Citi® Accelerate Savings Review: High APY from a Big Bank

Citi® Accelerate Savings is a high-yield online savings account from Citibank N.A. While big banks are typically known for ground floor savings rates on deposit accounts, Accelerate Savings serves as Citi’s HYSA.

Learn how the Citi® Accelerate Savings account can help you reach your savings goals. In this Citi® Accelerate Savings review, we’ll explore its top features and how it stacks up against other online options.

Citi® Accelerate Savings Features

Here are the top features that the Citi® Accelerate Savings account includes:

Available in 43 States

Citi® Accelerate Savings is available in every state except California, Connecticut, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia.

The account is also not open to customers in Washington, DC, and it’s only available in select markets in Florida and Illinois.

Account Packages

You can open a Citi® Accelerate Savings account with any of the following bank accounts:

• Access Checking (Checkless banking)
• Regular Checking (Unlimited check writing)

Annual Percentage Yield (APY)

The trademark account feature of Citi® Accelerate Savings is its high-earning APY. At 4.45%, it’s one of the best rates available among traditional banks.

Best of all, the high rate is available as long as your balance is at least $0, and there’s no limit on earnings.

Open a Citi® Accelerate Savings account now

Automated Savings

Citi helps you put personal finance on autopilot with automatic savings tools.

You can set savings goals, track progress, customize a budget, and transfer funds automatically between your Citi accounts.

65,000+ Free ATMs

With your Citi debit card, you’ll have fee-free access to more than 65,000 Citi and MoneyPass ATMs in the US. Citi® Accelerate Savings don’t limit the number of withdrawals per month; however, they have daily limits, including:

• $1,500 for non-relationship-tier accounts
• $2,000 for Citi Priority Relationship tier accounts
• $5,000 for Citigold® and Citigold® Private Client Relationship tier

Mobile App

The Citi mobile banking app is extremely well-liked, especially for a traditional bank. The app has an impressive 4.9-star rating in the App Store and a 4.7-star rating in the Google Play Store.

Since Citi® Accelerate Savings is an online account, app functionality becomes even more critical.

With the app, you can manage all of your Citi accounts and credit cards, make mobile check deposits, and move money around as needed.

Overdraft Protection

If you have any Citi checking and savings account, you can enroll in Safety Check for overdraft protection on your checking account.

afety Check automatically transfers funds from your savings to your checking if you overdraw to avoid an overdraft fee.

Learn More:

• Read our full Citi review

Fees

A Citi® Accelerate Savings wouldn’t be complete without discussing its fees. Fortunately, the Citi® Accelerate Savings has no minimum opening deposit or minimum balance requirements, so anyone can easily open an account.

However, this is still a Big Four bank account, so don’t expect a complete absence of account fees.

Here’s everything you need to know about the cost of a Citi® Accelerate Savings account.

Monthly Maintenance Fees

The monthly fee for a Citi® Accelerate Savings account is $4.50 per month.

But you can avoid it by maintaining an average monthly balance of $500 or more in your savings, having a Citi checking account, or meeting one of the relationship tiers.

ATM Fees

Citi has one of the most extensive ATM networks of the big banks, with more than 65,000 free locations. If you use an out-of-network ATM, there’s a $2.50 fee, plus the fee the ATM charges.

Wire Transfer Fees

Citi charges fees for a wire transfer, but they vary based on whether they are incoming or outgoing wires.

The Everyday package charges $15 per incoming wire, but all premium packages waive the incoming wire fee. Outgoing domestic wires are $25, and international outgoing wires are $35.

Getting Started

If you’re the Citi® Accelerate Savings review convinced you that you’re ready to open a Citi® Accelerate Savings account, you can open it online in minutes.

All you need to get started is a valid ID with your name, address, date of birth, and social security number.

You can link an external account or move money over from an existing Citi account to fund your new account. If, for some reason, you can’t open your account online, you can contact Citi via phone.

Open a Citi® Accelerate Savings account now

Promotions

There’s no promotion tied directly to the Citi® Accelerate Savings account at the moment, but Citi has a few other attractive promotions.

Here are some of the best Citi® promotions going on right now:

1. Citi® Self Invest - up to $500 bonus

Expires: June 30, 2024

Available nationwide to new and existing customers, Citi is offering up to a $500 bonus when you add new-to-Citi funds to a Citi® Self Invest account.

As is typical with Citi promotions, this is a tiered offer: the more you add, the more you earn. You'll need to deposit at least $10,000 to earn a $100 reward, or at least $200,000 to receive the full $500.

You'll need to also maintain your funds through a date defined in the table below:

How to earn the bonus

The Citi® Self Invest sign up offer requires you to deposit and maintain a minimum balance in order to earn the $500 bonus. Full requirements to receive this bonus are:

1. Open a new Citi® Self Invest account or add new-to-Citi funds to an existing account.
2. Opt-in to eDelivery of statements and confirmations.
3. 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.
4. Maintain the New-To-Citi funds in your account through the “maintain funds” deadline as outlined in the chart.
5. Bonus will be credited on the last day of the 3rd month following the “maintain funds” period.

read the full terms

Apply now to earn the $500 bonus from Citi®

2. Personal Wealth Management - $5000 bonus

Expires: June 30, 2024

Earn up to $5,000 when you open or enroll a new or existing eligible Personal Wealth Management account with new-to-Citi funds.

This is a tiered bonus based on how much you deposit and maintain for the first 3 months. They've up the reward amounts for their upper tiers this go around.

There are 5 levels, starting with a $500 bonus for deposits $50,000 - $199,999 and going up to $5,000 for $2,000,000+.

How to earn the bonus

The Personal Wealth Management sign up offer requires you to deposit and maintain a minimum balance in order to earn the $5000 bonus. Full requirements to receive this bonus are:

1. Contact Citi to open or enroll a new or existing eligible Citi Personal Wealth Management account
2. 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)
3. Enroll into e-delivery of statements within 2 months of account opening.
4. Maintain the new funding through the end of the next month (or 3 months after the month of account enrollment).

read the full terms

Apply now to earn the $5000 bonus from Citi®

3. Business Checking Account - up to $2000 bonus

Expires: July 8, 2024

CitiBusiness if offering up to $2,000 when you open a new business checking account in-branch and make a minimum deposit within 30 days.

This is a tiered offer, where the more you deposit the more you earn (starting at a $300 bonus for $5,000, up to the full $2,000 for depositing a cumulative $200,000).

If you have the cash and live close to a physical branch, this is a solid welcome bonus. The lowest tier represents a 12% effective rate on your savings – not bad!

Branches currently located in the following metropolitan areas: Los Angeles (CA), Orange County (CA), Riverside (CA), San Diego (CA), San Francisco (CA), Miami (FL), Chicago (IL), Baltimore (MD), Las Vegas (NV), New York City (NY), and Washington, DC.

How to earn the bonus

The Business Checking Account sign up offer requires you to deposit and maintain a minimum balance in order to earn the $2000 bonus. Full requirements to receive this bonus are:

1. Open a new Citibank business checking account in-branch and ask to be enrolled in this offer.
2. Within 30 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.
3. Maintain that balance for 60 days.
4. The bonus will be credited to your business checking account within 90 days from the end of the month in which you complete the requirements.

read the full terms

Apply now to earn the $2000 bonus from Citi®

Learn More:

• See all current offers from Citi®

Security

Citi has all of the resources in place to provide peace of mind for online banking regarding security.

You’ll get personalized support if your identity or account is compromised. Citi provides 24/7 fraud monitoring, plus real-time alerts if suspicious activity is suspected.

When banking online or through the app, you can count on 128-bit encryption and multi-factor authentication to keep your sensitive information safe.

All Citi accounts are FDIC-insured, so deposits are protected for up to $250,000.

Customer Service

When you need help with your Citi® Accelerate Savings account, Citi’s online help center is available through the website or the app. You can browse FAQs, use live chat, or send a secure email.

Citi has a dedicated online banking phone line (888-248-4226).

Unfortunately, Citi seems to provide a level of customer support that runs par for the course with bigger banks — at the moment, the bank has a customer service rating of just 1.5 stars (out of 5) on Trustpilot.

Pros & Cons

Alternatives to Citi® Accelerate Savings

If you live in one of the states where Citi® Accelerate Savings isn’t available or just want to browse what else is out there, there are plenty of high-rate online savings accounts to choose from.

Check out the best alternatives to the Citi® Accelerate Savings account:

• Savings Builder from CIT Bank (no relation to Citibank N.A.)
• Marcus by Goldman Sachs
• Ally Bank
• Chime’s High Yield Online Savings

It’s also worth looking into credit unions like Alliant or Connexus, which tend to offer lower fees than banks with comparably high-yield rates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Citi® Accelerate Savings good?

The best savings accounts should always come with a few benchmark perks, such as high rates, low fees, and plenty of online functionality.

Overall, Citi® Accelerate Savings hits two out of three. The savings rate is on the higher end, and the app is outstanding, but there are more fees than you’ll see with fully online options.

That said, one of the main draws of the account is that it comes with the Citigroup name. The bank is a well-established member-FDIC financial institution plus a major credit card issuer.

What is the interest rate on Citi® Accelerate Savings?

The account currently comes with a 4.45% APY for balances of $0 or more. Like most accounts, the rate is variable and will adjust over time based on market trends and the Federal Reserve.

Also, this is well above Citi’s CD rates, which hover between 0.05% to 0.25% APY.

What is the Citi® Accelerate Savings account?

The Citi® Accelerate Savings account is Citi’s online, high-yield savings account. Unlike most traditional bank accounts, Citi® Accelerate Savings is a checkless, online bank account that provides higher returns than a standard savings account.

Is Citi® Accelerate Savings Right For You?

Our Citi® Accelerate Savings review is that the Citi® Accelerate Savings account is a seemingly perfect balance between old and new. The account is high-earning and fully digital while retaining the brand name and vast resources of a Big Four Bank.

High-yield savings accounts aren’t the norm for brick-and-mortar banks. With Citi’s huge market presence and modern features, the account feels like traditional banking’s answer to the ever-expanding selection of upstart neobanks.

On the other hand, it still falls a little short of many of its digital counterparts. Fees are avoidable but not non-existent. The account also isn’t available nationwide, and Citi’s overall level of customer service is questionable.

If nothing else, Citi® Accelerate Savings is a good sign that traditional banks are starting to understand where their savings options have been falling short.

The consumer banking space has more options than ever, and big banks must continue to embrace modern practices to stay competitive. Here’s to hoping that there’s more to come.

The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired or changed.