Citi: Self Invest Up To $500 Brokerage Bonus

Update 1/26/25: Available again.

Update 6/30/24: Extended through 9/30/24

Update 5/9/24: Extended through 6/30.

Update 10/25/23: Extended through  3/31/24

The Offer

Direct link to offer

  • Citi is offering a bonus of up to $500 when you fund a new or existing Citi Self Invest Account by 4/30/22. Bonus you receive depends on how much you deposit:
    • Deposit $10,000 – $49,999: Get $100 bonus
    • Deposit $50,000 – $199,999: Get $200 bonus
    • Deposit $200,000+: Get $500 bonus

The Fine Print

  • Fund a new or existing Citi Self Invest Account between 1‌1/1/21 – 4‌/30/22.
  • Fund the Citi Self Invest Account with a minimum of $10,000 in New-To-Citi funds within the
  • Account Funding Period shown below (see below for definition of “New-To-Citi funds”).
  • Maintain the New-To Citi funds in your Citi Self Invest account through the Maintain Funds deadline shown below based on month of account opening.
  • During the account opening process, allow for eDelivery of statements and confirmations.

Our Verdict

Citi launched Self Invest earlier this year, I think this is the first bonus we’ve seen on this new account. The up to $3,500 Citi Wealth Management bonus is supposed to work on self directed accounts as well, but this new account is slightly different from my understanding. Probably not worth the hassle for only $500, but might be worth it for some people.

Post History:

  • Update 7/3/23: Extended through 9.30.23
  • Update 5/17/23: extended 6/30
  • Update 7/16/22: Deal is back and valid until 10/31/22.
  • Update 11/25/21: Looks like this is actually a public bonus. If you click the direct link it says ‘Learn how you can earn a cash bonus when you open a Citi Self Invest account’, click that and then it shows details of this promotion. Hat tip to Terp.
    William Charles
  • On January 27, 2025, 11:00
Tags: brokerage bonusesCiti

View Comments (101)

  • Just a word of caution if you are thinking of using Citi Self Invest for real. They are not dependable, at least not for me. This month, they

    1) instead of withdrawing funds from Citi to deposit into my registered external bank, they instead pulled money FROM my external bank INTO Citi. Luckily it was only a small amount of $ otherwise it could have resulted in big financial issues for me. And that money was on hold for a week at Citi, so I couldn't just immediately send it back. CSR did it for me over the phone; verbally there is confirmation of what they did, but nothing written/sent describing that they did. They did admit to fault. But the reason a CSR had to do it was
    2) Their system doesn't allow you to schedule any transfers online after 2pm (or 2:30pm) EST. But you can call in and a CSR can schedule it for you (which is what I did in 1 with horrible results)
    3) I scheduled a transfer online before 2pm EST. I got an email confirming the transfer and indicating it would be finished the next day. The $ never transferred. 12 days later I get a redeposit back into Citi because they said there was some error (this is the registered bank they took $ out of before, so the link is correct). My bank said there was never an attempt at a deposit from Citi, and Citi later said they never sent it out (but it still took 12 days for it come back into my account?). I guess it just sat there to be executed and never did??

    Do the deal, get your $500, and get out. If you have a Citi checking account, it's safer to transfer your brokerage money there first, and then transfer out from the Citi checking.

  • Don’t think the 10K tier makes financial sense. It’s about 120 days of lost interest, which is about $150 on a 4.5% APY account.

    • @guest_1992808 I'm not sure what you're looking at, but the funds will only be tied up for 30 days not 120. You get two months to fund the account & only have to hold the funds for 1 month. Also, you'd earn interest by putting the money into a Money Market Fund earning 4%+.

      $10K -- 30 days - $100 Bonus = 12% + 4% = 16% ROI
      $50K -- 30 days - $200 Bonus = 4.8% + 4% = 8.8% ROI
      $200K 30 days - $500 Bonus = 3% + 4% = 7% ROI

      The $10K tier makes the most sense from a ROI perspective,

      • My apologies. I had wrongly assumed the money had to be kept in there for the 90 days after the Maintain Funds period. Yes, it’s only 30 days then.

      • Do you know if they're going off of calendar month?
        Like I open the account today Jan 28
        Feb 27 I fund the account
        then I just need to keep the funds for March.
        April 1 can withdraw?
        Does that timeline make sense?

        • @guest_1993003 Yes, Calander months but you would need to make a deposit into the new brokerage account before the end of the month to set January as your "Initial Funding" month & then finish funding by 2/28.

          If "Initial Funding" occurs in Feb it will push your plans out by a month.

          • @guest_1993003 That should work because there isn't a minimum initial funding requirement. "The Date of Initial Funding will determine the Initial Funding Month that begins the Account Funding Period."

          • @guest_1992853 I asked this also in the Citi Wealth brokerage thread earlier (since I'm actually doing that bonus for the better payout rate), but this here seems very similar, so maybe you can please share some experience with me:

            I'm planning to transfer 50k in cash into my Citi brokerage account by end of March.
            The holding period for that bonus is till end of April.
            I then need the funds again in early May for sth else.

            What exactly should I do/buy once my cash is in the Citi brokerage to follow your above advice of "putting the money into a Money Market Fund earning 4%+" for the month of April and still be able to transfer back out as cash in early May?

            Thanks in advance!

          • @guest_1994198 I don't have a Citi Brokerage account (yet) so I'm not familiar with what MMF's they offer.

            Here are some MMFs that I currently own or have owned in the past. Info is from today - 1/30/2025

            WMPXX - Allspring Money Market Premier ------------ 4.43/35
            GABXX - Gabelli US Treasury MMKT I ----------------- 4.31/56
            VUSXX - Vanguard Treasury Money Market Investor 4.28/33
            VUFXX - Vanguard Federal Money Market Investor - 4.28/23

            NOTE: "4.43/35" = 7-day Current Yield/Weighted Ave Maturity

            SGOV ISHARES 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF - 30 Day SEC Yield 4.48

            There are a lot of options/opinions, so you need to do some research to decide what works best for you. I hope others will add to this limited list.

  • 4/19/24 - opened (No Chex inquiry)
    4/19/24 - $100 new account funding
    *Account must be funded by 5/31/24.
    5/29/24 - $10000 pull from Discover bank
    5/30/24 - Discover funds show in account.
    *Maintain funds through 6/30/24.
    7/1/24 - $10000 push to Discover bank (leaving $100 balance).
    *No Fees
    *Bonus to post by 9/30/24.
    9/27/24 - $100 Bonus posted to account.

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