Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

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FedGuy
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Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by FedGuy »

I'm a Citibank customer and have "Citi Gold" status as a result of maintaining at least $50,000 (my emergency fund) at Citi. I just received my monthly bank statement, which included an insert advising that, effective November 1, "The Citigold Account Package combined average monthly balance requirement will be $200,000 in eligible linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts. If you do not maintain the minimum combined average monthly balance of $200,000 in eligible linked deposit, retirement and investment accounts, your Citigold Account Package will be converted to a different banking packages, and your accounts will be subject to the terms and conditions then in effect for that package."

Citi pays fairly low interest rates. I wonder if this is part of a larger effort to shift their product focus away from retail banking.

I find some of the perks of Citi Gold (such as the waiver of various fees) to be helpful, but I don't use them that often and consider the primary benefit to simply be a lack of a monthly maintenance fee. It looks like the next lower account package ("The Citibank Account Package") currently requires a $10,000 balance to avoid paying a monthly maintenance fee, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's changing too.

With luck, I won't have to do anything to continue to avoid paying a monthly fee. If not, I'll have to find another brick and mortar bank to use (I already have an account at Ally, which is currently holding most of the money I plan to use for a downpayment on a home in the near future, but I find it helpful to have a local brick and mortar bank to make easy deposits and so on).
Jack FFR1846
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

How about move now to a credit union. I've yet to find any reason to have a bank vs my credit union. Things I get:

Totally free checking
Good, free ATM network and reimbursement of others ATM fees
I can walk in with paper savings bonds and easily cash them
free notary
free medallion signature
If a debit card overdrafts, I simply call to remove the fee and it's always gone
Reasonable LTD account interest for higher balances
No minimum balance for other accounts
Easy wire transfers in or out (only done this myself once. They refunded the fee, so it ended up being free)
Lots of branches (DCU) in my area with decent hours (open Saturday and late some weekdays)
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FrugalInvestor
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by FrugalInvestor »

We use BofA for some of the same reasons - free checking with $250/mo auto deposit, free bill-pay and ubiquitous locations and cash machines where we live and travel. I suppose there are other 'no-charge' services included but I'm not aware because I don't use them. I am not required to keep any minimum balance so my money that is not required for very short-term use can reside elsewhere.

The requirements for the Citigold seem excessive to me but maybe there are services included that are of that much value to you.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.

As for other banks - it really depends on the benefits you seek. I like no foreign transaction fees when traveling and ATM reimbursements. As such I opened a Charles Schwab checking acct with ATM. No minimums.
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FedGuy
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by FedGuy »

Thanks, everyone.

Jack, I'd consider a credit union, but I value the ubiquity of Citi branches. I live in Washington, DC and frequently travel to New York City, and find it very helpful to always have a branch nearby.

FrugalInvestor, a friend of mine uses BofA, and they have a few branches near me. I might want to look at them in more detail.

Sperry, I hadn't heard about CitiPriority. Thank you for that. Does it say anywhere that there will be no monthly maintenance fees? I see the page lists a number of fees that are waived with the package, but can't find where it says there won't be some general monthly fee.
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RyeWhiskey
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by RyeWhiskey »

FedGuy wrote:Thanks, everyone.

Jack, I'd consider a credit union, but I value the ubiquity of Citi branches. I live in Washington, DC and frequently travel to New York City, and find it very helpful to always have a branch nearby.
Then you will be very pleased to know that almost all credit unions are on a larger credit union circuit and can access funds, make deposits, etc... There are vastly more credit unions connected than Citi (or BoA) banks. If it's convenience you're after, you may want to look into this. :beer
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inbox788
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by inbox788 »

sperry8 wrote:The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.

As for other banks - it really depends on the benefits you seek. I like no foreign transaction fees when traveling and ATM reimbursements. As such I opened a Charles Schwab checking acct with ATM. No minimums.
Thanks for the link! I noticed this last month, and when I tried to get info, they knew nothing! Looks like the finally put something accessible online.

I was planning on transferring some VTI from Vanguard to Citi to meet this new requirement. I've been a longtime customer and it's occasionally convenient to deal with a branch. I also get a free safe deposit box, which I haven't figured out what I need to keep there yet (here are some ideas https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/20 ... story.html ). But I think I can ask for one at Bank of America as well.

For the time being, for me, I think it's easier to meet the new requirement than to close the account, especially if I'd have to open an account or more somewhere else.

BTW, I won't be moving VTI because I couldn't figure out how to get their cost basis to do specific lots. After a long discussion with customer service, their ability to specify which lot appears to be limited, so instead of worrying about the lots later complicating taxes, I'll just buy a different fund.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

inbox788 wrote:
sperry8 wrote:The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.

As for other banks - it really depends on the benefits you seek. I like no foreign transaction fees when traveling and ATM reimbursements. As such I opened a Charles Schwab checking acct with ATM. No minimums.
Thanks for the link! I noticed this last month, and when I tried to get info, they knew nothing! Looks like the finally put something accessible online.

I was planning on transferring some VTI from Vanguard to Citi to meet this new requirement. I've been a longtime customer and it's occasionally convenient to deal with a branch. I also get a free safe deposit box, which I haven't figured out what I need to keep there yet (here are some ideas https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/20 ... story.html ). But I think I can ask for one at Bank of America as well.

For the time being, for me, I think it's easier to meet the new requirement than to close the account, especially if I'd have to open an account or more somewhere else.

BTW, I won't be moving VTI because I couldn't figure out how to get their cost basis to do specific lots. After a long discussion with customer service, their ability to specify which lot appears to be limited, so instead of worrying about the lots later complicating taxes, I'll just buy a different fund.
I was going to do the same (transfer an in-kind fund into them). This would have kept me at Gold level. But after seeing the benefits of CitiPriority it doesn't make sense to me. Citi's investment arm is terrible. They do not offer free trades or even inexpensive trades. They are something like $80 per! No way I will be using that. I am a Buy & Hold investor (Boglehead style), but sometimes still make trades, for tax loss harvesting for example. To get fleeced at $80 per trade removes the benefit(s) of a waived cc (in my case) or a discounted/free safety deposit box.

I decided to just keep the $50k level and lose the very marginal benefits. In this way I get to keep my longstanding Citi account which I use to pay bills and taxes (and is all set up to do that).
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kjvmartin
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by kjvmartin »

Could you put your emergency fund in an Ally or similar high yield savings account?
inbox788
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by inbox788 »

sperry8 wrote:I was going to do the same (transfer an in-kind fund into them). This would have kept me at Gold level. But after seeing the benefits of CitiPriority it doesn't make sense to me. Citi's investment arm is terrible. They do not offer free trades or even inexpensive trades. They are something like $80 per! No way I will be using that. I am a Buy & Hold investor (Boglehead style), but sometimes still make trades, for tax loss harvesting for example. To get fleeced at $80 per trade removes the benefit(s) of a waived cc (in my case) or a discounted/free safety deposit box.

I decided to just keep the $50k level and lose the very marginal benefits. In this way I get to keep my longstanding Citi account which I use to pay bills and taxes (and is all set up to do that).
If you're using their full service broker on the phone, the fees are very high. I thought online trades were $20, which is still much higher than most brokerages, but for an occasional trade tolerable. Hope I'm not wrong. If their fees are outrageous, I will simply close out the account and go with Fidelity or Schwab for writing checks and find other homes or forgo the other services/benefits.

http://www.citi.com/domain/CPWMFeesNICClients.pdf
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Kenster1
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Kenster1 »

Citi pays fairly low interest rates. I wonder if this is part of a larger effort to shift their product focus away from retail banking.
That's why I got out of Citibank. They kept trying to entice me to sign up for the Citigold package for the past year or more and wham now they've upped the requirement to $200k. I just felt that they're going after the higher $$$ clientele and scaling back their standard retail banking business.

Citibank got out of the State of MA completely. They've also massively cut-back on branches in Texas or have completely gotten out of there. They've also cut back branches in CA, FL and many other States. They're concentrating on just major areas for now - so you'll see ample Citibank presence in say downtown Chicago and NYC, etc.

Are you talking advantage of any of the Citigold perks? Lots a lot of money to tie-up at a bank earning almost nothing - or is a big chunk of sitting in short-term CDs? Why can't you just do the Standard Account Package for $10k minimum to avoid the fees and you get to keep your Banking relationship with Citi while earning higher interest elsewhere with the rest of the $40k+ put in a linked Savings Account (such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Ally, etc.)?
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Scotttheking
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Scotttheking »

Kenster1 wrote:
Citi pays fairly low interest rates. I wonder if this is part of a larger effort to shift their product focus away from retail banking.
That's why I got out of Citibank. They kept trying to entice me to sign up for the Citigold package for the past year or more and wham now they've upped the requirement to $200k. I just felt that they're going after the higher $$$ clientele and scaling back their standard retail banking business.

Citibank got out of the State of MA completely. They've also massively cut-back on branches in Texas or have completely gotten out of there. They've also cut back branches in CA, FL and many other States. They're concentrating on just major areas for now - so you'll see ample Citibank presence in say downtown Chicago and NYC, etc.

Are you talking advantage of any of the Citigold perks? Lots a lot of money to tie-up at a bank earning almost nothing - or is a big chunk of sitting in short-term CDs? Why can't you just do the Standard Account Package for $10k minimum to avoid the fees and you get to keep your Banking relationship with Citi while earning higher interest elsewhere with the rest of the $40k+ put in a linked Savings Account (such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Ally, etc.)?
One would hope that they don't have that money in cash. Most people are likely parking ETFs or mutual funds at Citi to maintain the account balances.
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Kenster1
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Kenster1 »

Scotttheking wrote:
Kenster1 wrote:
Citi pays fairly low interest rates. I wonder if this is part of a larger effort to shift their product focus away from retail banking.
That's why I got out of Citibank. They kept trying to entice me to sign up for the Citigold package for the past year or more and wham now they've upped the requirement to $200k. I just felt that they're going after the higher $$$ clientele and scaling back their standard retail banking business.

Citibank got out of the State of MA completely. They've also massively cut-back on branches in Texas or have completely gotten out of there. They've also cut back branches in CA, FL and many other States. They're concentrating on just major areas for now - so you'll see ample Citibank presence in say downtown Chicago and NYC, etc.

Are you talking advantage of any of the Citigold perks? Lots a lot of money to tie-up at a bank earning almost nothing - or is a big chunk of sitting in short-term CDs? Why can't you just do the Standard Account Package for $10k minimum to avoid the fees and you get to keep your Banking relationship with Citi while earning higher interest elsewhere with the rest of the $40k+ put in a linked Savings Account (such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Ally, etc.)?
One would hope that they don't have that money in cash. Most people are likely parking ETFs or mutual funds at Citi to maintain the account balances.
I don't believe the OP has most or any of their $50k+ invested in ETFs/Mutual Fund investments at Citibank - at least I didn't think so. Is that correct FedGuy?

Secondly, I certainly wouldn't use Citibank's investment arm to hold ETFs/MFs just to maintain Citigold banking status - not worth it.
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inbox788
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by inbox788 »

Kenster1 wrote:Secondly, I certainly wouldn't use Citibank's investment arm to hold ETFs/MFs just to maintain Citigold banking status - not worth it.
I don't see why not if you use their services. How different is holding $200,000 invested in VTSMX/VTI at Citi vs Vanguard or elsewhere for the next 10 years? By my calculations, $20 to buy, $20 to sell, so around $4/year. I guess they could make changes and make it expensive for you to leave without paying taxes on gains, but I'm thinking that's unlikely. Am I missing something else?
Scotttheking
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Scotttheking »

Kenster1 wrote:
Scotttheking wrote:
Kenster1 wrote:
Citi pays fairly low interest rates. I wonder if this is part of a larger effort to shift their product focus away from retail banking.
That's why I got out of Citibank. They kept trying to entice me to sign up for the Citigold package for the past year or more and wham now they've upped the requirement to $200k. I just felt that they're going after the higher $$$ clientele and scaling back their standard retail banking business.

Citibank got out of the State of MA completely. They've also massively cut-back on branches in Texas or have completely gotten out of there. They've also cut back branches in CA, FL and many other States. They're concentrating on just major areas for now - so you'll see ample Citibank presence in say downtown Chicago and NYC, etc.

Are you talking advantage of any of the Citigold perks? Lots a lot of money to tie-up at a bank earning almost nothing - or is a big chunk of sitting in short-term CDs? Why can't you just do the Standard Account Package for $10k minimum to avoid the fees and you get to keep your Banking relationship with Citi while earning higher interest elsewhere with the rest of the $40k+ put in a linked Savings Account (such as Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Ally, etc.)?
One would hope that they don't have that money in cash. Most people are likely parking ETFs or mutual funds at Citi to maintain the account balances.
I don't believe the OP has most or any of their $50k+ invested in ETFs/Mutual Fund investments at Citibank - at least I didn't think so. Is that correct FedGuy?

Secondly, I certainly wouldn't use Citibank's investment arm to hold ETFs/MFs just to maintain Citigold banking status - not worth it.
That depends on the definition of worth it.
For myself, $100 off the Prestige card annual fee, 11,700 thank you points from banking activities, and a 15% bonus on earned thank you points with the Prestige card for parking an IRA with them is worth it.
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Kenster1
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Kenster1 »

Scotttheking wrote: That depends on the definition of worth it.
For myself, $100 off the Prestige card annual fee, 11,700 thank you points from banking activities, and a 15% bonus on earned thank you points with the Prestige card for parking an IRA with them is worth it.
Do those perks still remain if someone drops out of the Citigold status due to the upcoming $200k minimum?

Here's another interesting thread on this similar topic of Citigold...
viewtopic.php?t=138212
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Scotttheking
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Scotttheking »

Kenster1 wrote:
Scotttheking wrote: That depends on the definition of worth it.
For myself, $100 off the Prestige card annual fee, 11,700 thank you points from banking activities, and a 15% bonus on earned thank you points with the Prestige card for parking an IRA with them is worth it.
Do those perks still remain if someone drops out of the Citigold status due to the upcoming $200k minimum?

Here's another interesting thread on this similar topic of Citigold...
viewtopic.php?t=138212
At least some will remain in the new $50k Priority program.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

Scotttheking wrote:
Kenster1 wrote:
Scotttheking wrote: That depends on the definition of worth it.
For myself, $100 off the Prestige card annual fee, 11,700 thank you points from banking activities, and a 15% bonus on earned thank you points with the Prestige card for parking an IRA with them is worth it.
Do those perks still remain if someone drops out of the Citigold status due to the upcoming $200k minimum?

Here's another interesting thread on this similar topic of Citigold...
viewtopic.php?t=138212
At least some will remain in the new $50k Priority program.
This lists the perks that remain: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

Same earnings via ThankYou points but no Prestige card annual fee discount. Can't see how $150k on deposit is worthy of $100 off a cc.
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by pascal »

The Citigold service is lame.

There is no priority customer service - of the two times when I actually wanted immediate assistance - copy of checks for a mortgage application and credit card loss, I had to call thrice and was holding the line for at least 10 minutes before and when I spoke to someone. The first couple of times, the customer service person had no idea how to authenticate me after I had forgotten my secret word or whatever. He put me into "someone would get you connected - please be on the line" for 10+ minutes.

The preferred mortgage rating is also bollocks - Chase beat the rate handily and Citi made no effort to compete or follow up. I am sure Citi mortgage rates are like the sales at malls - markup first and then offer a discount.

The waived fees and other bens are rarely used and if requested are offered at a nominal cost in most banks.
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FedGuy
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by FedGuy »

Kenster1 wrote: I don't believe the OP has most or any of their $50k+ invested in ETFs/Mutual Fund investments at Citibank - at least I didn't think so. Is that correct FedGuy?
Correct. I only have cash at Citi. The $50,000 I plan--or have planned--to keep there is part of my emergency fund. I've been in the process of transferring the rest of my cash to Ally.

sperry8 wrote: This lists the perks that remain: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E
And where does it say what the monthly maintenance fee will be, or that there will be no such fee?
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

FedGuy wrote:
Kenster1 wrote: I don't believe the OP has most or any of their $50k+ invested in ETFs/Mutual Fund investments at Citibank - at least I didn't think so. Is that correct FedGuy?
Correct. I only have cash at Citi. The $50,000 I plan--or have planned--to keep there is part of my emergency fund. I've been in the process of transferring the rest of my cash to Ally.

sperry8 wrote: This lists the perks that remain: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E
And where does it say what the monthly maintenance fee will be, or that there will be no such fee?
There is no fee if you maintain the $50k level.
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FedGuy
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by FedGuy »

sperry8 wrote:
FedGuy wrote:And where does it say what the monthly maintenance fee will be, or that there will be no such fee?
There is no fee if you maintain the $50k level.
Where does it say that?

I just got a (second) letter from Citi telling me about the upcoming changes to Citi Gold, and it clearly states that Citi Gold will have no monthly fee. A comparable statement is conspicuously absent from the web page about the $50,000 level.
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Nearly A Moose »

Can't say I see the value of the "benefits" that citi offers. You know how an expensive hotel will charge you for Internet but waives that charge for their premium loyalty program participants, whereas a courtyard Marriott includes it for free to start? Seems like the same thing here, and I don't get it. If this is and will continue to be a cash holding, I suggest strongly considering putting that $50k in a high yield savings account at an ol one bank like Ally or the others mentioned. This is an emergency fund, so you don't need to be able to walk into branches across the eastern seaboard all the time, and my experience with Ally has been very positive. Instead of the "benefits" you're getting, take the 1% interest on the E fund. Then, let your emergency fund take you out to a nice dinner once a year (or reinvest the interest...).
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Super Hans
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Super Hans »

Even assuming Citi is convenient for you, you can get "basic checking" with no minimum and no fee, so long as you pay a bill and have a direct deposit each month. I converted over to this bottom-of-the-barrel account after getting kicked out of the Private Bank. I don't really see a difference, except I can't send free wires any longer. I can't use my ATM card for free everywhere any longer, but others have that covered (e.g., Fidelity and Schwab). I guess I'm losing 1200 Thank You points each month, and presumably I'll have to cancel my American Airlines MasterCard when it comes up for renewal (unless their system misses my downgrade and keeps comping me).
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

sperry8 wrote:The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.
Seems like the Citi Priority doesn't refund any 3rd party ATM fees, whereas CitiGold does. Pretty major difference if you actually ever want to make a withdrawal at a non-Citi ATM.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

madbrain wrote:
sperry8 wrote:The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.
Seems like the Citi Priority doesn't refund any 3rd party ATM fees, whereas CitiGold does. Pretty major difference if you actually ever want to make a withdrawal at a non-Citi ATM.
Agreed. That is why I opened a Charles Schwab account where they reimburse ATM fees and require no minimum balance.
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

sperry8 wrote:
madbrain wrote:
sperry8 wrote:The $50k you had in your account to maintain CitiGold will now be converted to CitiPriority. You can see the benefits here: https://banking.citibank.com/cbol/citi- ... 3C982FA46E

The benefits are very close to the old Gold benefits (although I will lose a grandfathered fee waived credit card annual fee). Still overall, not a terrible downgrade imo.
Seems like the Citi Priority doesn't refund any 3rd party ATM fees, whereas CitiGold does. Pretty major difference if you actually ever want to make a withdrawal at a non-Citi ATM.
Agreed. That is why I opened a Charles Schwab account where they reimburse ATM fees and require no minimum balance.
FYI, I opened my Citigold account at a branch in person just a week ago with a $50k deposit - there was an unadvertised $600 bonus for keeping the account opened.

The banker mentioned that there would be a forthcoming name changed from Citigold, but the benefits would be essentially all the same.

Then I found this thread and looked at the fine print, and sure enough, they are not all the same - IMO, it's quite a significant downgrade.

I have had a Fidelity cash account for 6 years . It has been my primary bank account. It has a $0 minimum balance and refunds ATM fees, including foreign ATM fees. Apparently, somehow, Fidelity can figure out how to cover it. Maybe it's because they don't own many branches, and don't own any ATMs.

I have really got to wonder what Citi is thinking on this one. They really can't afford to refund ATM fees for customers with $50k in assets ?
I realize interest rates are low, but I wonder how many customers have $200k in deposits vs $50k, ie. how many they are really cutting off from ATM refunds and how much money they are actually saving in the process. I can't really complain given the $600 bonus, but I'm having a bit of a difficult time seeing the value of keeping the $50k at Citi after the 3 months. Well, at least it having Citigold reduced the annual fee on my new Citi Prestige from $450 to $350 - that's valuable. But I don't know what will happen in a year at renewal time when I'm no longer Citigold.
patrick
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by patrick »

madbrain wrote:I have really got to wonder what Citi is thinking on this one. They really can't afford to refund ATM fees for customers with $50k in assets ?
I realize interest rates are low, but I wonder how many customers have $200k in deposits vs $50k, ie. how many they are really cutting off from ATM refunds and how much money they are actually saving in the process. I can't really complain given the $600 bonus, but I'm having a bit of a difficult time seeing the value of keeping the $50k at Citi after the 3 months. Well, at least it having Citigold reduced the annual fee on my new Citi Prestige from $450 to $350 - that's valuable. But I don't know what will happen in a year at renewal time when I'm no longer Citigold.
You can get interest on deposit accounts of a little over 1% elsewhere. Keeping $200,000 in a negligible-interest account means foregoing about $2,000 in annual interest. Keeping $50,000 loses you about $500 in interest. Even after accounting for the taxes, it doesn't seem to make sense to give up that much interest to save $100 on a credit a card. If the only reason to have the account is because there are branches everywhere, you can have a basic account without fees with a much smaller amount.
travellight
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by travellight »

^also good luck on getting that bonus. I have gotten 3 different excuses for not paying up.
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madbrain
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

patrick wrote:
madbrain wrote:I have really got to wonder what Citi is thinking on this one. They really can't afford to refund ATM fees for customers with $50k in assets ?
I realize interest rates are low, but I wonder how many customers have $200k in deposits vs $50k, ie. how many they are really cutting off from ATM refunds and how much money they are actually saving in the process. I can't really complain given the $600 bonus, but I'm having a bit of a difficult time seeing the value of keeping the $50k at Citi after the 3 months. Well, at least it having Citigold reduced the annual fee on my new Citi Prestige from $450 to $350 - that's valuable. But I don't know what will happen in a year at renewal time when I'm no longer Citigold.
You can get interest on deposit accounts of a little over 1% elsewhere. Keeping $200,000 in a negligible-interest account means foregoing about $2,000 in annual interest. Keeping $50,000 loses you about $500 in interest. Even after accounting for the taxes, it doesn't seem to make sense to give up that much interest to save $100 on a credit a card. If the only reason to have the account is because there are branches everywhere, you can have a basic account without fees with a much smaller amount.
I don't have $200k in Citigold. My Citigold (yes, it still says Citigold when I login) was opened with $50k a week ago.
The bonus is $600 . 600 / 50000 = 1.2% on an annual basis. However, I won't keep the $50k for a year. I will keep the money only for 90 days, as required by the bonus terms. Thus, this is 4.8% interest rate. Yes, I do have to pay taxes.

The $100 savings on the credit card annual fee are on top of this $600 bonus, and no tax is due on that.
madbrain
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

travellight wrote:^also good luck on getting that bonus. I have gotten 3 different excuses for not paying up.
I have heard that it can be difficult to collect, but don't know the specifics. Did your offer have any other requirement besides the deposit for 90 days ? Mine does not. No direct deposit, no bill pay, nothing else to do. It's hard to see what excuse they could use not to pay. I signed up in person, also, not online. I have the business card of the banker who opened the account, stapled to the full terms of the offer with all the fine print . I hope she is still around in 90 days if there is an issue. But if not, I would go to the branch manager, then the regulators probably . If they mess with me, I will mess with them. I have personally shamed some part of the government (not federal ;)) on TV who did me wrong, and got them to overturn their decision. Citi is doesn't know who they are up against :) The media could never resist a good story on a too-big-to-fail bank doing wrong. I suspect it won't come to that.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

patrick wrote:
madbrain wrote:I have really got to wonder what Citi is thinking on this one. They really can't afford to refund ATM fees for customers with $50k in assets ?
I realize interest rates are low, but I wonder how many customers have $200k in deposits vs $50k, ie. how many they are really cutting off from ATM refunds and how much money they are actually saving in the process. I can't really complain given the $600 bonus, but I'm having a bit of a difficult time seeing the value of keeping the $50k at Citi after the 3 months. Well, at least it having Citigold reduced the annual fee on my new Citi Prestige from $450 to $350 - that's valuable. But I don't know what will happen in a year at renewal time when I'm no longer Citigold.
You can get interest on deposit accounts of a little over 1% elsewhere. Keeping $200,000 in a negligible-interest account means foregoing about $2,000 in annual interest. Keeping $50,000 loses you about $500 in interest. Even after accounting for the taxes, it doesn't seem to make sense to give up that much interest to save $100 on a credit a card. If the only reason to have the account is because there are branches everywhere, you can have a basic account without fees with a much smaller amount.
You do not have to keep the account in a non-interest bearing (or terribly low interest bearing) account (either the $200k Citigold amount or the $50k Citi Priority amount. Investment accounts count towards status, so you can easily invest in a ultra short term bond fund or something similar that will net you 1% interest should you wish. Or you can invest in stocks if you prefer (e.g., just hold one of your mutual funds in Citi to keep the $50k or $200k designation). You can transfer a mutual fund to them without fee and no need to buy/sell the fund to do it. It's called an ACAT transfer (or in-kind transfer). So your analysis is misleading.
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madbrain
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

sperry8 wrote: You do not have to keep the account in a non-interest bearing (or terribly low interest bearing) account (either the $200k Citigold amount or the $50k Citi Priority amount. Investment accounts count towards status, so you can easily invest in a ultra short term bond fund or something similar that will net you 1% interest should you wish. Or you can invest in stocks if you prefer (e.g., just hold one of your mutual funds in Citi to keep the $50k or $200k designation). You can transfer a mutual fund to them without fee and no need to buy/sell the fund to do it. It's called an ACAT transfer (or in-kind transfer). So your analysis is misleading.
I just checked the fine print of my bonus offer - I could not do what you say to qualify. This is pasted straight from an OCR'ed scan of the terms, so the formatting is a little screwy :
To earn $600, open a new eligible consumer checking account in either The Citigold® Account
Package or The Citibank® Account Package by 10/31/16. Once you've opened your account, make an
eligible deposit of $50,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into your new checking or a new or
existing Citibank Savings Plus Account within 30 days from the date you opened your new eligible
checking account. Then maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for 30 consecutive calendar days
following the date you made your qualifying deposit.
* To qualify to earn a $600 cash bonus, you must enroll in this offer: (1) open a new eligible consumer checking account in either The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package between
9/1/16 - 10/31/16; (2) make a qualifying deposit of $50,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking or your new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account within 30 days after the date you
opened your new eligible checking account; and (3) maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for 30 consecutive calendar days following the date you made your qtialifying deposit. The cash bonus will be
credited to your new checking account within 90 calendar days from the date when you completed all offer requirements. Monthly service fees may apply as described below.
As of 8/16/16 in all markets the Citigold Interest Checking account paid an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 0.03% on all balances below $50,000 and paid an APY of 0.03% on balances between $50,000-
$500,000. The Citibank Interest Checking account paid an APY of 0.01% in all markets. The APY5 paid as of 8/16/16 for Citibank Savings Plus Accounts in The Citigold Account Package are SD: 0.06% for a
balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.08% for a balance of $100,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000 or more; NY, NJ, CT: 0.06% for a balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.08% for a balance of
$100,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000 or more; CA, FL, NV: 0.06% for a balance of $25,000-$49,999.99; 0.08%fora balance of $50,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000
or more; MD, VA, DC: 0.08% for a balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $100,000-$499,999.99; 0.12% for a balance of $500,000 or more; IL: 0.08% fora balance of $25,000-$49,999.99;
0.10% fora balance of $50,000-$499,999.99; 0.12% for a balance of $500,000 or more. APY5 are variable and subject to change without notice after the account is opened. Fees could reduce account earnings.
New-to-Citibank funds are funds not currently held at Citibank or its affiliates.
A new consumer checking account in The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package is required. Customers must be 18 years or older to participate in this promotion. Existing checking customers are not eligible.
Enrollment in this offer does not guarantee eligibility. To qualify for this promotion, you must enroll in the promotion, meet the terms and conditions of this offer and perform the required qualifying activities contained in this
offer. To be eligible for this offer, you must not currently have a consumer checking account with Citibank or have been a signer on or owner of a Citibank consumer checking account within the last 60 days.
However, signers on fiduciary, estate, business and certain trust accounts may be eligible. Eligible accounts must have been opened within 60 calendar days of enrollment in this offer. Customer can have an existing Citibank
Savings Plus Account. Regular account charges apply. Offer may be modified or withdrawn at any time without notice, is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other checking offer. Limit of one of each offer per
customer and one offer per account. Fiduciary, estate, business and certain trust accounts are not eligible. A monthly service fee of $30 applies to the checking account in The Citigold Account Package if combined average
monthly balance requirements are not maintained. A monthly service fee of $25 applies to the checking account in The Citibank Account Package and a $2.50 non-Citibank ATM withdrawal fee if combined average monthly
balance requirements are not maintained.
Effective November 1, 2016, the $30 monthly service fee will be eliminated for customers in The Citigold Account Package. If you do not maintain a minimum combined average monthly balance of $200,000 in eligible deposits,
retirement and investment accounts, your Citigold Account Package will be converted to a different banking package and your accounts will be subject to the terms and conditions then in effect for that package. We will contact
you prior to account conversion and send you complete information about the banking package to which your account will be converted. For all account pricing details please visit citi.com/compareaccounts.
The new checking account in The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package and/or new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account must be open and in good standing at the time the cash bonus is credited to
the checking account
Important tax information: The bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest, in the year received, as required by applicable law. Bonus payments received by U.S. persons will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT
for the year received. Bonus payments received by non-U.S. persons will be reported on IRS Form 10421 for the year received. Customer is responsible for any applicable taxes and consulting a tax advisor. To
be eligible for the bonus, a U.S. person must have a valid Form W-9 on file, and a non-U.S. person must have a valid Form W-8BEN on file, and the account must not be subject to backup withholding.
Ask for complete details. The terms, conditions and fees for accounts, products, programs and services are subject to change. Accounts are subject to approval, terms and fees.
©2016 Citibank, N.A. Member FDIC. Citi,Citi and Arc Design and other marks used herein are service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its affiliates, used and registered throughout the world.
Seems like I actually only need to keep the funds for 30 days, not 90 days. But I need to keep the account open for 120 days in order for the bonus to post - it's within 90 days of meeting all the requirements, so 30 + 90. If I withdraw the funds earlier, monthly fees will probably eat into the bonus.
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sperry8
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by sperry8 »

madbrain wrote:
sperry8 wrote: You do not have to keep the account in a non-interest bearing (or terribly low interest bearing) account (either the $200k Citigold amount or the $50k Citi Priority amount. Investment accounts count towards status, so you can easily invest in a ultra short term bond fund or something similar that will net you 1% interest should you wish. Or you can invest in stocks if you prefer (e.g., just hold one of your mutual funds in Citi to keep the $50k or $200k designation). You can transfer a mutual fund to them without fee and no need to buy/sell the fund to do it. It's called an ACAT transfer (or in-kind transfer). So your analysis is misleading.
I just checked the fine print of my bonus offer - I could not do what you say to qualify. This is pasted straight from an OCR'ed scan of the terms, so the formatting is a little screwy :
To earn $600, open a new eligible consumer checking account in either The Citigold® Account
Package or The Citibank® Account Package by 10/31/16. Once you've opened your account, make an
eligible deposit of $50,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into your new checking or a new or
existing Citibank Savings Plus Account within 30 days from the date you opened your new eligible
checking account. Then maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for 30 consecutive calendar days
following the date you made your qualifying deposit.
* To qualify to earn a $600 cash bonus, you must enroll in this offer: (1) open a new eligible consumer checking account in either The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package between
9/1/16 - 10/31/16; (2) make a qualifying deposit of $50,000 or more in new-to-Citibank funds into the new checking or your new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account within 30 days after the date you
opened your new eligible checking account; and (3) maintain a minimum balance of $50,000 for 30 consecutive calendar days following the date you made your qtialifying deposit. The cash bonus will be
credited to your new checking account within 90 calendar days from the date when you completed all offer requirements. Monthly service fees may apply as described below.
As of 8/16/16 in all markets the Citigold Interest Checking account paid an Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 0.03% on all balances below $50,000 and paid an APY of 0.03% on balances between $50,000-
$500,000. The Citibank Interest Checking account paid an APY of 0.01% in all markets. The APY5 paid as of 8/16/16 for Citibank Savings Plus Accounts in The Citigold Account Package are SD: 0.06% for a
balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.08% for a balance of $100,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000 or more; NY, NJ, CT: 0.06% for a balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.08% for a balance of
$100,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000 or more; CA, FL, NV: 0.06% for a balance of $25,000-$49,999.99; 0.08%fora balance of $50,000-$499,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $500,000
or more; MD, VA, DC: 0.08% for a balance of $25,000-$99,999.99; 0.10% for a balance of $100,000-$499,999.99; 0.12% for a balance of $500,000 or more; IL: 0.08% fora balance of $25,000-$49,999.99;
0.10% fora balance of $50,000-$499,999.99; 0.12% for a balance of $500,000 or more. APY5 are variable and subject to change without notice after the account is opened. Fees could reduce account earnings.
New-to-Citibank funds are funds not currently held at Citibank or its affiliates.
A new consumer checking account in The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package is required. Customers must be 18 years or older to participate in this promotion. Existing checking customers are not eligible.
Enrollment in this offer does not guarantee eligibility. To qualify for this promotion, you must enroll in the promotion, meet the terms and conditions of this offer and perform the required qualifying activities contained in this
offer. To be eligible for this offer, you must not currently have a consumer checking account with Citibank or have been a signer on or owner of a Citibank consumer checking account within the last 60 days.
However, signers on fiduciary, estate, business and certain trust accounts may be eligible. Eligible accounts must have been opened within 60 calendar days of enrollment in this offer. Customer can have an existing Citibank
Savings Plus Account. Regular account charges apply. Offer may be modified or withdrawn at any time without notice, is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other checking offer. Limit of one of each offer per
customer and one offer per account. Fiduciary, estate, business and certain trust accounts are not eligible. A monthly service fee of $30 applies to the checking account in The Citigold Account Package if combined average
monthly balance requirements are not maintained. A monthly service fee of $25 applies to the checking account in The Citibank Account Package and a $2.50 non-Citibank ATM withdrawal fee if combined average monthly
balance requirements are not maintained.
Effective November 1, 2016, the $30 monthly service fee will be eliminated for customers in The Citigold Account Package. If you do not maintain a minimum combined average monthly balance of $200,000 in eligible deposits,
retirement and investment accounts, your Citigold Account Package will be converted to a different banking package and your accounts will be subject to the terms and conditions then in effect for that package. We will contact
you prior to account conversion and send you complete information about the banking package to which your account will be converted. For all account pricing details please visit citi.com/compareaccounts.
The new checking account in The Citigold Account Package or The Citibank Account Package and/or new or existing Citibank Savings Plus Account must be open and in good standing at the time the cash bonus is credited to
the checking account
Important tax information: The bonus will be reported to the IRS as interest, in the year received, as required by applicable law. Bonus payments received by U.S. persons will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT
for the year received. Bonus payments received by non-U.S. persons will be reported on IRS Form 10421 for the year received. Customer is responsible for any applicable taxes and consulting a tax advisor. To
be eligible for the bonus, a U.S. person must have a valid Form W-9 on file, and a non-U.S. person must have a valid Form W-8BEN on file, and the account must not be subject to backup withholding.
Ask for complete details. The terms, conditions and fees for accounts, products, programs and services are subject to change. Accounts are subject to approval, terms and fees.
©2016 Citibank, N.A. Member FDIC. Citi,Citi and Arc Design and other marks used herein are service marks of Citigroup Inc. or its affiliates, used and registered throughout the world.
Seems like I actually only need to keep the funds for 30 days, not 90 days. But I need to keep the account open for 120 days in order for the bonus to post - it's within 90 days of meeting all the requirements, so 30 + 90. If I withdraw the funds earlier, monthly fees will probably eat into the bonus.
I am not speaking about the promotion. But regarding assets to qualify for CitiGold or CitiPriority (on an ongoing basis) one is not required to keep money solely in a negligible bearing interest account with Citi. Investments qualify.
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afan
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Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by afan »

This is one area where competition helps. I do find the occasional need for bricks and mortar, so we keep a checking account in one of the giant banks with branches everywhere. Every now and then that comes in handy. By doing direct deposit and a minimum balance, I don't remember how much, we pay no fees, have a credit card with overdraft protection and no fees for that either. Perfectly serviceable online access.

They do have a constantly changing set of priority tiers and the names keep changing as well. But the features we care about and the freeness have not changed in many years. We have decided all this activity about levels, features and products is a scam intended to get someone to come to the bank for a sales pitch. If they ever do something we care about we might respond.

Our megabank has a broker arm, of course. I gather from posts here that the prices are competitive with Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab, but not interested in having to deal with them for my investments. They are a bank and the Wells Fargo episode reminds one not to trust them one inch farther than necessary.

If you don't like your deal from Citi, there are 1,000 other banks happy to take your business.
We don't know how to beat the market on a risk-adjusted basis, and we don't know anyone that does know either | --Swedroe | We assume that markets are efficient, that prices are right | --Fama
travellight
Posts: 2892
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Location: San Diego

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by travellight »

Madbrain, I look forward to hearing what they do with you. I hope you find it an easy time. If not, I will be happy to observe the battle. I believe my offer actually only required $50,000 deposit for 30 days but one of the bankers told me was 90 and now it has been sitting there for about six months.
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barefootjan
Posts: 459
Joined: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:45 pm

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by barefootjan »

travellight wrote:Madbrain, I look forward to hearing what they do with you. I hope you find it an easy time. If not, I will be happy to observe the battle. I believe my offer actually only required $50,000 deposit for 30 days but one of the bankers told me was 90 and now it has been sitting there for about six months.
travellight, is this a new account? And do you know if you met all the requirements of the offer? - If so, you might want to call Citibank's One-Stop Sales Unit at 1-800-321-2484 and ask the customer service rep. to place a promotional dispute. I've been informed that this is something I may have to do. I suggest you don't wait too long.

If you have the actual, correct promotional code you used when you opened the account, that will be very helpful when you call, although if you know all the requirements of the offer they might be able to back track it based on your description.

If you received a membership package, a large white envelope about 1/2" thick, there might be a page in there with the promotional code number near the top of the page. If you are lucky, it will be the correct one. If you are unlucky, like me, it will be the wrong code....so be prepared!

You see, my husband & I recently took advantage of their $400 promotion for opening a new account with $15,000. We each opened our own account (there was no restriction by address or family, only that each person had to be a new member). Except for a few relatively minor hiccups, my husband's account opening went quite smoothly, esply compared to mine.

For me it's been a nightmare! I've literally spent hours on the phone (& in chats & emails & faxing & snail mailing) for one problem after another, including some pretty scary ones. At one point I got a fraud alert from my funding source account because the $15K that they sent to Citibank "disappeared" into cyberspace. The $15K was "gone." It wasn't at either bank, and the Citibank account was frozen. It took several calls to reach someone who knew what they were doing before I could get that corrected.

The requirements for this particular offer: you must fund the account with $15K within 30 days of opening it; just must maintain that min balance of $15K for 30 consecutive calendar days (after which, if you like, you can transfer out $5K and still not pay a monthly account fee); and then, within the NEXT 90 days, the bonus credit will be applied to your account. There are no inactivity fees or withdrawal fees to close the account, and unlike some smaller banks, they won't withhold the bonus if they determine (in their opinion) that you opened the account solely to get the benefit.

Long story short(er), after a good month & a half of stress & aggravation, I'm told that I may not meet the promotional requirements. Not because I did anything improperly, but because of a long series of errors, primarily on Citibank's part (my local brick & mortar bank was responsible for one error).

It turns out (from what I'm told, anyway) that Citibank's internal system is very difficult to work with; once an error has occurred - for example, if something is entered into the system improperly - the system uses that erroneous information for all subsequent actions. I'm told it's very difficult to override the system, although a couple customer service reps tried their best. They were able to manually fix one problem with the help of a supervisor and someone "in the back office." Despite that, they said they cannot guarantee that the promotional offer will be honored, due solely to their touchy computer system. I have to wait the full 120 days to see what happens, and then, if need be, I can file my dispute. I have no idea how long it takes after that for them to be able to resolve it.

For what it's worth, Citibank also has a separate number for their Dispute Dept, it's 1-844-859-6212. Two of the reps I talked to in that department were very good, knew what they were doing, and worked hard to resolve the issue. The two other reps I got stuck with were incompetent, and one was just a passive aggressive jerk who couldn't even be bothered to speak clearly.

To top it all off, Citibank's website (for both the bank and credit card) has been very unreliable. One link sent to my email was rejected by Firefox with the message: "Your connection is not secure" in big bold letters. ("The owner of remoteaccountfulfillment.citibank.com has configured their website improperly. To protect your information from being stolen, Firefox has not connected to this website.")

And that's just one example of what happens when we try to access our accounts or account information!

To be sure, I don't know if any of this applies to the Citigold accounts. I would hope their customer service is better, given the large dollar amounts involved.

Best of luck to all of you!
Last edited by barefootjan on Mon Jan 10, 2022 6:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Dan-in-Virginia
Posts: 841
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Location: Virginia

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by Dan-in-Virginia »

I also have a Money Market account with Ally for a house down payment in the near future. It's a better interest rate than my options with USAA, Navy Federal, or PenFed. I had been using MDXBX for the past few years which worked out nicely, but got out of it last summer.
denismurf
Posts: 544
Joined: Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:29 pm

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by denismurf »

Did anyone mention that Citibank has free ATM's at most 7-11 stores in WA and maybe elsewhere, unless that free policy has changed recently?

Also, I've had much better customer service at Citi branches in Florida (where I don't live) than in US bank branches in WA, where I do live.

Until recently I had accounts at both banks.
madbrain
Posts: 6508
Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2011 5:06 pm
Location: San Jose, California

Re: Citigold minimum increasing to $200,000

Post by madbrain »

travellight wrote:Madbrain, I look forward to hearing what they do with you. I hope you find it an easy time. If not, I will be happy to observe the battle. I believe my offer actually only required $50,000 deposit for 30 days but one of the bankers told me was 90 and now it has been sitting there for about six months.
Exactly the same as me - the banker told me 90 days in person, not 30 which is on the paperwork. Guess I may have a battle coming up with Citi, sigh.
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