Citi's $325 checking bonus, read closely
A modest bonus attached to the most permissive deposit definition in American banking. Citi says in plain words what the other banks leave to their software.
The definition that says the quiet part
Every other bank in the calendar defines a direct deposit as income from a payer and leaves it to its deposit system to decide what else qualifies. Citi publishes the answer. Its Enhanced Direct Deposit page lists bank-to-bank ACH transfers, Zelle, and Venmo or PayPal payments as qualifying transactions, with setup instructions for each. The practical effect is that Citi is the one major lane where the question on what counts as a direct deposit has a written answer, and where the calendar's method row is the least interesting one in the set.
The requirement is still a count and a total: two or more deposits, $3,000 combined, into the checking account rather than the savings account that Citi bundles on the same page.
The payout waits for day 90
Citi pays between day 90 and day 120 from opening regardless of when the deposits land. A lane completed in week two still holds until the fourth month. There is no clawback for closing after payout in the published terms, but the account must be open and in good standing when the bonus posts, and the $15 fee applies in any month without $250 in qualifying deposits, so the calendar schedules a small monthly transfer through payout.
The timeline
- Day 0Apply from the offer page. Decline the bundled savings unless you want it; it has its own $25,000 promotional-rate requirement.
- Day 3–30Two deposits totaling $3,000 or more, into checking.
- Monthly$250 in qualifying deposits to keep the fee at $0 through payout.
- Day 90Deposit window closes.
- Day 90–120Bonus posts.
- Day 125Standing exit date.
Net
$325 on $3,000 of deposits, with the account open about four months and a $250 monthly transfer to keep it free. The deadline is the operative fact: the offer closes to new applications on October 26, 2026.