Examined Sep 18, 2026 Paid in cash Needs $30,000 of new money Citi pays a new checking customer $500 for parking $30,000 of new money for about 90 days, or $1,500 for $200,000, and only where it has decided to offer it.
There are two steps on the ladder and nothing between them. A balance of $30,000 earns $500. A balance of $200,000 earns $1,500. Hold $199,999 and you are paid the same $500 as someone holding $30,000. Work it out per dollar and the small tier is the generous one: $500 divided by $30,000 is about 1.7% for roughly three months, while $1,500 divided by $200,000 is 0.75%.
What pays what
| New checking customer, $30,000 minimum balance in New-to-Citibank Funds on day 45, held through day 90 | $500 |
|---|---|
| The same, with a $200,000 minimum balance | $1,500 |
| Any balance from $30,000 up to $199,999 | $500 |
| $200,000 on day 45, drawn down to $30,000 or more before day 90 | At least $500 |
| Balance under $30,000 | $0 |
| Existing Citi checking customers | $0 |
| A home ZIP code where Citi does not offer the promotion | $0 |
Deposit New-to-Citibank Funds into your checking account within 45 calendar days from account opening. The balance on your 45th day will determine your maximum eligible cash bonus.
One useful footnote on the same page: if you also open and fund a new Citi Savings Account, the balance can be held in checking or split between checking and that new savings account and still count toward the minimum.
Do this, in this order
- Enter your home ZIP code before you plan anything. The offer page opens with a ZIP code box and the line “The products and pricing we offer may vary between locations.” Some visitors get this instead of the offer: “Unfortunately, this type of promotion is not available in your location.” Citi asks for your home ZIP code, not a mailing one.
- Check you can apply. Only new checking customers qualify. Citi's account comparison page adds: “To apply online, you must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident alien and at least 18 years old.” You also need a physical address in the U.S.
- Apply from the offer page itself, and enroll the same day. The page says: “To enroll in this offer, you must apply directly from this page.” The offer is valid from 4/14/26 to 10/26/26. It also warns: “Opening an account does not guarantee that you meet eligibility requirements.”
- Get the full amount in well before day 45. Your balance on the 45th calendar day is the one that counts, so do not leave the transfer to the last week.
- Hold it through day 90. That is 45 days to fund plus 45 days to hold. If you were aiming at $1,500 and must withdraw, staying at or above $30,000 keeps you eligible for the $500.
- Switch off the $15.00 monthly service fee. Citi waives it for any month the account has $250 or more in Enhanced Direct Deposits, or for customers in its Relationship Tiers. An Enhanced Direct Deposit is an ACH deposit such as payroll, pension or government benefits, and Citi also counts incoming Zelle payments and Venmo or PayPal money sent through the ACH network. With no waiver, four monthly fees across a 120 day wait would come to $60.
- Keep the account open and in good standing until the bonus lands, which Citi says happens between the 90th and 120th calendar day after opening.
What does not count toward the fee waiver
Citi's disclosures say: “Teller deposits, cash deposits, check deposits, wire transfers, transfers between Citibank accounts, ATM transfers and deposits, mobile check deposits, debit card funding transfers, and P2P payment transfers sent to a Citibank debit card do not qualify as EDDs.” Money moved from another bank or payment app through an instant transfer service does not qualify either. This list governs the monthly fee. It is not a list of what counts as New-to-Citibank Funds for the bonus.
What Citi's pages leave out
The definitions that decide who is paid. The offer page marks its bonus with a footnote and a link to offer details. The page text we were able to save holds the steps and the fee disclosures, but no definition of New-to-Citibank Funds and no statement of how long a former Citi checking customer must have been away to count as new. Read that footnote on Citi's page before you move money.
A terms PDF that is gone. A Citi terms and conditions PDF for its checking offers still turns up in searches. On September 18 Citi's server answered it with a Page Not Found.
Where the offer runs, and when the terms were written. The page lists no states or ZIP codes; you learn by entering yours. It carries no date for when the offer terms were written. Apart from the offer window, 4/14/26 to 10/26/26, the only date on it, 07/14/2026, belongs to a savings rate disclosure.
A referral program. We found no Citi refer a friend terms we could read, and nothing on the offer page mentions one. Citi's Citigold site separately advertises up to $1,500 for a new Citigold checking account; Citigold is its tier for clients with at least $200,000 in combined balances.
Is it worth your time?
If you hold $30,000 or more in cash outside Citi and will not need it for three months, this is $500 for one application and one transfer, with no payroll to move. Weigh it against what that money earns where it is now, because the page we read says nothing about Regular Checking paying interest. The footnote that lets a new Citi Savings Account hold part of the balance is worth reading for that reason.
The $1,500 tier is a harder sell. It ties up $200,000 for the same 90 days and pays less per dollar than the $500 tier. And if $30,000 is not money you have spare, this offer is simply not aimed at you. Several of the offers below pay for a direct deposit or a transfer instead of a balance.
