Top Offers of April 5, 2024
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Why You Can Trust the MarketWatch Guides Team
Here’s a breakdown of how we reviewed and rated top banks and credit unions
130
Institutions MonitoredOur team reviewed more than 100 of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, from big banks like Chase and Bank of America to credit unions like Navy Federal Credit Union and PenFed Credit Union.
688
Products StudiedTotal number of checking, saving, CDs, and money-market accounts that inform our review ratings.
719
Rates TrackedThe accounts with an annual percentage yield (APY) several times the national average rate receive the highest scores. Accounts with the lowest APY offering (under 1%) earn the least points.
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Professionals ConsultedBefore we began our research process, we consulted with financial advisors and industry experts to ensure our evaluations covered the banking product aspects that matter most to potential customers.
Citibank Rating
We give Citibank 4.2 out of 5 stars after evaluating factors including its branch availability, account fees, interest rates and customer support. Here’s how the company scores in each of our review categories:
Flip Card Citibank
Citibank Rating 4.2 / out of 5 stars
Rating breakdown
Banking Experience and Access Citibank has 65,000 ATMs across the country, and you can access Citibank’s online banking from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. 4.1 / 5
Checking You can choose from six checking account options if you sign up with Citibank. 4.4 / 5
Savings There is no minimum deposit with a Citibank savings account and you can get an APY as high as 4.45%. 4.3 / 5
Certificate of Deposits (CDs) A Citibank CD requires a minimum deposit of $500. 3.6 / 5
*Ratings are determined by our editorial review team. Learn more about our scoring methodology. Our review team reached out to Citibank regarding its certificate of deposit rating but did not receive a response.
Pros
No overdraft fees, non-sufficient funds fees or returned-item fees
650 branch locations in many major U.S. cities and 65,000 free ATMs nationwide
Extra benefits for customers who qualify for relationship tiers
High-yield Citi Accelerate Savings account available in most states
Cons
High minimum combined account balances required to qualify for relationship tiers, which qualify customers for perks such as waived monthly account fees and annual subscription rebates
Low savings account APY for people outside of Citi Accelerate Savings’ eligible areas – these markets include New York, California and parts of Illinois and Florida
Fewer branch locations compared to other large national banks
Citibank Accounts
Citibank offers many personal banking products, including the following:
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Credit cards
- CDs
- Personal loans
- Mortgages and refinancing
- Credit cards
- Self-directed or automated investing
- Wealth management
There are more than 65,000 ATMs available to Citi customers at no charge, and it’s the largest bank in the U.S. to get rid of overdraft fees. Citi also has small-business banking products, including checking and savings accounts.
Your experience with the bank, including fees and rates, could vary depending on the combined balance of your Citi deposit and investment accounts. This is where Citi’s relationship tiers come into play.
Everyday Benefits is the standard level for all customers and has no minimum balance requirements. Beyond Everyday Benefits, Citibank has three relationship tiers with varying balance requirements:
- Citi Priority: Must have a combined average monthly balance between $30,000 and $199,999.99
- Citigold: For customers with a combined average monthly balance of $200,000 to $999,999.99
- Citigold Private Client: The highest tier, exclusive to customers who have an average monthly balance of $1 million or more
If your combined average monthly balance grows or decreases in three consecutive months, you’ll automatically be moved to the next higher or lower tier, respectively. One major perk of qualifying for a relationship tier is that you get higher APYs on Citi Savings accounts.
| Citibank Account | Standard APY* | Relationship APY* | Minimum Opening Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access Checking | N/A | N/A | None |
| Regular Checking | N/A | N/A | None |
| Citi Savings | 0.03% | 0.07% to 0.25% | None |
| Citi Accelerate Savings | 4.45% | N/A | None |
| Fixed-rate CD | 0.05% to 4.75% | N/A | $500 |
| No-penalty CD | 0.05% | N/A | $500 |
| Step-up CD | 0.10% composite APY | N/A | $500 |
*APY accurate as of April 02, 2024. Rates listed are for New York, except for Citi Accelerate Savings, which is for Houston because the account isn’t available nationwide. Products and APYs may vary by location and relationship tier.
Citibank Checking Accounts
4.4
Citibank Checking Account Overview
Citibank checking account options earn 4.4 out of 5 stars based on their limited fees and variety of checking account options. The bank offers two types of checking accounts: Access Checking and Regular Checking. Access Checking doesn’t have check-writing capabilities, but you can write unlimited checks with a Regular Checking account. Both accounts offer benefits and reduced fees for meeting Citi’s relationship tier thresholds.
Checking Account Fees for Everyday Banking Customers
Monthly fees are $5 for Access Checking and $15 for Regular Checking accounts. The fee is waived for the first three months after you open your account. After that, you can avoid monthly service fees by receiving at least $250 of what Citi calls enhanced direct deposits.
Enhanced direct deposits include payroll, government benefits and pension payments via an automated clearing house (ACH), along with funds from peer-to-peermoney-transfer servicessuch asZelle. Other deposits, including cash, paper checks and transfers between Citi accounts, don’t count toward the $250 requirement.
In 2022, Citi stopped chargingoverdraft fees, returned-item fees and overdraft-protection fees. Many other similarly sized financial institutions, such as Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, continue to charge overdraft fees.
ATM Fees for Everyday Banking Customers
Citibank ATMs are free for account holders to use, but Citi charges customers in the Everyday Banking tier a $2.50 fee for out-of-network ATM withdrawals. This fee can be waived for Regular Checking accounts if there are at least $250 per month of enhanced direct deposits.
Citi doesn’t reimburse fees charged directly by out-of-network ATMs. Also, a 3% foreign exchange fee applies for Citi debit card transactions and ATM withdrawals made abroad.
Relationship Tier Benefits
Everyday Banking customers (those who have a total of less than $30,000 in all of their Citi deposit and investing accounts) have some limitations. For example, they have limits of $5,000 for purchases and $1,500 for cash withdrawals via ATM and debit card per business day. Relationship-tier customers have higher purchase and cash withdrawal limits, along with the following account perks:
Citi Priority
There are no monthly service fees, out-of-network ATM fees or foreign exchange fees. You also get free standard checkbooks, discounts on mortgage interest rates or closing costs and rate discounts on personal loans.
Citigold
You get all Citi Priority benefits, plus unlimited reimbursem*nts on fees charged by non-Citi ATMs and up to $200 in annual subscription rebates for services such as Hulu, Costco, Spotify Premium and TSA PreCheck. It also includes Citigold Concierge for booking travel, reservations and tickets and the Citigold Culture Pass for free and discounted tickets to museums and performing-arts institutions in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Citigold Private Client
Account holders here get all Citi Priority and Citigold benefits, except for a rate discount on personal loans. You also get free non-standard checks, premium travel benefits and an additional $200 in annual subscription rebates (for a total of $400).
Citibank Savings Accounts
Best Large Bank Savings Account
4.3
Citibank Savings Accounts Overview
We rate Citibank’s savings accounts 4.3 out of 5 stars. The accounts — Citi Accelerate Savings and Citi Savings — have no minimum deposit or balance requirements, and both offer ways to get the monthly service fee waived.. Where you live determines which account and APY is available to you, so Citibank can be a great savings option for those in select markets.
Citi Accelerate Savings and Citi Savings have a $4.50 monthly account service fee that’s waived for the first three months. The bank will continue to waive the fee if you meet one of these requirements:
- $500 minimum average monthly balance in the savings account
- Own a Citi checking account
- Qualifying for a relationship tier
Citibank Savings Account Options
Citibank Accelerate Savings
In most states, customers have access to Citi’shigh-yield savings account(HYSA), Accelerate Savings. While it’s not the top HYSA rate, Citi’s APY is almost 10 times the nationalaverage savings account interest rateof 0.47%, as of March 19th, 2024. It’s also much higher than savings rates from other traditional banks.
Unfortunately, Citi Accelerate Savings isn’t available nationwide. Excluded markets are below:
- California
- Connecticut
- Parts of Florida
- Parts of Illinois
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Virginia
- Washington, D.C.
Citi Savings
The Citi Savings account has a low APY. However, it’s slightly higher than standard rates from large financial institutions such as Chase, Bank of America and U.S. Bank. Customers who have Everyday Benefits (those who aren’t in a relationship tier) earn the least on their savings, and people in the highest relationship tier (Citigold Private Client) get the best APY.
But even the bank’s relationship-tier benefits don’t move the needle much for the Citi Savings account — the top APY is a little more than half of the nationalaverage savings interest rate.
Customers that don’t qualify for a relationship tier or those looking for high interest rates, may want to look elsewhere if Citi’s high-yield Accelerate Savings account isn’t available in their area. But if you’re able to meet relationship-tier requirements, Citi Savings’ lower APY may be a worthwhile trade-off for perks such as a discounted mortgage rate.
Citibank Certificates of Deposit
3.6
Citibank CD Overview
Based on our rating criteria,Citibank CDsearn 3.6 out of 5.0 stars. Citi provides three types of CDs: fixed rate, no penalty and step up. All three require a $500 initial deposit.
Citibank CD Options
Fixed-Rate CDs
Citi’s fixed-rate CDs are available in terms ranging from three months to five years. Some have quite high APYs compared to national averages, which are below 2.00%. Other financial institutions, however, offer higher rates, so you may still want to shop around.
There are also early withdrawal penalties for fixed-rate CDs:
- One-year term or less:90 days’ worth of simple interest on the amount withdrawn
- Terms of over one year:180 days’ worth of simple interest on the amount withdrawn
No-Penalty CDs and Step-Up CDs
Citi’s specialty, no-penalty and step-up CDs offer fairly low APYs. However, their rates are similar to what large banks such as TD Bank and Bank of America offer for these types of CDs.
No-penalty CDs are only available in a one-year term. Step-up CDs have a 30-month term. These CD rates are lower than even the national average for savings accounts, making these financial products lackluster savings vehicles.
You can withdraw money from a no-penalty CD seven days after you fund your account. With a step-up CD, you’ll pay 180 days’ worth of simple interest on the amount you withdraw if you take money out of your account before the CD’s maturity date.
Read our list of thebest CD ratesfor 2024.
Citibank Customer Experience
We rate Citi 4.1 out of 5 stars in our review’s banking experience and access category, which considers factors such as industry and customer reviews, as well as customer service. Citibank received 4.0 out of 5 stars from Bauer Financial, a research firm that rates banks and credit unions. Citi’s mobile app has an average of 4.9 out of 5 stars on the App Store based on 3.7 million reviews. On Google Play, Citi has received over 1 million reviews, with 4.7 out of 5 stars on average.
However, Citibank is rated F by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and isn’t accredited by the organization. In the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. National Banking Satisfaction Study, Citibank scored four points below the industry average, ranking behind Capital One, Chase, TD Bank, U.S. Bank and PNC.
Citibank has made efforts to improve the customer experience. In 2023, Citi enhanced its Family Linking feature, which allows people living in the same household to combine their investment and deposit totals so they can qualify for higher relationship tiers without having joint accounts.
Citi replaced its five account package options with the relationship-tier system, which it describes as a simplified program with better benefits. It also abolished fees for overdrafts, insufficient funds and returned items, which can help customers keep more of their savings.
Citibank has also been the subject of controversies. In one example, the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency fined the bank $400 million in 2020 for its practices related to risk management and the handling of data.
Our review team reached out to Citibank for comment on its industry ratings, checking and savings accounts and fines from federal agencies but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
Citibank vs. Other Top Banks
Citibank has more than four times as many free, in-network ATMs compared to Bank of America and Chase, but far fewer branch locations. It has also stopped charging several fees, including overdraft fees. This is opposed to Wells Fargo, Chase and Bank of America, which charge $35, $34 and $10 overdraft fees, respectively.
Citibank | Wells Fargo | Chase | Bank of America | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our rating | 4.2 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Number of branch locations | 650 | 4,600 | 4,700 | 3,900 |
| Number of ATM locations | Access to more than 65,000 fee-free ATMs included in the MoneyPass and Allpoint ATM networks | 12,000 | 16,000 | 15,000 |
| Available deposit products | Checking, savings, CDs | Checking, savings, CDs | Checking, savings, CDs | Checking, savings, CDs |
| No-fee checking account option?* | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
*The bank offers a low fee that is waivable if at least one requirement is met, such as a recurring direct deposit, a minimum monthly balance or a linked savings account. Requirements vary by bank.
About Citibank
Citibank is the retail banking subsidiary of Citigroup, which has roots stretching back to 1812, including its role in financing the War of 1812. Though it nearly collapsed during the 2008 financial crisis due to poor risk management, it remains a massive player in the banking sector. Citibank is the fourth largest bank in the country, with more than $1.6 trillion of consolidated assets, according to the Federal Reserve.
The Bottom Line: Is Citibank Right for You?
Citibank has some areas it could improve, such as offering its HYSA in more locations. Due to account maintenance fees, it may not be a good banking option for people with low balances or irregular income.
However, Citi offers significant perks for higher-net-worth customers, including reimbursed fees for using out-of-network ATMs and no foreign transaction fees. Additionally, customers who receive qualifying direct deposits don’t pay account maintenance fees or fees from Citi for using other ATMs.
FAQ: Citibank Reviews
Citibank can be a good bank for customers with higher deposits, since its relationship tiers offer more benefits and lower fees. It can also be a good option for people who live in the 41 states where the bank’s HYSA, Accelerate Savings, is available.
Citibank has an expansive free ATM network, as well as numerous benefits for people with high account balances. However, its high-yield savings account isn’t available in nine states or Washington, D.C., and you must meet certain requirements to have monthly service fees waived on checking and savings accounts.
Citibank may be better than Chase when it comes to fees, but Chase has better access for in-person banking. Citibank has no overdraft fees or insufficient funds fees, unlike Chase. However, Chase has over seven times as many branch locations, along with higher ratings from the BBB and J.D. Power.
Methodology
Our team researched more than 100 of the country’s largest and most prominent financial institutions, collecting information on each provider’s account options, fees, rates, terms and customer experience. We then scored each firm based on the data points and metrics that matter most to potential customers. Read our full methodology.
*Data accurate at time of publication
Editor’s Note: Before making significant financial decisions, consider reviewing your options with someoneyou trust, such as a financial adviser, credit counselor or financial professional, since every person’s situation and needs are different.
Myriam Robinson-PucheContributor
Myriam is a personal finance writer based in Brooklyn, New York. The foundation of her financial knowledge comes from developing financial plans for over 100 clients.
Alyssa TrostleEditor
Alyssa is a MarketWatch Guides team editor covering personal finance, insurance and loans.
