Up to 50,000 TYPs for new Citibank Checking Account.
 

This is the best offer for a new checking account that I have seen for a long time. We can get 25K or 50K ThankYou points with this offer.

• Get 50K TYPs for a new regular checking account in the Citigold® Account Package.
• Get 25K TYPs for a new regular checking account in The Citibank® Account Package.

For details here.

The details link is not functional???

Citi will send a 1099. Citigold has $30/month fees. So you aren't really getting the full value of 50k TYP. OTOH, no credit hits/approvals to worry about. I think you need to wait one month after you have closed your accounts to be eligible for a bonus again.

++

Might still be valuable to some but it's not so great. Income tax of 10-35% plus monthly fees.

Thought it was a great deal until I read all the posts.

It's working now, I just checked it out. Thanks, but like drbobguy said charges seem a little high.

Hah! FT win. ^

The links provided ultimately led to an application page with no mention of the 50k points (that I could find). The application for the old offer specifically mentioned the 40k points. It makes me nervous to apply for any bonus offer that isn't clearly spelled out on the application; has anyone found a link to such a page for this new offer?

Click another link on the page. Look again.

I see it now, thanks!

I had a gold citi account a couple of years ago which I got with a, IIRC, an 80K TU bonus.

It proved to be very difficult to get the bonus which was worth far less than promoted (purported good for 2 flights in US). The hassle just wasn't worth it.

And, Citi canned the only real plus of the Citigold acct which was no forex charges at overseas ATMs.

I'm glad I got rid of the account and wouldn't open a new one to get the 50K bonus.

is it worth it to open a regular one for 25k tu points?

Citi fail. :td:


:p

I applied on the old offer = open a Citigold checking for 40,000 ThankYou points.

So far, it has been kind of difficult. I kid you not. It takes a while for them to open it and get the checks to you. Usually, you will need a blank check in order to initiate a direct deposit.

The first direct deposit and the first bill pay must happen WITHIN 45 DAYS from the account actually opening. So while I do not think that it is done intentionally, it sure takes a while to get the checks and all that stuff in order. At one point I even had to stop into a Citibank branch because I could not access the account online. They simply asked me to punch in a new 4-digit pin number and the next day I could access.

If you are not a ThankYou points member you must do that WITHIN 45 DAYS from the account opening and my advice is to send a secure message from the online Citigold checking account to confirm that the ThankYou points account and the checking are linked.

So far, I have made the first direct deposit and also the first bill pay. Next month I will do it again. I will keep posting back whether or not things go smoothly.

Oh and one more comment about the IRS. Seems some are worried about this. On my T&C it says the following:

"Value of rewards from redeemed Points will be reported to the IRS as miscellaneous income on Form 1099-MISC, as required by applicable law."

To me, this doesn't mean that they will definitely report a thing. I do not use these points for gift cards, and I certainly would not redeem them all in one shot. They are telling you that it is only applicable to redeemed points (that's what it says), and then only if the law requires them to do it. So redeem a little at a time, and less than 60000 per year and you may be fine. In my state $600 is the threshold for 1099'ing someone. Stay under $600, and don't worry about it. Of course, I am not an accountant or a lawyer so what I am saying should not be taken as legal advice.

$600/year is for federal tax purposes, so it's the same in all states