Citi $325/$500/$1500 Check Bonus – Doctor of Credit

Update 4/14/26: The deal has been extended through 10/26/26. Unfortunately, the $750 level has dropped to just $500.

Update 1/13/26: Extends to 04/13/26, but the $425 option is gone. Updated FAQ section with more information about the savings stack and Citigold.

Update 1/6/26: I’ve tried to completely refresh this page with an FAQ section and reference information, as well as condition differences. The current version is set to expire at 1/12/26. Unclear if the same bonus will return or a better/worse version. If anyone wants to do a walkthrough of things like the timing of the savings rate increase/benefits from the gold citi, I’m sure it would be greatly appreciated.

Offer at a glance

• Maximum bonus amount: 300 dollars
• Availability: On a national scale
• Direct deposit required: Yes, $3,000+
• Additional requirements: See below
• Hard/soft pull: Gentle pull
• ChexSystems: yes
• Credit card financing: None, but can finance up to $1,000 with a debit card
• Monthly fees: $12, avoidable
• Early account closure fee: ANY
• Family boundary: None listed
• Expiration date: 7/8/24

Offers

Direct link to offers: $325/$425 | $500 / $1500 (if the links don’t work, try opening them in incognito mode)

• Citi is offering a variety of checking bonuses.
  • 325 dollars/ 425 dollars checking the bonus
    • Open a new eligible Citi® Checking account with Enhanced Direct Deposits and enroll in this offer by applying directly from this page.
    • Deposit at least two (2) extended Direct Deposits directly into your new checking account within 90 calendar days of account opening. Your total combined Enhanced Direct Deposits must be equal
      • $3,000 or more for the $325 bonus
      • $6,000+ for $425 bonus
  • 750 dollars $500/$1,500 check bonus when you
    • Deposit new Citibank funds into your checking account within 45 calendar days of account opening.
    • Maintain the required minimum balance in your regular checking account for an additional 45 days from the 46th day
    • $30,000 minimum balance for $500 bonus
    • $200,000 minimum balance for $1,500 bonus

Fine Press

• An EDD is an electronic deposit through the Automated Payroll Center (“ACH”) of paychecks, pensions, social security, government benefits, and other payments into your checking or savings account. An Enhanced Direct Deposit also includes all deposits via Zelle® and other P2P payments when made via ACH using providers such as Venmo or PayPal. Cash deposits, cash deposits, check deposits, wire transfers, transfers between Citibank accounts, ATM transfers and deposits, mobile check deposits and P2P payments using a debit card do not qualify as an Enhanced Direct Deposit. (Note: see this review for Zelle.)
• As long as you you have not had a Citi checking account in the past 365 daysmeet the tax requirements and are at least 18 years old, you can apply to participate in the Direct Deposit Check Upgrade Offer for purchases (“Direct Deposit Upgrade Offer”) (click Information on the offer, product and price link at the top of the fine print to see this)
• All bank account bonuses are treated as income/interest and as such you must pay tax on them

Avoidance of fees

Monthly fees

The regular check and access fee has been waived:

• in the month of account opening and for 3 months after account opening or
• every month the account has $250+ in Enhanced Direct Deposits

Early account termination fee

Citi has not charged any ETFs in the past and none are mentioned for this offer.

Referral bonus

You can refer people and if they sign up and complete the requirements you will get $100. The person being referred to it doesn’t get an additional bonus, but they will get the standard bonus (eg $325/$750/$1500). Please don’t share your recommendations in the comments below, but you can use them in this related thread.

Our verdict

In some states (NY, CT, NJ, DC, VA, MD, CA or NV) it is possible to make the deposit bonus offer ($750/$1500) significantly better by opening a savings account and linking it within 10 days of the checking account. Currently you can get 3.5% APY for the first three months. If you make the $200,000 deposit offer, you are also eligible for Citi gold. It will also join the Lunar New Year promotion.

For many readers, the $325/$450 offers will be much simpler. We will add it our best bank bonus site. You can see the definition of an expanded direct deposit here.

Useful posts about bank bonuses:

FAQ’s

Thanks a lot Gadget for helping me with this.

I don’t see the offer? Has it expired?

Probably not, if the offer doesn’t appear for you then you should try the following:

• Copy and paste the link instead of clicking the link
• Clear your cache and try the above
• Copy and paste the link in incognito mode

I can’t see where it says you can’t have had an account within the last 365 days?

• Look for the link that says ‘Offer’ and click it. The link name sometimes changes, but you should be able to find it.
• Scroll down to “Qualify,” it should state the following: “As long as you haven’t held a Citi checking account in the past 365 days, meet the tax requirements, and are at least 18 years old, you can apply to participate in the Enhanced Direct Deposit Check Acquisition Offer (“Enhanced Direct Deposit Offer”).

Is there an offer tracker?

Yes, there is an offer tracker, but not everyone sees it unfortunately.

• You must use the Citi app:
  • Services > Rewards and Upgrades > Explore Rewards > Select the checking account.
  • Move to Citi checking cash bonus offer – ??? (??? being the last 3 of the account number)
  • After one day of opening the account, you should see “Congratulations, you’re signed up!”
    • The $325/$425 offer has the number of completed and total EDDs.
    • The $750/$1500 offer has the exact dates you must meet and maintain the balance.
• You can also try online ‘Explore all the benefits of being a Citibank® customer, “Learn more”

How can I accumulate with the 3.5% savings account?

First, this offer is only available in a few states (most likely NY, CT, NJ, DC, VA, MD, CA, or NV, but could be more). Then you need to do the following:

• Open a checking account from the promotional page above
• Fund with a small amount
• Open the savings account using promotional savings link. This must be done after the current account is opened, but within 45 calendar days.
• Fully fund the savings account within 10 business days of opening it

The optimal time to open the savings account is as close to 45 calendar days as possible assuming the funds earn more than 3.5% APY elsewhere (best savings rates here). I would give myself considerable grace time in case something goes wrong.

How do I access Citigold benefits?

Some people have been able to sign up for Citigold while doing this promotion and get the benefits for three months without depositing $200,000. You can find a list of benefits here. You must activate your debit card before you can use Citigold benefits, you can register for benefits here: https://citigold.citi.com/subscriptions.