Citibank (Citi) used to offer a wide range of Citigold account opening bonuses, and you could even fund the initial deposit with a credit card. But those days are over. Now the bar to open a Citigold account is much higher, and the credit-card-funding-for-points angle has already been shut down. At this point, the only real play is to keep churning bank account bonuses for a little extra value. The good news is that Citi has recently brought back new bank account opening bonuses, including both cash bonus offers and a version with American Airlines AAdvantage miles, so you can choose whichever one fits you best. Opening a Citi bank account does not involve a Hard pull on your credit report, so it will not affect your credit history.

Account Opening Bonuses

Open a Citibank Account Package: 30,000 AAdvantage miles

The first offer is for the Citibank Account Package. You can access the promo page here. This offer ends on November 30. If you have had any Citi bank account (credit cards do not count) within the 180 days before opening the account, you are not eligible. To earn 30,000 AA miles, you need to:

  • Use the link above to open a Citibank Account Package; you can choose whether to make it an interest-bearing account;
  • Make at least $375 in purchases with the account’s debit card within 60 days of account opening; and
  • Install the Citibank app on your phone and log in once.

The bonus miles will post within 90 days after you complete all requirements. Note that this account charges a $25 monthly fee if your average monthly balance is below $10,000.

Open Citibank Basic Banking: $200 bonus

This offer is for the Citibank Basic Banking Package. You can access the promo page here. The offer ends on December 31. If you have had any Citi bank account (credit cards do not count) within the 180 days before opening the account, you are not eligible. To earn the $200 bonus, you need to:

  • Use the link above to open a Citibank Basic Banking account; and
  • Within 30 days after opening the account, deposit at least $5,000 (not transferred from another Citi account), and maintain a balance of at least $5,000 for 60 days.

The $200 bonus will be credited within 90 days after you complete all requirements. The $12 monthly account maintenance fee is waived if the account receives one Direct Deposit and one Billpay each month. Other ways to waive the fee include maintaining an average daily balance of $1,500, or having the primary account holder be at least 62 years old.

Open Citibank Account Package: $500 bonus

This offer is for the Citibank Account Package. You can access the promo page here. The offer ends on December 31. If you have had any Citi bank account (credit cards do not count) within the 180 days before opening the account, you are not eligible. To earn the $400 account opening bonus, you need to:

  • Use the link above to open a Citibank Account Package account (checking and savings);
  • Within 30 days after opening the account, deposit at least $15,000 (not transferred from another Citi account), and maintain a combined checking and savings balance above $15,000 for 60 days; and
  • Because Citi will automatically close $0-balance accounts, you must keep some money in both the savings and checking accounts.

In addition, if you receive Direct Deposit (salary, government benefits, or pension income) in two consecutive calendar months after opening the account, you can earn an extra $100 bonus. The bonus will be credited within 90 days after you complete all requirements. Note that this account charges a $25 monthly fee if your average monthly balance is below $10,000.

Open Citibank Priority Account Package: $600 bonus

This offer is for the Citibank Priority Account Package. You can access the promo page here. The offer ends on December 31. If you have had any Citi bank account (credit cards do not count) within the 180 days before opening the account, you are not eligible. To earn the $600 bonus, you need to:

  • Use the link above to open a Citibank Priority Account Package account (checking and savings);
  • Within 30 days after opening the account, deposit at least $50,000 (not transferred from another Citi account), and maintain a combined checking and savings balance above $50,000 for 60 days; and
  • Because Citi will automatically close $0-balance accounts, you must keep some money in both the savings and checking accounts.

The $600 bonus will be credited within 90 days after you complete all requirements. Note that this account charges a $30 monthly fee if your average monthly balance is below $50,000.

Our Recommendation

If you have $15,000 available to deposit, we recommend either the $500 bonus or the 30,000-mile offer. Otherwise, the 30,000-mile offer is probably the better deal; even if you have to pay the monthly fee, it still comes out ahead of the $200 bonus. We do not recommend the $600 Priority account, because the deposit requirement is more than double that of the $500 offer, but the bonus is only $100 higher, and the amount may also trigger a 1099 tax form. So even if you have $50,000 available, we still would not recommend it.