Citadel (SE PA) Extends $300 Checking Account Bonus

Citadel has extended its $300 bonus for new checking customers who open a new Cashback Rewards Checking account or a Free Checking account through December 31, 2022.

As stated in the New Account Cash Bonus disclosure,

Open a new checking account and earn a $300 cash bonus deposit for qualifying direct deposit(s) totaling $500 or more posting to the new checking account within 60 days of account opening. A qualifying direct deposit is defined as a recurring electronic deposit into checking account of payroll, pension, Social Security, government benefits, or other eligible regular monthly income.

Promotional code must be applied at the time of account opening to receive the incentive offer(s), given all requirements above are met. Checking account must be open for 60 days before checking bonus will be awarded. Bonus deposit(s) will be automatically deposited into your Citadel Checking Account if the account is in good standing at time of incentive processing.

The $300 bonus is only available to new checking customers, defined as those who have not “closed a Citadel Checking Account within the last 12 months and/or previously received a new checking account bonus.” There is a limit of one offer per household per lifetime and may not be combined with any other new account offer.

Cashback Rewards Checking

Citadel’s Cashback Rewards Checking account earns 1.00% cash back on up to $1,000 in monthly debit/credit card purchases (maximum $10 per month/$120 per year), if the following requirements are met.

Receive monthly qualifying direct deposit(s), as previously defined, totaling $1,000 or more OR maintain average daily balance of $5,000 in your Cashback Rewards Checking Account.

The account must be active and in good standing in order to receive Cashback Rewards Checking offers. There is a limit of five Cashback Rewards Checking accounts per members, but business accounts or public funds accounts are not permitted. There is a $10 monthly service fee if the above requirement is not met.

Free Checking

While the Free Checking account is technically free (no monthly service fee), there are several potential fees:

• $1 – each balance inquiry at non-Citadel ATMs
• $3 – each ATM withdrawal at non-Citadel ATMs
• $2 – paper account statement fee
• $5 – each overdraft transfer from savings or loan account
• $5 – monthly inactivity fee after 365 days of no customer-initiated activity
• $33 – courtesy pay overdraft protection fee
• $33 – non-sufficient funds fee

Availability

Headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, Citadel’s field of membership includes anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in the southeast Pennsylvania counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia.

If someone in your family or household is membership-eligible, you also qualify for Citadel membership, no matter where you live.

Joining Citadel and/or applying for the $300 checking bonus can be done online (using promotion BONUSPPC2022) or at any of 25 Pennsylvania branches located in Audubon, Brookhaven, Chester Springs (2), Coatesville, Downington, East Norriton, Exton, Glen Mills, Harleysville, Kennett Square, Lancaster (2), Lansdale, Limerick, Montgomeryville, Oxford, Paoli, Parkesburg, Phoenixville, Pottstown, Springfield, Thorndale, Warminster, and West Chester.

Every member is required to have a Star Savings 'share' account. With only a $5.00 minimum deposit you enjoy all the benefits of membership. This Savings account is opened automatically with each new account.

Citadel participates in the CO-OP Shared Branch network, but as of August 1, 2021, stopped participating in the COOP ATM network. Members have access to thousands of surcharge-free ATMs in the SUM network.

Credit Union Overview

Citadel has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.21% (excellent) based on March 31, 2022 data. In the past year, Citadel has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $293.4 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 7.81%. Please refer to our financial overview of Citadel (NCUA Charter # 2099) for more details.

Citadel was established in 1937 as the credit union for Lukens Steel Company, the oldest steel mill operating in the U.S. (Materials from Lukens Steel were used in the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the World Trade Center Towers.) As the story goes, a couple of steel mill workers decided to put a dollar in a tin box every week, and if anyone needed a small loan, they could borrow from the tin box, as long as they agreed to pay it back. From the most humble of beginnings, Citadel has grown to become the fourth largest credit union headquartered in Pennsylvania, with more than 241,000 members and assets in excess of $4.8 billion.

Bottom Line

Opening a Free Checking account (with a $1 minimum opening deposit) is probably the easiest way to earn the $300 bonus. Other than setting up the direct deposit (minimum $500), the only other requirement to earn the bonus is to keep the account open for 60 days.

There are no liquid accounts or CDs that currently return $300 on a small deposit in two months. Earning $300 in an online savings account (current top rate of 1.65% APY) would require about $18.2k on deposit for a year. Even though interest rates are rising, checking bonuses still offer a significant return in short amount of time not available in either a liquid account or short-term CD.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 6/28/2022.

If you don’t qualify for the Citadel bonus, take a look at our list of the best savings and checking account bonus offers to find a bonus that’s right for you.