credit to BankDeals

Citibank has a new checking account bonus in which you can earn $200. The promotional code is MVS4. You can call Citibank's toll-free number 1-866-810-9043 to open the account. A reader left a comment about it, and I called and verified it. I'm not aware if there's a promotional webpage or pamphlet. Here are the details:

• Open a Citibank checking account with a minimum of $100
• First $100 earned after 3 months of direct deposit OR using online bill pay for 2 bills per month
• Second $100 earned after 3 more months of direct deposit OR bill pay
• Bonuses will be credited to account within 120 days of meeting qualifications
• Must be a new Citibank customer with no previous Citibank checking or savings account
• Promotion expires February 29, 2008
• Can be opened by phone (1-866-810-9043) or at a Citibank Financial Center (be sure to reference promo code MVS4)
• The monthly fee for the Citibank checking will be waived as part of this promotion as long as direct deposit or bill pay usage is maintained.
• Without direct deposit or bill pay usage, the following fees will be charged: $12.50/mo fee, $0.50/check and $1.50 for non-Citibank ATM withdrawals (fees can also be waived with a $6K balance)

I'm probably one of the few people left that have never opened a Citibank account. But a call to Citibank confirmed that Citibank no longer does hard credit pull when opening a checking account. Only ChexSystem check is performed. So I finally jumped in on this deal and opened an EZ Checking account over the phone.

Bank Deals did note that EZ Checking did not qualify for this promo, but I was confirmed by several Citibank representatives that EZ Checking did in fact quality. I received the welcome packet in the mail yesterday with a Promotional Disclosure page showing the promotional code "MVS4", my name and account number. A few days ago, I received my Citibank debit card. Today, I decided to fund my Citibank checking account with a $100 check in my nearby branch. In addition, I also set up a new PIN number for my debit card and submitted my signature card to the rep. When I got back to the office, I went to Citibank Online to setup online access to my account. My initial deposit of $100 showed up online and I decided to link my AT&T Universal Rewards card to my account as well.

I'd also like to point out that Citibank counts ING transfer, Paypal transfer, ACH push as direct deposits.

And as musix4me pointed out:

I'm in this group too. I'll have to decide if $200 is worth the hassle with another checking account. I've opened a Chase account for $75 and a US Bank account for $125 before. It might be time for a Citibank account.

Thanks, ebytes!

The only thing holding me back from the previous $100 promo wasn't amount of the bonus, but was the hard credit pull when opening.

I guess they do a SSN check for old accounts? I had a checking once, about 10 years ago.

Would ING's Automatic Savings Plan count as a bill pay for this promo?

Not sure on that but ING transfer would count as direct deposit. You either need to do 2 bill pays or 1 direct deposit per month to qualify for the bonus.

You can see if Citibank has a record of a checking or savings account for you by calling 1-800-745-1534 M-F, 8am - 5pm Central Time, and selecting option 1.

I finally received a credit for the first of two $100 bonuses on 06/12. Hopefully the other $100 bonus will appear in a few more months.