MilesBuzz! - Citibank Ultimate Savings Acct.

Well, I have all my banking at Citibank and wanted to put some savings into a CD, but I saw the ad on line for the "Ultimate Savings account."

I will let everyone know if there are any problems.

Do you know if there's a monthly fee for this account? The Package Details and Fees page doesn't list this account type in the fee schedule.

...using my Marriott Rewards visa for $30,000. I only intend to keep about $15,000 in the acct. but I will just use the funds from the cc "purchase" that will be in my new savings account to repay the credit card when the statement comes and leave the cash in that I intended to originally put....
If cashflow is not a problem for you, it might be safe to charge up to $30K as the initial funding deposit.

However, I remembered Citi's terms is to keep the funding deposit for at least 30 (or more?) days in the account. So depending on your billing and statement cycles, you probably won't be able to "move" it and pay off the cc balance. I also recalled a deposit fund cap at $250 (or $500 or something..) from Creditcard. (Don't remember which bank it was. I opened too many bank accounts for miles/points over the years. :o ) So you might not be able to do the $30K thing.

Secondly, I recalled reading some posts that Citi either delayed or failed to pull the fund from the CC so it took much longer (for delayed incidents), or account never opened (for cc charge failure). (Read more from this thread: Earn 10,000 Aadvantage bonus miles (www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603659))

Thirdly, some are not happy with how the India Banking Center is serving them.

If you think you can handle it after factoring in all these "disturbance," by all means, go ahead.

Do you know if there's a monthly fee for this account? The Package Details and Fees page doesn't list this account type in the fee schedule.

I think there are monthly fees, however, I already have other accounts with them so it is no problem for me because my combined balances cover all minimums.

I think there are monthly fees, however, I already have other accounts with them so it is no problem for me because my combined balances cover all minimums.

Just called to ask what the difference is between esavings and ultimate. According to Citi, the only two differences are that Ultimate has a higher interest rate and esavings requires that you link a checking account. I asked her why anyone would choose esavings, she said she didn't see why anyone would. Also, there are no monthly fees. The note on the website (according to Citi) refers to the fees which might be incurred by a linked account. I wasn't the first to ask and the CSR noted that the website was badly worded.

is that considered a purchase and therfore earns miles/ponts or is it considered a cash advance and generates no miles/points?

if the card/issuer matters, i'd be using either Marriott Chase Visa, AA Citi Biz MC or Amex

Last edited by abouna : Yesterday at 11:58 pm. Reason: incorrect info What was the incorrect info that you edited out? You removed all reference to credit card funding from your post.

Well, I have all my banking at Citibank and wanted to put some savings into a CD, but I saw the ad on line for the "Ultimate Savings account."

I will let everyone know if there are any problems.


What did the ad for the Ultimate SAvings account offer?

Could you add some info to this post. I see someone else provided a link for an offer than ended in 2006.

What are they offering now? Ans what problems did you encounter or avoid?

Thanks.

I asked her why anyone would choose esavings, she said she didn't see why anyone would.

When Citi first introduced Ultimate Savings, it was offering a 4.5% rate while E-Savings was still at 5%. Since then Citi has raised Ultimate to 4.65% and lowered E-Savings to 4.5%. Go figure.

What did the ad for the Ultimate SAvings account offer?

If you go to CitiCards.com, you can see an offer to sign up for $50 (if you don't have an existing Citi banking account).

When Citi first introduced Ultimate Savings, it was offering a 4.5% rate while E-Savings was still at 5%. Since then Citi has raised Ultimate to 4.65% and lowered E-Savings to 4.5%. Go figure.A better deal would be E*Trade's Complete Savings account, offering 5.05% APY plus a $25 sign-up bonus:
http://www.etrade.com/25cash

I don't know if any bonus miles for signing up, but if you're considering Citi, I'd recommend E*Trade instead. And no, I don't get any kickback - this is entirely for FTers' benefits. :)

The Citi e savings account was interesting when you could get 10 or 20K AA bonus miles for opening one along with a free checking account and a linked AA credit card. But, that, so far as I know, is now over and Citi apparently has adopted a policy of chiseling down the e savings rate (which started at 5%--now 4.5%).

On the other hand, Citi does have a pretty good online site and free electronic bill pay.

All in all, Citi is okay as a transaction account, if you need a local checking account. Otherwise, I would look else where (Vanguard or Fidelity?) if putting in large sums. And, wait for another bonus offer from Citi.

I believe the E-savings account counts toward Thank You Rewards points and Ultimate does not. If you want both the points and the better interest rate, I think you can just open both accounts

BL17

For those who are curious the OP had suggested using a credit card to charge the initial deposit of up to $10k or $20k. I suspect the post was deleted when he discovered that the charge would be characterized as a cash advance (subject to high interest rates and fees) rather than a purchase (though I have not contacted Citi for guidance).

IME you don't get many TY points from having a Citi checking and e-savings - something like 150 per month on my statement which doesn't go very far :(

That being said, 4.5% on a demand account (i.e. money you can withdraw at any time without penalty) is excellent compared with 95% of bank checking and savings accounts in the U.S., and most of the B&M interest checking accounts have high minimum balance and/or service fees.

The nice thing about the Citi accounts is the unlimited transfer feature (online or ATM) - you can transfer funds between the savings and checking accounts as bills come due (or simply transfer directly from savings to pay your CitiAA MC the day it is due). Plus 5000 free ATMs at 7-11s and plenty of physical locations to accept your cash and check deposits (no delay as you would have with an internet-only bank). And some no fee international ATMs (consult the wiki to compare ETrade, etc.)

For those who want another option, you might consider the new free Charles Schwab Checking account (see story at http://sfgate.com which pays 4.5% interest and apparently rebates ATM fees.

Does anybody know of a savings account that you can fund with a credit card as a purchase not a cash advance?

Does anybody know of a savings account that you can fund with a credit card as a purchase not a cash advance?
The only way you might do this would be to sign up for a new card with a low or zero interest & no fee balance transfer offer. Xfer to a different card to get a credit balance and then request a check. Note: they usually won't transfer more than the balance of the target card, so you might have to run up a hefty bill. You could always buy some expensive refundable first class tickets and then refund after the transfer.

This also is probably not worth it given the relatively low rate.

The only way you might do this would be to sign up for a new card with a low or zero interest & no fee balance transfer offer. Xfer to a different card to get a credit balance and then request a check. Note: they usually won't transfer more than the balance of the target card, so you might have to run up a hefty bill. You could always buy some expensive refundable first class tickets and then refund after the transfer.

This also is probably not worth it given the relatively low rate.

That is too much hassle :(

or the OP reallized this deal was so hot that to share its details would kill it for everyone who already knows about it. :D

OR, maybe it DOES NOT work now and the OP just saved us all some pains!

Anyway, in my experience, Citi will gladly make your CA be ZERO if you request it (I did so in a message at my citi.com) and I recommend doing it to ZERO $ because some merchants can "sneak in" authorizations for more if you do it to say, $100. I know AAA does, so be careful! Set it to $0.

I know Chase and US Bank cannot and will not change your CA value. I do not know about anyone else to date.

:DMM

FWIW, I upgraded from a Citi eSavings acct to a Ulti Savings acct in <5 minutes. All you needed to do to log in, ask to open a new acct, transfer the balance from your eSavings to Ultimate Savings Acct, and voila! you've just netted an extra .15% or so APY.

Not a bad way to net extra interest while still keeping my savings super liquid (Citibank is also my primary checking acct so there are no ACH delays).

-g

I opened a Citi savings and e checking acct with at 10K AA miles offer which also provided no fees and no minimum balance for life.

I suspect "upgrading" might entail fees and minimum balance requirements. But, I would be happy to be wrong. :)

I opened a Citi savings and e checking acct with at 10K AA miles offer which also provided no fees and no minimum balance for life.

I suspect "upgrading" might entail fees and minimum balance requirements. But, I would be happy to be wrong. :)

I would like to find out too. Fees are no good.

FWIW, and i'm not necessarily ANTI-inquiries (depends on the person), but CITIBANK did a hard pull of my credit report (they disclose this on the application, but not whether its soft or hard) through Experian. Take this into consideration when applying for the E-Savings account w/them.

If you're not in a hurry, you might wait to see if Citi offers miles to open Ultimate.

(I'm aware of reports of delays getting bonuses from Citi, but mine worked out.)

good tip! in fact it seems historically true that Citi always ups the bonus AFTER the first round of people sign up.

be the second mouse.
:DMM

The nice thing about the Citi accounts is the unlimited transfer feature (online or ATM) - you can transfer funds between the savings and checking accounts as bills come due

Actually, I found out this was not true - at least for eSavings. I keep all of our money in the eSavings account and set up transfers in expectation of paying bills. However, a few weeks ago I tried to set up a transfer and I got an error that indicated that I had 'exceeded the limit of transfers' for the month. I called the bank to have them override it and was told that it was not possible as there was a 'federal limit' on the number of internet and phone transfers. The only option was to go into a Citibank and do the transfer in person or at a real citibank ATM (not 7-11). It was quite iritating, the limit is 6 and there is no counter anywhere. The month is based on your statement month.
Other than this irritation (and the fact that I signed up when it was 5%!) the account has been great, very easy, instant transfers and since our mortgage is with citimortage I instantly transfer my payment. :)

...was told that it was not possible as there was a 'federal limit' on the number of internet and phone transfers. ...
Yes there is Federal Reserve Regulation D about the number of withdrawls you can make on a savings or money market account. Withdrawls made at a branch or ATM are excluded from the limit.

The "counter" is very easy to see. Just click on the account and look at the number of transfers you've made since you last earned interest.

Since you just learned about it, I thought I should mention that if you exceed the limit 3 times in a calendar year, your account will be closed.

Actually, I found out this was not true - at least for eSavings. I keep all of our money in the eSavings account and set up transfers in expectation of paying bills. However, a few weeks ago I tried to set up a transfer and I got an error that indicated that I had 'exceeded the limit of transfers' for the month. I called the bank to have them override it and was told that it was not possible as there was a 'federal limit' on the number of internet and phone transfers. The only option was to go into a Citibank and do the transfer in person or at a real citibank ATM (not 7-11). It was quite iritating, the limit is 6 and there is no counter anywhere. The month is based on your statement month.
Other than this irritation (and the fact that I signed up when it was 5%!) the account has been great, very easy, instant transfers and since our mortgage is with citimortage I instantly transfer my payment. :)

That is very upsetting to hear as it means the CSR (who was not in an ICC) basically lied to me - and of course I have nothing in writing. :mad: There is a federal law that limits withdrawals, but I was told the transfers don't count. The part about In-person/ATMs (vs. internet) makes no sense at all as the law was written in a time when there were no ATMs or internet banking. :rolleyes:

Fortunately I can survive with that limit. Appreciate the heads up. ^

That is very upsetting to hear as it means the CSR (who was not in an ICC) basically lied to me - and of course I have nothing in writing. :mad: There is a federal law that limits withdrawals, but I was told the transfers don't count. The part about In-person/ATMs (vs. internet) makes no sense at all as the law was written in a time when there were no ATMs or internet banking. :rolleyes:
There is a limit of 6 of which 3 may be check withdrawls.

Sometimes this is poorly worded and I've heard a bank rep (not Citi) say something like "transfers don't count." She really meant the limit of 3 doesn't apply if you do all transfers.

The In-Person/ATM exclusion makes sense to me. People used to keep a savings passbook and make withdrawls in person. ATMs came along and they are still "in person" since you are at a bank location of sorts.

I thought I should mention that if you exceed the limit 3 times in a calendar year, your account will be closed.

Ahhh! That would be really annoying. As far as I know that was the first time we have done it. It was beyond frustrating as we were at home for 5 minutes to swap out our bags from our wedding, and grabbing our bags for our 2.5 week honeymoon so we didn't have any extra time to go to a branch on the way to out international flight. Luckily there is a branch at JFK so I jumped out of the car did the transfer and we made our flight. Might need to open another account and keep half and half so that we can always access our money.

one word with regards to earning interest on your savings:

INGDirect.


This high-interest-earning savings acct lets you do any transfers to any bank any time. Could take a couple extra days but so worth it in the end! Plus, a little known fact, if you do a transfer between ING and Bank of America, it counts as a Direct Deposit! This alleviates their monthly fee for some accounts such as the bank ones that have airline bank cards that earn miles on PIN transactions as well as credit transactions out of your checking account! The only downside with BofA is that they have no OD protection unless you have one of their credit cards too and not all will work for that. the baseball BofA cards do not, for example. BTW, ING transfers to Citi do NOT count as DDs. They were wiser.

Nevertheless, I have set up all my accounts so they can transfer in and out of one another. I use citi and it costs nothing but I have nothing in it right now either. If I try for the ultimate savings acct, I may try to load it in creative ways...

This high-interest-earning savings acct lets you do any transfers to any bank any time. Could take a couple extra days but so worth it in the end!You can also do this with the Citi account. I've made external transfers several times including the free next day service.

...that have airline bank cards that earn miles on PIN transactions as well as credit transactions out of your checking account!You also get this with Citi AA Debit MasterCard.

This high-interest-earning savings acct lets you do any transfers to any bank any time. Could take a couple extra days but so worth it in the end! Plus, a little known fact, if you do a transfer between ING and Bank of America, it counts as a Direct Deposit! This alleviates their monthly fee for some accounts such as the bank ones that have airline bank cards that earn miles on PIN transactions as well as credit transactions out of your checking account! The only downside with BofA is that they have no OD protection unless you have one of their credit cards too and not all will work for that. the baseball BofA cards do not, for example. BTW, ING transfers to Citi do NOT count as DDs. They were wiser.


Can I transfer from BOA into my citi account and count as a Direct Deposit ? or it is the other way around???

one word with regards to earning interest on your savings:

INGDirect.Sorry, that one word is incorrect. :) Both EmigrantDirect and E*Trade Complete Savings earn significantly higher interest - 5.05% instead of ING's 4.5%. On small balances this may not make a big $$ difference, but on large balances it certainly would. Both Emigrant and E*Trade have the same policies as ING, i.e. free transfers to any bank at any time (subject to Reg. D withdrawal limitations), no minimum balance, no fees, etc.

If your focus is on earning interest, Emigrant and E*Trade surpass ING.

Sorry, that one word is incorrect. :) Both EmigrantDirect and E*Trade Complete Savings earn significantly higher interest - 5.05% instead of ING's 4.5%. On small balances this may not make a big $$ difference, but on large balances it certainly would. Both Emigrant and E*Trade have the same policies as ING, i.e. free transfers to any bank at any time (subject to Reg. D withdrawal limitations), no minimum balance, no fees, etc.

If your focus is on earning interest, Emigrant and E*Trade surpass ING.

FYI: Amtrustdirect is 5.36% APY

Sorry, that one word is incorrect. :) Both EmigrantDirect and E*Trade Complete Savings earn significantly higher interest - 5.05% instead of ING's 4.5%. On small balances this may not make a big $$ difference, but on large balances it certainly would. Both Emigrant and E*Trade have the same policies as ING, i.e. free transfers to any bank at any time (subject to Reg. D withdrawal limitations), no minimum balance, no fees, etc.

If your focus is on earning interest, Emigrant and E*Trade surpass ING.

IMHO for large balances one of the best accounts is the ING Electric Orange Checking account. You earn 5.05 % on balances of over $ 50,000 and 5.30 % on balance of over $ 100,000. Since it's a checking account no limit on the number of withdrawals, etc.

Some of the features are:

MasterCard® Debit Card convenience.
With your Electric Orange MasterCard® Debit Card you can make secure purchases anywhere MasterCard® is accepted – sign the receipt or enter your Card PIN and go.

Free ATM access at more than 32,000 ATM locations.
In addition to worldwide cash access, you can make free withdrawals at ATM locations in all 50 states through the Allpoint™ Network – America's largest Surcharge–Free ATM Network. To find a free ATM near you, check out our ATM locator.

Send money securely for free with Electric Checks.
With Electric Orange, you can send money to an individuals’ bank account with Electric Checks for free. Simply enter the person's information, the details of the payment, and an email will be sent to the recipient. The person can click on the link within the email to go to a secure page to enter their account information and the money is transferred!

Automatic protection with your Overdraft Line of Credit.
Say goodbye to excessive NSF fees charged by other banks. When you open your Electric Orange, you'll automatically get an Overdraft Line of Credit that's connected right to your Electric Orange and is accessed anytime your balance goes below $0.00. There's no fee to use the line of credit – you'll just pay a competitive interest rate on the money you need to borrow.

thanks for the tips! I stand corrected but at least it got everyone thinkin'

Anyway, I have set up my Ulti Svs acct with Citi. Need to fund it now. Will do some "risking" and some 'tests.' :D

IMHO for large balances one of the best accounts is the ING Electric Orange Checking account. You earn 5.05 % on balances of over $ 50,000 and 5.30 % on balance of over $ 100,000.Actually, it's 5.25% for balances between $50K and $100K... even better! However, unless you have a joint account, I'd not recommend keeping balances over $100K since anything over that amount is not FDIC-insured. (Joint accounts are insured for up to $200K.)

(Joint accounts are insured for up to $200K.)

Not true. Same $100k limit.

A larger question is whether it's worth it to worry about FDIC limits when it comes to large financial institutions such as Citi and ING.

Not true. Same $100k limit.

Are you sure about that? FDIC insurance is per person so two people on the account would be 200k imo.

Are you sure about that? FDIC insurance is per person so two people on the account would be 200k imo.


100K insurance provided by FDIC is per account. It does not matter whether its individual or a joint account.

100K insurance provided by FDIC is per account. It does not matter whether its individual or a joint account.
Ahh, but it does. Ownership is very important in determining insurance. It has nothing to do with the number of accounts, though.
Here are all the regs and a calculator to show you what's covered:
http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/index.html

A married couple with the following balances in their accounts at a single bank would be fully FDIC insured:
John & Mary (Joint): $200,000
Mary (Individual): $100,000
John (Individual): $100,000
John (IRA): $250,000
Mary (IRA): $250,000

<deleted>

Not true. Same $100k limit.Unfortunately, you are incorrect. As others have posted, FDIC insures each person for up to $100K in individually-held accounts and up to $100K in jointly-held accounts (with the total number of accounts being irrelevant; it is the total monies held in all Individual and (separately) all Joint accounts that is important). Therefore, if two people hold a single joint account at an institution (and it is the only joint account they hold there), that account is insured up to $200K because FDIC insurance works per person, not per account. The example posted by soitgoes is apropos.

edited because this failed for me.

So I just happened to check my AA balances now and there it all is!! woo hoo!

Some charges just over $2k on my card AND all the miles from funding this account are already in there:

STARTING BALANCE 96,271
06/07/07 CBAA WORLD MASTERCARD PURCH 20,036
TOTAL MILES POSTED 20,036
ENDING BALANCE 116,307

Like, COOL!:D :-: ^ :)MM

So I just happened to check my AA balances now and there it all is!! woo hoo!

Some charges just over $2k on my card AND all the miles from funding this account are already in there:

STARTING BALANCE 96,271
06/07/07 CBAA WORLD MASTERCARD PURCH 20,036
TOTAL MILES POSTED 20,036
ENDING BALANCE 116,307

Like, COOL!:D :-: ^ :)MM

How do you plan to get the 18K back from the Citi Saving Account? Do they put a hold on the funding and wont let you ACH out until certain days have passed? Do they allow ACH out at all?

How do you plan to get the 18K back from the Citi Saving Account? Do they put a hold on the funding and wont let you ACH out until certain days have passed? Do they allow ACH out at all?You can make an ACH transfer to an external account, or directly transfer to the Citi Mastercard with the large balance, and so on. I just had a $10k deposit that was not put on hold. However, in the past they did hold an $8k deposit for about a week.

You can make an ACH transfer to an external account, or directly transfer to the Citi Mastercard with the large balance, and so on. I just had a $10k deposit that was not put on hold. However, in the past they did hold an $8k deposit for about a week.

Thanks for the info. Do they allow you to fund the account more than once using CC, or only once when opening the account?

It seems to be a hit or miss process - some folks have smooth sailings from day one, some folks have all sorts of glitches. The aggrevation (and the constant follow-up) seems to be at high level.

edited because it all failed for me.

Ahh, but you see, I had also opened the Citi e-checking and e-savings accounts with that 10k offer back in the winter and can easily transfer funds between all accounts and two CCs with them! :D This is how I will pay much of it, but I also have income to cover some of it. I shall do a test of say $9.15 to see how fast it moves...
.

My understanding is, the Ultimate Saving has to be a standling alone account in order to avoid monthly maintenance fee without minimum balance. If you link it to any other Citibank account, you would have to maintain $6000 COMBINED balance in the "package" in order to avoid monthly maintenance fee in the Ultimate Saving. Otherwise, there is a 5.95 or 6.95? monthly for the Ultimate Saving. At least that was what has been discussed in length and verified with Citibank, according to posts on the related thread at FW.

That is why I wonder whether you can ACH out from Ultimate Saving to pay off the CC used to fund the account to begin with.

My understanding is, the Ultimate Saving has to be a standling alone account in order to avoid monthly maintenance fee without minimum balance. If you link it to any other Citibank account, you would have to maintain $6000 COMBINED balance in the "package" in order to avoid monthly maintenance fee in the Ultimate Saving. Otherwise, there is a 5.95 or 6.95? monthly for the Ultimate Saving. At least that was what has been discussed in length and verified with Citibank, according to posts on the related thread at FW.

That is why I wonder whether you can ACH out from Ultimate Saving to pay off the CC used to fund the account to begin with.
1) No fee if Citigold.
2) Citi allows transfers tol/from any account - doesn't have to be a linked account... doesn't even have to be a Citi account.

Marathon,
Sorry, it wasn't clear to me, but were you able to fund your account with citi CC? Was it treated as cash advance. Did you have to pay extra? thanks in advance :)

:td: actually, all of this has failed. I just saw citi take back the 18k, the 18k miles and put the money back into my CC. Oh well. Sorry everyone. It dont work.

(ending up paying no fees now so no real loss except the tease of nearly gaining many miles and a few pennies in interest, plus the feeling that you WON, but in this case, it was a no go after all/)

I have since called them and closed the account--that is, after a long, stupid convo with some far away CSR and her manager. Kind of a bummer but I pretty much expected this was too good to be true anyway. If it worked for any of you, then good luck.

On the thread at FW, at least it has been working but people are mostly funding it with cards tied to TY network, or Chase and BofA cards. At least there were no failure reported, as yet. Though most that were successful seem not to have to go thru as many glitches as Marathon reported here, before the charge showed up on their cards.

:td: actually, all of this has failed. I just saw citi take back the 18k, the 18k miles and put the money back into my CC. Oh well. Sorry everyone. It dont work.

(ending up paying no fees now so no real loss except the tease of nearly gaining many miles and a few pennies in interest, plus the feeling that you WON, but in this case, it was a no go after all/)

I have since called them and closed the account--that is, after a long, stupid convo with some far away CSR and her manager. Kind of a bummer but I pretty much expected this was too good to be true anyway. If it worked for any of you, then good luck.

Has anybody tried to open an "Ultimate Savings Account" in the name of an existing "trust?" When we recently tried opening one, for our mother, this wasn't possible since EVERYTHING had to be done online. (At least we were told that by Citigold.) Even though her primary checking account is in the name of her trust, I think it was due to the "ultimate" needing to "stand alone." But if there's any way around it or if this has since changed, I would appreciate any info. Thanks.

You can only open the account in your own name. They said because of the additional information and security that they can do at a branch and can't do online, such trust or UTMA accts for children, etc are not allowed.