Comments For: Update on Citibank's CDs - Branch Specials & Secured MasterCard CD

Anonymous - #1, Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 1:58 PM CT

.


>> A reader commented in my
>> previous Citibank post that he
>> was able to open the CD over
>> the phone and fund it using his
>> credit card. The transaction
>> was reported as a regular
>> purchase instead of a cash
>> advance.


Indeed ... And since then I have opened 2 more CDs and each is reported as a purchase.

My credit card is issued by Schwab/FIA that has 2% unlimited money back rebate on all the purchases. Therefore in effect the deal results in a reward of 6%, at no risk to principal as my deposits with Citi at under FDIC limit. The 4% return will come from Citi over next 5 years, and 2% will come from Schwab/FIA within next 60 days!

Few points:

1) If you are funding the CD with credit card, then it is better to check with card issuing company, if there is any limit on the dollar amount of purchase you may make in 1 transaction, in 1 day etc. ... and to stay within the limit.

2) If you have some credit card ( not necessarily Schwab/FIA card ) that rewards you for purchases, then you might want to look into the benefits of using such a credit card for funding the CD.

3) Call your regular Citi contact number and ask for a "Personal Banker". These are the phone reps who can do the funding transaction as "purchase". So far as I know, the reps who are within the brick-n-mortar branches are not able to do funding as purchase, they do it as "cash advance".


.

Banking Guy - #2, Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 2:05 PM CT

Thanks for the info. It's interesting to read that the phone reps are able to label the transactions as a purchase but the brick-and-mortar reps can't.

Anonymous - #3, Wednesday, September 2, 2009 - 3:17 PM CT

Bricks and mortar stores also require you to open a checking account, like it or not.

Anonymous - #4, Thursday, September 3, 2009 - 9:05 PM CT

I believe I reported this in the other Citibank thread, but it bears repeating here....

I just opened the 4%, 5-year CD with Citibank over the phone, thanks to Banking Guy... The process was very smooth...

But two things to report... 1) they will not do a monthly payment of your interest to an external account. They'll send you a check, credit it to your CD, or credit it to another CB account.

2) So, they did NOT require me to open any kind of checking account in order to receive the 4% rate and open the CD. (And I have/had no other existing CB accounts... But I decided to open a Citibank checking account on my own.

Reason is, that way, they can credit the monthly interest to my Citibank checking account, and then I can do an ACH push or pull of the funds into my external account.

They have an EZ checking account that's basically free. But I choose the Citibank checking account, which has the added feature of not charging a CB fee for domestic non-CB ATM use. The balance of my CD more than covered the required minimum "relationship" balance to waive the otherwise monthly service fee for the checking account.

According to my phone rep, they locked my rate at the time of my original call and phone application. And they won't pull the funds from my external funding account until after I return the signed signature card by fax or mail. That was the only postal thing required as part of the process.

Anonymous - #5, Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 4:49 PM CT

I posted the immediately prior comment. I thought CitiBank would be easy based on my original phone contact with them...but they've turned out to be just the opposite....

After getting a complete explanation of what I needed to do to open the account via telephone, their follow-up turned out to be very different.

Apparently because they didn't find my VOIP phone in searching online phone directories, they sent a followup email to me wanting a copy of my home phone bill or a credit card statement with my home address, in addition to returning the signature card. Then, after I send in those documents, they still want to call my home phone afterward for some kind of a security confirmation.

They also, originally, told me they'd honor their $50 Member Get Member referral bonus. But today, in a followup call, a different rep told me that bonus is only available for accounts physically opened in branches, but not for accounts opened by telephone.

I'm trying to decide whether the hassle and unreliability of what Citibank tells its customers is worth proceeding with them, or simply go to another place with comparable rates....

All in all, it's been a very bad first experience for me with Citibank.

Anonymous - #6, Sunday, September 13, 2009 - 11:54 PM CT

I posted the two prior comments, and wanted to update. In the end, Citibank refused to open the new accounts for me, and I was fine with that... I added to my 4% PFCU holdings instead.

I'm sure Citibank would be fine doing this in branch. By over the phone, they are terrible. I think my problems arose in a couple of areas.

1. I tried to open a Citi checking account in addition to the CDs...because... Citi won't do monthly interest credits to external accounts. So, I was going to use the Citi checking account as the initial placement for my interest funds.

It might have been easier by just asking for a CD. But in asking for CD and checking, they went crazy with the ID verification process. This whole process dragged out for a week.

In the end, they wouldn't accept my home phone bill document (which they require) because I receive my phone statements online, instead of by postal mail. Citi said they would only accept a copy of a mailed home phone bill, even though my online bill contained all the same information (name, address, phone number).

Likewise, even after providing all the documents, they insist on calling the home number listed on your phone bill to confirm you live at that address.

Another problem, I think, was that I use a VOIP phone for my home phone service, instead of AT&T and such. Another check they apparently do is looking to find your name in public/online phone directory listings, and if they don't find it... good luck. Well, apparently, VOIP phone services typically don't list your name and number in the usual phone books.

So, if you get your home phone statement by email or use a VOIP phone or mobile phone, good luck with Citi.. PS - they wouldn't accept a mobile phone statement in lieu of a regular fixed line statement.

kiwilynnj - #7, Monday, September 14, 2009 - 6:51 PM CT

I also tried to open a CD over the phone, and the process has dragged out so long that the rate I had locked in will be lost after today.

Citibank sold their branches in Northern Nevada so stuck with doing this over the phone.

At first it seemed like it was going to be quite simple. I opened up a checking account also and the Debit card arrived in days. The welcome packet only says to return the signature card, it doesn't mention you need to provide proof of your home phone number.

I got my signature card back to them, and put money into another account to set up an ACH transfer to fund the CD.

Then they needed more ID and personal information, phone bill etc. Phone Bill is in my maiden name, so another utility bill was provided to them, then the drivers license has an expiration other than my birthdate. (Due to my green card expiring within the next 5 years).

Everytime I've faxed something to them I have had to call to see if was received, everytime they wanted something more from me. Also all this information is getting sent to India and there is a 2 day 'processing' lag time.

Now they are telling me they can't open the account until they call me on my home phone and speak to me on that phone.

They take the patriot very seriously is the excuse. I guess they aren't overly serious about getting my money and business.

Anonymous - #8, Monday, September 14, 2009 - 11:20 PM CT

Anybody try to open their 3.5% 60mo online CD yet? ... was it painfull?... is there a hard credit report pull?