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.