New $200 Citibank Checking Account Promotion

Citibank has a new checking account bonus in which you can earn $200. The promotional code is CEMX. You can enter the code at offer.citibank.com, and an application page will appear. Unfortuantely, the application page doesn't seem to describe this promotion. A reader just sent me the basic info along with the code and the webpage. There's a live-chat tool on the left side of the application page where you can verify the offer. There's also a toll free number 1-800-374-9500. In the chat session, I provided the promotion code, and the CSR gave the promotion details. It seems to have the same requirements as the $200 promotion that I reported on April 4th:

• Open and fund a qualifying Citibank regular checking account with $1,000 or more by 6/30/2008
• Make a direct deposit to or at least two electronic bill payments from your new account each month for three consecutive months.
• Get your first $100 credited to your new checking account.
• Continue making a direct deposit or at least two electronic bill payments each month for the next three consecutive months and get an additional $100

Some additional details I received from the chat session includes:

• This offer is available by applying by phone, online or at a Citibank financial center
• The EZ checking account does not qualify. It must be a Citibank Regular Checking account or higher.

Also, I believe it's only available for first-time Citibank deposit account customers. The Citibank Account package requires a minimum combined balance of $6,000 to avoid a monthly fee, a $0.50 per check fee and a $1.50 fee for each withdrawal from non-Citibank ATMs. The combined balance can include balances in the savings and money market accounts.

I don't have the small print of this promotion, but it's likely to be the same as the last one. You can review that in my April 4th post.

Some important notes regarding Citibank checking accounts:

• No Hard Pulls: In December a reader reported being told that Citibank has a new policy in which they no longer do hard credit pulls when there is no overdraft protection. The CSR in my chat session stated "We preform a soft inquiry to your credit to verify your identity only." When I applied in 2006 I had a hard pull for opening Citibank accounts, and many others have also reported this.
• Restrictive online funds transfer service in which outgoing external transfers are limited to a daily limit of $2,000 (was $5K) and a monthly limit of $10,000 (see Citi webpage)
• Several readers reported having their accounts closed by Citibank for unclear reasons before receiving bonuses.

If you have specific questions, I would recommend using Citibank's online chat tool. A copy of the chat session could be useful if Citibank gives you any trouble in honoring the promotion. I know several readers have reported problems with previous promotions. Mike left a comment in my previous post describing his troubles.

I was fortunate when I signed up for a similar $200 Citibank promo in 2006. I received the first $100 promptly. However, I didn't automatically receive the second $100. I had to send them a bank mail message. They investigated and credited the second $100 in about a month.

Thanks to the reader who emailed me info on this promotion.

Tags: Citibank, checking account