Update 1/19/25: Deal is back until July 7th 2025.
Update 7/11/24: Deal is back until 1/7/2025. Funds only need to be maintained for 45 days. Hat tip to Erik
Update 6/24/24: Valid until July 8
Update 11/22/23:Still have to open in branch, just lets you input information online Deal is now available online. Hat tip to Adam D
Update 10/5/23: Extended until January 9, 2024.
Update 7/13/23: Deal is back and valid until October 4, 2023.
Update 1/5/23: Extended until 7/12/2023. Can try this direct link.
Offer at a glance
- Maximum bonus amount: $2,000
- Availability: Must open in branch [Branch locator]
- Direct deposit required: No
- Additional requirements: Deposit up to $200,000
- Hard/soft pull: Soft pull
- ChexSystems: Unknown
- Credit card funding: None
- Monthly fees: $15, avoidable
- Early account termination fee: None
- Household limit: None listed
- Expiration date:
December 31st, 2019June 30, 2021
Contents
The Offer
No direct link, being offered in branch
- Citibank Business is offering a bonus of up to $2,000 when you open a new business checking account. The bonus you receive depends on how much you deposit, balance must be maintained for 60 calendar days after deposit.
- Receive a $200 bonus with a $5,000 deposit
- Receive a $500 bonus with a $15,000 deposit
- Receive a $700 bonus with a $25,000 deposit
- Receive a $1,000 bonus with a $50,000 deposit
- Receive a $1,500 bonus with a $100,000 deposit
- Receive a $2,000 bonus with a $200,000 deposit
The Fine Print
- All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you have to pay taxes on them
Avoiding Fees
Monthly Fees
The easiest account to keep fee free is the CitiBusiness®Streamlined Checking Account, this has a monthly fee of $15 and is waived have an average monthly balance of $5,000 or more.
Early Account Termination Fee
There is no early account termination fee to worry about.
Our Verdict
Reader Jay was able to get this offer just by going into a branch and asking if they had any current promotions for opening a new account. Entirely possible it won’t be available in all/most branches, but feel free to share your data points in the comments below. Similar to a previous targeted bonus, with higher tiers available as well. The return gets worse as the bonus increases as unfortunately.
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
Post history:
- Update 7/6/22: Extended until January 4, 2023.
- Update 1/21/22: There is now a direct link for the offer.
- Update 1/5/22: Extended through 7/5.
- Update 10/4/21: Extended through 1/3/22.
- Update 7/2/21: Extended until 9/30/21.
- Update 4/30/21: There is now a direct link for this offer.
- Update 4/8/21: Deal has been extended until June 30, 2021. Hat tip to reader EW
- Update 1/28/21: Deal is back and valid until 3/31/21. Hat tip to reader EW
- Update 9/23/20: Deal is back and valid until 1/5/2021. Hat tip to reader KJ Z
- Update 1/10/2020: Deal has been extended to March 31st, 2020 as per reader B
can i churn this bank bonus again after 7 months that the account has been closed
Should be good. Terms state 180 days. I don’t recall if there were additional terms about how often you can earn. When you go in branch, they’ll print out the offer for you. Terms are on the back.
I hate doing this bank ngl something about it makes me not wanna do it 😂
read the terms:
QUALIFY
This Citi Checking Offer is available only to (1) new Citi Business Banking customers, and (2) current Citi Business Banking customers who have not had a Citibank business checking account within the 180 days immediately preceding the date they open a new CitiBusiness® (Analyzed), Streamlined or Flexible Checking Account.
This means the 6 month / 180 days starts from when the account opened not when it was closed?
Within 180 days preceding the date you open the NEW account. ie: this account that we’re referring to opening now. If an account existed 180 days ago, you would not qualify for the bonus. If it was closed 181 days ago, you would be good
Currently the qualifying balances are
5k-20K for $300,
20K-50K for $500,
50K-100K for $1000,
100k-200k for $1500,
+200K for $2000.
Balance on 45th day will determine the bonus. Hold it for 45 more days to receive bonus. You need to have been without a Citi biz account for 180 days to qualify.
Bonus $1,000.00 $1,500.00 $500 $300
Amount $50,000.00 $ 100,000.00 $20,000.00 $5,000.00
Days needed 45 45 45 45
Days in a year 365 365 365 365
APY/APR 16.22222222 12.16666667 20.27777778 48.6666667
Has anyone received a 1099 for the IMMA?
Datapoints for the Citibank “New Small Business Checking Account Offer-Earn Up To $2,000 Cash Bonus” that ran from 7/9/24 thru 1/7/25.
12/06/24 (Friday). Applied in branch for a CitiBusiness Streamlined Checking account and CitiBusiness IMMA. Application submitted to back office. My business: a sole proprietorship under my legal name and SSN. No docs required other than my driver’s license.
12/09/24 DAY 0. Back office opened both accounts. 4.40% promo rate on IMMA, good thru 3/31/25.
12/10/24 DAY 1. Banker wasn’t able to enroll the checking account in the bonus offer until this day.
12/31/24 DAY 22. Deposited $5,000 to checking to avoid the $15 monthly maintenance fee.
01/22/25 DAY 44. Deposited $195,000 to IMMA. The combined balance between checking and IMMA meets the qualifying balance level needed for the $2,000 bonus.
01/23/25 DAY 45. End of Funding Period.
01/25/25 DAY 47. Start of Maintenance Period.
03/10/25 DAY 91. End of Maintenance Period.
03/17/25 DAY 97. $2,000 BONUS posted to checking, earlier than promised. (Per terms, bonus was not due until sometime in April.)
03/18/25 DAY 98. Transferred checking balance to IMMA.
03/19/25 DAY 99. Will close checking.
03/31/25 DAY 111. 4.40% promo rate on IMMA expires.
04/01/25 DAY 112. Will withdraw IMMA balance.
04/02/25 DAY 113. Will close IMMA.
I did this bonus with a similar timeline to yours. I opened my Citi Business Checking and Business IMMA on 12/2/2024. I opted for the $750 bonus by depositing 5K into the business checking and 15K into the business IMMA. I haven’t received the bonus yet and my 4.4% promo interest rate for the IMMA ends at the end of this month, 3/31/25.
Assuming my bonus doesn’t get posted at the end of this month, what would you do in my situation? It seems that the Business IMMA requires a 5K balance to avoid the $10 monthly service charge, regardless how much is in my Business Checking account, correct?
Which account does the bonus get posted into, the Business Checking? Do I need to keep the Business IMMA account open in order to receive the bonus?
If I don’t need to keep the Business IMMA account opened, I’m thinking of transferring out the 15K on 3/31 and then closing the IMMA account so I wont get charged the monthly fee for the IMMA. Then leave the Business Checking account open with a 5K balance to avoid the monthly fee for the checking, while I wait for the bonus to post into my account. Does that sound like the optimal plan? Thanks!
Assuming your offer enrollment date was the same as your account opening date, your maintenance period ended more than 3 weeks ago, on 3/2/25. The day after the end of the maintenance period, you’ve already earned the bonus and can do as you please with the $20,000.
Your bonus isn’t due until sometime in April but might get paid earlier, like mine did. The only account that needs to remain open until the bonus is paid is your checking account.
To avoid the $10 monthly fee on the IMMA, the IMMA needs an average daily collected balance of $5,000 or more. The IMMA’s promo rate (4.40%) only applies on days when the available balance is $10K or more; otherwise, the Standard Rate applies.
Unless you have a better place to park the $15,000, you might as well leave it in the IMMA thru 3/31/25, the day the interest for March will be paid and the end of the promo rate period.
Thanks for your response.
Yes, that sounds like what I had in mind. Will keep the 15K in the IMMA until the end of the month. If I don’t receive the bonus by then, I’ll withdraw the 15K once this month’s interest posts and then close out the IMMA account. Will leave the checking account open with a 5K balance until the bonus pays out.
How long does the promotional rate for IMMA account last ? Can I close the checking account after bonus posted and transfer the $5K to IMMA account and stay until the promotion rate expires ? Thanks.
Depending on when you signed up. I am told that my 4.4% rate ends on 3/31. I signed up in Dec.
Not sure if this has been posted but when I stopped by at the branch to open this account, I was given some additional information. I was looking to park 100k in this account for the given duration. The banker advised me that if I instead open this Business Checking and the Business IMMA (Insured Money market Account), I could simply keep $5k in the Business Checking and keep the remaining $95k in the IMMA that would also earn 4% APR, while qualifying for $1500 bonus. The terms of the business checking bonus do seem to indicate that the money can be kept in a combination of these accounts, so long as you do not drop below the minimum requirements for either of the accounts (5K for the Checking and 10k for the IMMA). I figured I will keep the money there for 90 days, might as well keep the money in there until end of June and earn a nice interest on top. The IMMA rates reset so at the end of June, the rate goes to the basic rate, so at that time you have a decision to make. Either you close all accounts and move your money out from there, or you roll the money into a newly opened Business IMMA (yes Citi will open a new one and you qualify to earn a higher rate). The IMMA account does not have any requirement to bring in new money.
I opened both and will be funding the accounts as described.
Currently you must wait a yr to churn. Does it include the business side?
The banker i am in touch with, impromptu told that i could stack the bonus with referral. Hoping that is true, anyone here has a referral to share for business?.
It is True.
Do u know what the terms of the referral is or when does it post, etc. Other than me believing what my banker says, i have no way to check if it was applied properly or proof of it.
RM as well.
Tagging
New expiration date is July 7th 2025, according to the flyer they handed me in branch when I went and signed up for another churning round this week.
Also, as always, opened an IMMA to go along with the Checking:
“The Qualifying Balance Level must be maintained in the new business checking account and any new or existing IMMA, provided the Tax ID Number for those accounts is identical.”
Will park most of the funds in it and earn a nice APY on top of the bonus payout…
what is Imma?
Insured money market account
Hello! Are you sure your IMMA would still earn interest? The link people posted before doesn’t have any APY stated like the old screenshots.
Of course it earns interest. By definition. an IMMA earns interest.
I just want to confirm that, in your experience, the 180 days runs from the checking account closure date, not the IMMA closure date.
I closed the previous checking on 9/5/24 and the IMMA on 10/16/24. Am I correct that I am eligible again in early March as opposed to mid-April?
Sorry I can’t help you with that
RM.
My accounts were always closed at the same time. Also, it being Citi, their IT might have it coded different than what it’s supposed to be.
Best advice I could give, is to talk to a reliable banker, who will put in the effort to contact the back office for you if sth. doesn’t go as planned.
Or maybe better just wait the extra month to be sure…
Incidentally, since you are the resident expert on this bonus, I wanted to mention a couple of things I learned the last round that I had not seen posted on this thread:
First, it is apparently possible to combine this bonus (and the consumer bonus) with a referral when opening in branch. I got $100 x 2 last time for referring P2 for the business and consumer bonuses, and, on the consumer side, a family friend who is CitiGold got $200 for referring me. All it took was mentioning the referrer’s information to the banker.
Second, depending on the nature of your business, it is possible to get a fee waiver for the business checking account so that you don’t have to tie up $5k in there. P2 got one as a healthcare professional. I did not.
The Qualifying Balance Level MAY be maintained, not must be maintained …
I spoke to a business banker last week and she told me the new rate is 4.08% in branch.
Depends on which state.