Citibank has upped the offer for opening a new Citigold checking account. The previous offer was for 30K AA miles or 40K TYP but now you can get 50,000 AA miles if you sign up before 12/31/15.
This offer is available to Citi / AAdvantage credit cardmembers who receive this communication but you should be able to apply and make sure to use promo code 42ERCWNQU6.
To qualify to earn American Airlines AAdvantage bonus miles, open a new Citigold Checking account by 12/31/15. Then, within 60 days after account opening: the required $1000 minimum amount of purchases using the Citibank Debit Card must be posted to the new checking account AND 1 qualifying bill payment must be posted to the new checking account each month for two consecutive calendar months. Read the terms here.
Qualifying bill payments are those made using Citibank Online, Citi Mobile or CitiPhone Banking. Bills paid by making a transfer between linked accounts and/or transfer payments made to accounts within Citibank or to accounts with Citibank affiliates do not qualify as bill payments for this offer.
Qualifying purchases are those made using the Card to buy goods and services and are net of returns and other adjustments. ATM withdrawals, cash back and bill payments do not qualify as Citibank Debit Card purchases. Net qualifying purchases are determined in Citibank’s sole discretion and must post to the new account within 60 days of account opening.
AAdvantage bonus miles are earned on a per account basis and based upon all debit card purchases by all customers when the new checking account is the primary account linked to a debit card. HT: takeoffwithmiles
Funding the account
The account allows for credit card funding up to $100K so that is a nice bonus in itself. Only Visa and Mastercard are allowed and make sure to set your cash advance limit lower than the funding balance, to avoid cash advance fees. If you’re funding with an amount close to your credit limit (which you should), then that should already be over your cash advance limit.
Capital One with treat the funding as cash advance so don’t bother with it. Citi and Barclay are your best bets. I went for the previous 40K TYP offer and had no problems using my 25K limit on my Barclay card. You might want to notify your card issuer before charging such large amounts. DoC has some more advice regarding the process (it’s for the previous offer which was similar).
You need to print out a form for the credit card deposit during the application and fax it in. But you can also call after the account is opened to do the credit card funding. It’s quick and painless if you get the right customer rep. Make sure to look for someone to help with newly opened accounts.
Needless to say, this is an amazing offer that will give you a ton of miles without a hard inquiry on your credit report.
Fees
The Citigold account comes with a $30 monthly fee. To avoid it you need to have more than $50K or more in your accounts, which is not worth it. The fee is waived for the first two months, so you just might have to pay 2-3 monthly fees until you can close your account. The bonus miles should post 90-days from the end of the month when you completed the requirements.
Already Applied? Ask to match current bonus
If you already applied for the lower 30K AA offer, you can send Citi a secure message and ask them to match this offer. They often match credit card offers so you might have some luck with this offer as well.
Offer Details
- Apply here (use code 42ERCWNQU6)
- Account Type: Citigold Checking
- Availability: No restrictions
- Expiration Date: December 31, 2015
- Inquiry Type: Soft
- Credit Card Funding: Up to $100K
- Direct Deposit Requirement: No
- Other requirements: $1000 debit card purchase, 1 ore more bill pay for two consecutive months
- Monthly Fee: Yes ($30, waived first two months)
- Closing Account Fee: No
Thank you very much for your help, I’ll read through the bill!
Can an individual who has their credit frozen open an account that only requires a soft pull without paying the credit thaw fee(s)?
Does it depend on if you have an existing relationship with the bank/issuer/merchant? i.e. You don’t have to pay the credit thaw fees if you already have a Citi credit card and are opening a Citi Checking account that ONLY requires a soft?
I believe that soft pulls are usually allowed if you already have a relationship with the bank. But these laws are state specific. You might want to look up your state’s laws.
This is a nice state by state guide
http://consumersunion.org/research/consumers-unions-guide-to-security-freeze-protection/
And this is specific to New York state
Can anyone see my credit file if it is frozen?
When you have a security freeze on your credit file, certain entities still have access to it. Your
report can still be released to your existing creditors or to collection agencies acting on their own
behalf. They can use it to review or collect on your account. Other creditors may also use your
information to make offers of credit. Government agencies may also have access in response to a
court or administrative order, a subpoena, or a search warrant.
I hope that helps
Glad to help.. enjoy the miles/points 🙂
Signed up for the Citigold AA bonus. Used the Barclay Arrival Card. Turned my CA to 0. Once that posted sent Citibank a secure message asking them to confirm the two online payments and the 1 K debt is all need for the offer. Received a confirmation within 24 hours. Barclay Arrival posted as a purchase. Thanks again for your help.
are there any Cash Advance fees when funding with a credit card ?? I don’t want to find out the hard way
Thank You 🙂 Great Site 🙂
Yes there’s a risk of a cash advance fee. I suggest you check out this list of data points http://www.doctorofcredit.com/does-funding-a-bank-account-with-a-credit-card-count-as-a-purchase-or-cash-advance/#Citibank it’s a great resource that’s updated continuously
Thanks for reading the blog!!
Thank you I signed up via your link. Received 8.5 K. Do you know if it is possible to move some of my line from Citibank Sears to this account ? Thanks again.
It is possible to reallocate credit from one card to the other but most likely it will result in a hard pull.
Do I need to apply for the Citi AA card before applying for this offer? Is 30K for the AA credit card a good offer or am I better off signing up for the 50,000 Thank you card? Please Advise. I love your blog by the way.
Yes you do need a Citi AA credit card. As for the points, it depends which one you value more, but the 50k AA is back as well https://www.aa.com/i18n/disclaimers/HP-PLATHV.jsp
And thank you for reading the blog
I funded with my Citi AA Select with 20K limit. Very easy. I’ll ask to get matched for this offer.
Am I reading this right? 100K limit for funding by credit card? So I can charge 99K on my card to fund citigold and earn AA 99K miles for example from my credit card.
Correct. And I’m really jealous if you really have a 100k limit 🙂
The terms say “Offers for new consumer checking customers only,” Do you take that to mean if I ever had a Citigold account I am ineligible? I closed one a couple of months ago.
It’s not defined so it’s hard to say what a new customer is. http://upgrd.com/thetripsherpa/psa-get-30000-american-aadvantage-miles-or-40000-thank-you-points-free-today.html In this post it says that he was able to get the bonus after closing the account 18 months earlier.
A couple of months sounds a bit risky.
I agree so I probably won’t try. Are you sure the 18 months is not after the last bonus hit? My bonus posted several months before I closed the account so if that’s the case I would be eligible sooner. Is this something I could ask Citi on the phone or is that a bad idea?
He doesn’t specify it either but at least it shows that you’re able to get the offer more than once.
Asking Citi would be the only sure thing to find out if you qualify, but it’s not a great idea to attract attention.
Maybe wait a bit, hopefully more people will report their experiences with trying to open a second account. Or maybe someone already asked.