're a non-Citi customer, there's a good chance at least one of their deals could be worthwhile for you.
Good luck!
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired or changed.
