Citi $325/$750/$1,500 Checking Bonus

Update 1/13/26: Extended until 04/13/26, but $425 option is gone. Updated F.A.Q section with more information about savings stack and Citigold. 

Update 1/6/26: I’ve tried to fully refresh this page with a F.A.Q section and referral information as well as state differences. Current version is set to end on 1/12/26. Unclear if the same bonus will return or a better/worse version. If somebody wants to do a walk through of things like timing the increased savings rate/citi gold benefits I’m sure it would be greatly appreciated. 

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: $300
• Availability: Nationwide
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $3,000+
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
• ChexSystems: Yes
• Credit card funding: None, but can fund up to $1,000 with a debit card
• Monthly fees: $12, avoidable
• Early account termination fee: None
• Household limit: None listed
• Expiration date: 7/8/24

The Offer

Direct link to offers: $325/$425 | $750/$1500 (if links don’t work try opening in incognito)

• Citi is offering a variety of checking bonuses.
  • $325/$425 checking bonus  
    • Open a new eligible Citi® Checking account with Enhanced Direct Deposits, and enroll in this offer by applying directly from this page.
    • Deposit at least two (2) Enhanced Direct Deposits directly into your new checking account within 90 calendar days from account opening. Your total combined Enhanced Direct Deposits must equal
      • $3,000 or more for the $325 bonus
      • $6,000+ for $425 bonus 
  • $750/$1,500 checking bonus when you 
    • Deposit New-to-Citibank Funds into your checking account within 45 calendar days from account opening.
    • Maintain the required minimum balance in your Regular Checking account for an additional 45 days from the 46th day
    • $30,000 minimum balance for $750 bonus 
    • $200,000 minimum balance for $1,500 bonus

The Fine Print

• An EDD is an electronic deposit through the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network of payroll, pension, social security, government benefits and other payments to your checking or savings account. An Enhanced Direct Deposit also includes all deposits via Zelle® and other P2P payments when made via ACH using providers such as Venmo or PayPal. Teller deposits, cash deposits, check deposits, wire transfers, transfers between Citibank accounts, ATM transfers and deposits, mobile check deposits, and P2P payments using a debit card do not qualify as an Enhanced Direct Deposit. (Note: see this comment about Zelle.)
• So long as you have not owned a Citi checking account in the last 365 days, meet Tax Requirements, and are at least 18 years old, you can apply to participate in the Enhanced Direct Deposit Checking Acquisition Offer (“Enhanced Direct Deposit Offer”) (click the Offer, Product & Pricing Information link at the top of the fine print to see this)
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them

Avoiding Fees

Monthly Fees

Regular & Access Checking fee waived:

• in the month of account opening and for 3 months after account opening or
• each month the account has $250+ in Enhanced Direct Deposits

Early Account Termination Fee

In the past, Citi has not charged any ETF, and none is mentioned for this offer.

Referral Bonus 

You can refer people and if they sign up and complete the requirements you will get $100. The person being referred does not get an additional bonus, but they will get the standard bonus (e.g $325/$750/$1,500). Please do not share your referrals in the comments below, but you can use them in this linked thread. 

Our Verdict

In some states (NY, CT, NJ, DC, VA, MD, CA, or NV) it’s possible to make the deposit bonus offer ($750/$1,500) significantly better by opening a savings account and linking it within 10 days of the checking account. Currently you can get 3.5% APY for the first three months. If you do the $200,000 deposit offer you are also eligible for Citi gold. 

For a lot of readers the $325/$450 offers will be far simpler. We will add it to our best bank bonus page. You can see the definition of an enhanced direct deposit here.

Useful posts regarding bank bonuses:

• A Beginners Guide To Bank Account Bonuses
• Bank Account Quick Reference Table (Spreadsheet) (very useful for sorting bonuses by different parameters)
• PSA: Don’t Call The Bank
• Introduction To ChexSystems
• Banks & Credit Unions That Are ChexSystems Inquiry Sensitive
• What Banks & Credit Unions Do/Don’t Pull ChexSystems?
• 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
• Banks That Allow/Don’t Allow Out Of State Checking Applications
• Bank Bonus Posting Times

F.A.Q’s

Big thanks to Gadget for helping me with this. 

I can’t see the offer? Has it expired?

Probably not, if the offer isn’t showing for you then you need to try the following:

• Copy & paste the link rather than clicking the link
• Clear your cache and try the above
• Copy and paste the link in incognito mode

I can’t see where it says you can’t have had an account within the past 365 days?

• Look for the link that says ‘Offer’ and click it. Name of the link sometimes changes but you should be able to find it.
• Scroll down to ‘Qualify’, it should state the following: “So long as you have not owned a Citi checking account in the last 365 days, meet Tax Requirements, and are at least 18 years old, you can apply to participate in the Enhanced Direct Deposit Checking Acquisition Offer (“Enhanced Direct Deposit Offer”).”

Is there an offer tracker?

Yes, there is an offer tracker but not everybody sees it unfortunately.

• You need to use the Citi app:
  • Services > Rewards & Upgrades > Explore Rewards > Select the checking account.
  • Scroll to Citi Checking Cash Bonus Offer – ??? (??? being the last 3 of the account number)
  • After a day of account opening you should see “Congratulations, You’re Enrolled!”
    • The $325/$425 offer has number of EDD’s completed, and totals.
    • The $750/$1500 offer has the exact dates you must meet & maintain the balance.
• Can also try online ‘Explore all the benefits of being a Citibank® customer, “Learn more”

How do I stack with the 3.5% savings account?

Firstly this offer is only available in certain states (most likely NY, CT, NJ, DC, VA, MD, CA, or NV but might be more). You then need to do the following:

• Open checking account from promo page above
• Fund with a small amount
• Open the savings account using the savings promo link. This needs to be done after the checking account is opened but within 45 calendar days. 
• Fully fund savings account within 10 business days of opening it 

Optimal time to open the savings account is as close to the 45 calendar days as possible assuming the funds are earning more than 3.5% APY elsewhere (best savings rates here). I would give yourself significant grace time in case something goes wrong. 

How do I access the Citigold benefits?

Some people have been able to sign up for Citigold while doing this promotion and get the benefits for three months without depositing $200,000. You find can find a list of the benefits here. You need to activate your debit card before being able to access the Citigold benefits, you can enroll for the benefits here: https://citigold.citi.com/subscriptions.