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David
David (@guest_2030362)
March 24, 2025 19:13

How fast does the bonus payout. Fund account on 1/23, still have not seen the bonus

Retired
Retired (@guest_2043452)
April 13, 2025 14:03

Let us know when you get yours. I still have a couple months to go.

Matt
Matt (@guest_2044858)
April 16, 2025 10:40

I’ve always received it on exactly on the last possible day according to the terms

Jeff
Jeff (@guest_2018249)
March 6, 2025 19:27

Looks like I cannot transfer my VOO to my self invest brokerage to churn this offer. The self invest offer is much smaller unfortunately

Maya
Maya (@guest_2018450)
March 7, 2025 04:32

Really? Citi wealth management does not take VOO? That is surprising as VOO is an ETF and it should be available for trading for most brokerages

Jeff
Jeff (@guest_2018880)
March 7, 2025 15:17

I should’ve expressed it differently: this offer does not include self direct brokerage account.

What accounts are eligible and ineligible for this offer?
The promotion is only available for certain account types, including individual and joint accounts. Accounts not eligible for this promotion, include but are not limited to:
…….
Citi Wealth Builder and Citi Self Invest accounts

This is what i meant that I cannot transfer VOO to MY SELF INVEST brokerage to churn.

Maya
Maya (@guest_2019150)
March 8, 2025 00:57

When I opened the account for the wealth management offer, the agent opened a self-directed account for me and told me it was eligible. He seemed to know what he was doing.

Eric D
Eric D (@guest_2019134)
March 7, 2025 23:45

Transferred it last month with no problem.

Jeff
Jeff (@guest_2019334)
March 8, 2025 13:09

I called the CSR: Citi has two kinds of self invest account and they have different offers. The one that you can open online is eligible to a lower offer (up to 500) and the one that have to open through a solution advisor has this higher offer.

It is quite confusing, though.

David
David (@guest_2014863)
March 2, 2025 10:08

Do they pull chex?

Christopher Robin 🔗💰
Christopher Robin 🔗💰 (@guest_2015015)
March 2, 2025 13:28

David No, they do not. I am not aware of any brokerage account application that involves a Chex inquiry.

Jared
Jared (@guest_2012507)
February 26, 2025 10:20

After a few go-arounds with my “Fidelity Team”, they have officially rejected any possibility of matching this offer (or any others, for that matter), so I’m strongly considering jumping on board with Citi — I think.

I want to get in on the $3k bonus for $1M-$2M in new-to-Citi funds, and I just want to put that money into USFR or SGOV. Nothing more, nothing less.

The offer terms indicate that self-directed accounts, which this would be, are not eligible for any bonus higher than $500 for the $50k-$200k in new-to-Citi funds bucket, which is why I believe there’s so much talk in DoC about members targeting to do this every quarter, while it’s an option.

Before I jump in and initiate the phone call to Citi, is this understanding indeed correct, or has anyone actually been eligible for the larger cash bonuses with the self-direct option?

Jared
Jared (@guest_2012523)
February 26, 2025 10:39

Edited to add:
The Citi Self Invest option is a bonus of only $200 for the $50k-$200k bucket. What am I missing with folks talking about $500 bonuses for depositing $50k each quarter?

Raymond 🔗
Raymond 🔗 (@guest_2013092)
February 27, 2025 01:21

If you search the comments, you could see people moving over 200k and receiving 1000+ bonus

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi-wealth-management-up-to-3500-bonus/#comment-1949552

Jared
Jared (@guest_2019836)
March 9, 2025 20:50

No, it’s not that simple. There are varying DPs, as recent as today.

Raymond 🔗
Raymond 🔗 (@guest_2012352)
February 26, 2025 01:41

I was reading the TnC for Q4 2024 offer

“New-To-Citi funds may be deposited into a
Citibank checking or savings account on or after 10/1/24 and transferred to the eligible CPWM account during the Account
Funding Period outlined in the chart above. However, transfers of funds held prior to 10/1/24 from a Citibank checking or
savings account are not considered New-To-Citi funds for the purpose of this promotion. The amount of the cash bonus
reward is based on the total New-to-Citi funding received during the promotional period.”

Does that essentially mean I can churn the same 50k back to back? It doesnt consider net balance, only considers incoming fund in the eligible quarter after enrollment.

Josh Rosen
Josh Rosen (@guest_2007038)
February 18, 2025 15:13

Is there some way to deposit $1 first? The website is hard to navigate/ seems like I can only transfer in funds? I don’t see a way to deposit funds from checking so I can make sure my initial funding period is Feb

Jimmy Johns 🔗
Jimmy Johns 🔗 (@guest_2009224)
February 21, 2025 01:05

I believe you have to ask them for a form to link external accounts. I’d imagine that form asks you how much you want to transfer. I did an ACATs and had to provide brokerage info and a statement. Maybe someone who funded via ACH could confirm

favo🔗
favo🔗 (@guest_2009913)
February 22, 2025 03:27

Josh Rosen Jimmy Johns 🔗 For someone who doesn’t have a Citi Checking or Savings account, need to call CS to docusign some form or fill out form and email back to have them manually link the external account to Citi’s brokerage account, and need to call them to initiate the ACH transfer.

For someone who has a Citi Checking or Savings, ACH into the Checking or Savings and then transfer into the Citi brokerage account is considered new-to-citi money despite the middle step.

favo🔗
favo🔗 (@guest_2009927)
February 22, 2025 04:51

You can also do a wire transfer into Citi brokerage account. Citi doesn’t charge fee for incoming wire. Call Citi and they will give you wire instructions. Some banks/brokerage like Fidelity doesn’t charge fee for outgoing wire. Fidelity’s online wire form doesn’t have all the fields that Citi gave, but call Fidelity CS and they can initiate the wire over the phone.

Josh Rosen
Josh Rosen (@guest_2012363)
February 26, 2025 02:34

Thanks I went and wired money

Mike
Mike (@guest_2006286)
February 17, 2025 15:11

How are you opening the account, in branch or calling in? I called the 1-833-350-2258 Citi Wealth Management number at 3:08pm ET and got a recorded reply with “the department you are calling is closed. Call during normal working hours” ….thats all, without even saying what are the hours.

John R🔗
John R🔗 (@guest_2006289)
February 17, 2025 15:13

Today’s a bank holiday.

Mike
Mike (@guest_2006355)
February 17, 2025 16:55

got it, thanks

CSF
CSF (@guest_2005459)
February 16, 2025 07:35

Has anyone done back to back quarters and received the bonus and if so how long after withdrawal of funds did you sign up for the current quarter? Thanks

Josh Rosen
Josh Rosen (@guest_2003846)
February 13, 2025 15:27

Opened account today. Is my understanding right?
Fund $1 by end of Feb.
Make sure I fully fund (i.e. ACAT) by end of Apr.
Hold funds through end of May.
Once June comes, I can withdraw funds; bonus will be credited by Sep 1.

Retired
Retired (@guest_2004886)
February 14, 2025 23:55

Sounds about right. I am in the same boat.

favo🔗
favo🔗 (@guest_2004892)
February 15, 2025 00:06

Yes, just make sure those funds (including the initial deposit) are all new-to-citi funds

CSF
CSF (@guest_1999307)
February 6, 2025 12:39

My maintain funds period just ended 1/31/25 for Q4. Can I withdraw funds and then enroll in q1? I would then deposit a nominal amount later this month and fully fund by April 30.

Eric D
Eric D (@guest_1999425)
February 6, 2025 15:13

Better to withdraw fund this month, then enroll and have initial funding next month.

Maya
Maya (@guest_1999494)
February 6, 2025 16:22

Eric D Erik

I’m wondering the same thing. I’m curious whether Citi Wealth Management retrospectively reviews the account balance at a specific cutoff date to determine if the “new-to-Citi” money requirement has been met when customers enroll in these offers alongside existing accounts.

For example, many banks have a cutoff date for existing customer offers. Take Live Oak’s offer: customers must maintain the pre-existing balance as of 2/3/25 and deposit an additional $20K by 03/31/25 to qualify, whereas new customers only need to deposit $20K. In that case, if a customer already has $20K as of 2/3/25, they must add another $20K and maintain a $40K balance during the 60-day promo period. This practice—looking at the account’s balance at a specific point or aggregating balances across account types—is fairly common.

I wonder if Citi has a similar balance cutoff requirement, or if it only looks at the balance increase from the day of offer enrollment. If it’s the latter, a customer could theoretically withdraw funds before enrollment and then re-deposit a “clean” amount.

I reviewed Citi’s offer terms and didn’t see any reference to a retrospective balance look-back for brokerage accounts or across all accounts. The closest reference is the clause about new-to-Citi funds needing to be deposited into a Citibank checking or savings account on or after 1/1/2025 before being transferred into the eligible CPWM account:

“New-to-Citi funds may be deposited into a Citibank checking or savings account on or after 1/1/2025 and transferred to the eligible CPWM account during the Account Funding Period outlined in the chart above. However, transfers of funds held prior to 1/1/2025 from a Citibank checking or savings account are not considered New-to-Citi funds for the purpose of this promotion. The amount of the cash bonus reward is based on the total New-to-Citi funding received during the promotional period.”

This wording does not mention any look-back of pre-existing balances in the brokerage account itself. I might have missed something, though, so I’m interested to hear from others who have navigated this offer before.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

Jimmy Johns 🔗
Jimmy Johns 🔗 (@guest_2009230)
February 21, 2025 01:13

Maya I did some calculations on how to maximize the number of churns, and it seems you should be able to get 4x$500 bonuses if you had around 100k to churn with. Reading through DPs, looks like 2 accounts could be a sweet spot, and perform partial ACATs which are free.

Account 1: Open 2/2025 (Q1), maintain funds through 5/2025
Account 2: Open 6/2025 (Q2), maintain funds through 9/2025
Account 1: Enroll 7/2025 (Q3), maintain funds through 10/2025
Account 2: Enroll 11/2025 (Q4), maintain funds through 2/2026

Whole process takes around 13 months. You’ll have some periods where each account is enrolled in a different quarterly bonus (June is Q2, July is Q3), so you’ll need 100k to target both bonuses concurrently. Otherwise, you’re effectively draining the account after the maintenance period ends, then enrolling the other account in the next bonus right afterwards.

I’ll be trying this approach through the year and will report back on my datapoints.

Maya
Maya (@guest_2009263)
February 21, 2025 05:15

Thanks, Jimmy Johns 🔗. That makes a lot of sense.

I opened my first account in January, so based on your calculations, I believe I can open the second account in May and follow this adjusted timeline (shifting your timeline forward by one month since my first account was opened in January instead of February). Does this look correct?

Two-account strategy:

  • Account 1: 1/2025 – 4/2025
  • Account 2: 5/2025 – 8/2025
  • Account 1: 6/2025 – 9/2025
  • Account 2: 10/2025 – 1/2026

This setup is a lot more efficient than using just one account since it allows for four promotion periods within 13 months instead of only three in 14 months with a single account. Did I interpret this correctly?

Single-account strategy (three periods in 14 months):

  • 1/2025 – 4/2025
  • 6/2025 – 9/2025
  • 11/2025-2/2026
Jimmy Johns 🔗
Jimmy Johns 🔗 (@guest_2009395)
February 21, 2025 10:55

You have an two account openings scheduled in Q2 (May and June), only one bonus per quarter. I prefer June and July since it straddles two quarters and I can just hold the funds in the June account for an extra month

Maya
Maya (@guest_2009421)
February 21, 2025 11:30

Good catch! Thank you Jimmy Johns 🔗 !

So the timeframe should look like this?

  • Account 1: 1/2025 – 4/2025
  • Account 2: 5/2025 – 8/2025 or 6/2025 – 9/2025
  • Account 1: 7/2025 – 10/2025
  • Account 2: 11/2025 – 2/2026

Just realized one thing, don’t we need a month spacer between the end of the holding period of one account and the enrollment month of the other account? I mean, for example, the holding period for the 1st account ends in 4/2025, the funds can be pulled out in 05/2025, if the 2nd account is enrolled in 05/2025 as well, then wouldn’t the withdrawal from the 1st account be deducted from the “new money to citi” for the 2nd account? If so, it seems only one account is needed, and need one month space in between enrollments:

  • 1/2025 – 4/2025
  • 6/2025 – 9/2025
  • 11/2025 – 2/2026
Jimmy Johns 🔗
Jimmy Johns 🔗 (@guest_2009425)
February 21, 2025 11:33

I’m going off the assumption that pulling the funds at the start of a month has no impact on enrolling in the next bonus at the end of the month (while technically the same month, the actions are 20+ days apart)

Maya
Maya (@guest_2009451)
February 21, 2025 12:17

Thanks Jimmy Johns 🔗 . And I just saw Christopher’s comment in the link, it does look like the withdrawal at the start of the month has no impact on enrolling in the next bonus in the same month later.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi-wealth-management-up-to-3500-bonus/#comment-2009428

One more question, you mentioned “I prefer June and July since it straddles two quarters and I can just hold the funds in the June account for an extra month”, do you mean that the funds for Account 2: 6/2025 – 9/2025 should stay in the account till the end of 10/2025 since Account 1 is enrolled in the next promotion for 7/2025 – 10/2025?

Christopher Robin 🔗💰
Christopher Robin 🔗💰 (@guest_2009428)
February 21, 2025 11:37

Maya I pulled out my funds from the only account I have early this month after holding my funds through January for a Q4 promo.

After the withdrawal, I was assured over the phone that I can now enroll in February for the Q1 promo and make an initial deposit in February into the same account.

The rep did put me on hold twice to confirm this. The rep also emailed me to confirm my enrollment in the Q1 promo and attached the flyer.

I hope she is right.

Maya
Maya (@guest_2009445)
February 21, 2025 12:08

Thanks, Christopher Robin! So only one account is needed, and there’s no waiting period between promotions. That’s great news!

Christopher Robin 🔗💰
Christopher Robin 🔗💰 (@guest_2009480)
February 21, 2025 13:15

Maya If you end up going with my route, make sure to receive confirmation from the rep who enrolls you in the current quarter’s promo that your withdrawal earlier in the month for the prior quarter’s promo will have no impact.

Maya
Maya (@guest_2009914)
February 22, 2025 03:30

Thanks Christopher Robin . I just enrolled in my first promotion in January, and the holding period ends at the end of April. I’ll withdraw the fund in early May and call them in late May to ask them.

Raymond 🔗
Raymond 🔗 (@guest_2012350)
February 26, 2025 01:33

Christopher Robin so essentially you can churn the same account almost every quarter? prolly just leave a month out?

Christopher Robin 🔗💰
Christopher Robin 🔗💰 (@guest_2012405)
February 26, 2025 06:53

Raymond What I shared above is all I can say at this time.

I will not know with certainty until 9/1/25 – when the bonus is supposed to be automatically credited.

If it is not automatically credited, I recorded the date and the contact info of the Wealth Solutions Advisor who assured me that all is good with enrolling for the current quarter promo with the same account and I will pursue it.

David
David (@guest_2014700)
March 1, 2025 21:50

how do you open two account?

CSF
CSF (@guest_1999513)
February 6, 2025 16:55

Why do you say that?

Eric D
Eric D (@guest_1999755)
February 6, 2025 21:51

Just want to play on the safe side in case the system is looking for the net deposit/balance of each calendar month.

John R🔗
John R🔗 (@guest_2000792)
February 8, 2025 16:09

As of November 2024 (see my comment below from then), I believe there weren’t any DPs for this scenario. I’m in a similar situation as you, I just had my IRA funds freed up and am researching what to do next.

https://www.doctorofcredit.com/citi-wealth-management-up-to-3500-bonus/#comment-1949745

edit – looks like there’s been a bunch of discussion on this since then