Citi® is one of the largest and oldest banks in the United States. It offers a wide range of financial services, including a competitive set of certificate of deposit (CD) accounts, although you can find better rates from other institutions.
Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of June 6, 2024, and could differ depending on your location. For the rates below, we’re using zip code 07030.
Citibank CD offerings include:
- Citi® Certificates of Deposit (Fixed Rate CD): An APY of 0.05% to 4.75% for terms of three months to five years.
- Citi® Step Up CD: 30-month CDs with rates that increase every 10 months, from 0.05% to 0.10% to 0.15%, for a total composite APY of 0.10%.
- Citi® No Penalty CD: 12-month CDs with a fixed APY and no early withdrawal penalty; minimum balances of $500 earn 0.05%.
Overview of Citibank CDs
A CD is a type of savings account that earns interest on a lump sum deposit over a set period. You deposit the funds all at once and typically can’t withdraw the principal until the end of the CD’s term without incurring a penalty. CDs tend to have higher interest rates than checking, savings and money market accounts.
Citibank offers three distinct types of CD accounts: Fixed Rate, Step Up and No Penalty.
The Fixed Rate CD is a typical CD with a guaranteed interest rate for a fixed term. The Step Up CD offers a guaranteed interest rate that increases every 10 months while your money is in the account. The No Penalty CD is a fixed-rate CD with no early withdrawal penalty.
| ACCOUNT | MIN. DEPOSIT | TERMS | APY | COMPOUNDING SCHEDULE | EARLY WITHDRAWAL PENALTY | GRACE PERIOD AFTER MATURITY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fixed Rate CD | $500 | 3-month to 5-year | 0.05% to 4.75% | Daily | 90 to 180 days’ interest | 7 days |
Step Up CD | $500 | 30-month | 0.10% composite | Daily | 180 days’ simple interest | 7 days |
No Penalty CD | $500 | 12-month | 0.05% | Daily | No | 7 days |
The Fixed Rate CDs offer savers a variety of term lengths (19 in all), giving savers an opportunity to pick the length that best suits their needs. Whether you need to hold a deposit for four months, or for five years, you’ll find an option.
However, not all terms offer a competitive rate, eroding some of the value of such an array of options. For instance, the APY on an eight-month term is just 0.05%.
The minimum deposit on most of Citibank’s CDs are low enough that most savers can get going without too much trouble, though the early withdrawal penalties on the Fixed Rate CDs and the Step Up CD are expensive. Savers, then, should only apply for those products if they’re reasonably confident they won’t need the money.
How much can you earn with Citibank CDs?
How much you can earn from a CD depends on the size of your deposit, your interest rate, the term of the CD and whether you renew the term after its maturity date. Like any interest-bearing product, the bigger your deposit and the longer you leave it in the account, the more you can earn.
Here’s an example of what you might be able to earn with a $10,000 contribution in each Citibank CD (assuming no early withdrawals).
| ACCOUNT | INITIAL DEPOSIT | TERM | APY | INTEREST EARNED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fixed Rate CD | $10,000 | 12-month | 2.00% to 3.00% | $200 to $300 |
Step Up CD | $10,000 | 30-month | 0.10% composite | $25 |
No Penalty CD | $10,000 | 12-month | 0.05% | $5 |
Before you lock your funds into a longer-term CD, consider that rates could decrease in 2024.
Where will CD rates go? Check out our CD rates forecast.
How Citibank CDs compare
The APY on Citibank Fixed Rate CDs are generally competitive to offerings from its big-bank peers, but you should consult our best CD rates picks before making a selection; online banks typically offer higher rates.
Rates may differ depending on your location and your exact deposit amount. The following rates reflect the offerings for a deposit of $10,000 in the zip code 07030 for the following: Citi CDs, Bank of America Featured CDs, Capital One 360 certificates of deposit and Chase relationship certificates of deposit.
| CD TERM | CITIBANK CD RATES | BANK OF AMERICA CD RATES | CAPITAL ONE 360 CD RATES | CHASE BANK CD RATES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
6 month | 4.75% | 4.75% (7 month) | 4.25% | 3.00% |
12 month | 2.00% to 3.00% | 4.75% (13 month) | 5.00% | 2.00% |
24 month | 2.00% | 3.00% (25 month) | 4.00% | 2.50% |
36 month | 2.00% | 0.05% (37 month) | 4.00% | 2.50% |
48 month | 2.00% | N/A | 3.95% | 2.50% |
60 month | 2.00% | N/A | 3.90% | 2.50% |
How to open a Citibank CD account
1. Choose your CD
Citibank’s CDs range from three months to five years. Looking at APY and term, as well as size, if you’re interested in jumbo CDs, pick the one right for you on Citibank’s website and hit the “apply now” button beside the CD.
2. Log in or sign up for Citibank
If you’re a current Citibank customer, you can log in with your username and password. Otherwise you’ll need to set up your Citibank account and provide identifying information so the bank knows who exactly the account belongs to. The bank also requires you to give data on your employment and income.
3. Fund your CD
Transfer your desired deposit amount into the CD. You’ll need to meet Citibank’s $500 minimum requirement but of course you can go over that.
4. Set up online access
This step is only for new users who need to choose a username and password for their new Citibank CD account. All users have the option of viewing and making changes to CDs by logging into their account via an internet browser or on the Citibank app.
5. Sign paperwork
The last step is to review and sign the agreements and disclosures Citibank requires.
Documents you’ll need
You may need to look up some information, but you likely won’t have to submit any documents. Current customers can login and skip having to input some personal information:
- Name and date of birth.
- Social Security number or Taxpayer Identification number.
- Employment and income information.
If you don’t have this information top of mind, you can dig out the appropriate documents so it‘ll be at your fingertips.
About Citibank
Citibank is a New York-based multinational financial services company that was originally founded in 1812 as City Bank of New York, with business interests in more 160 countries and jurisdictions around the world.
It is currently the third largest commercial bank in the nation, according to the Federal Reserve, and has more than 660 domestic branches, with another 143 international locations.
Customers use Citibank for everything from credit cards to business loans to wealth management.
Alternatives to Citibank CDs
There’s a plethora of CD alternatives including other deposit accounts and dividend-paying investments.
Open a high-yield savings account
With rates that are currently competitive to CDs and far fewer restrictions, the best high-yield savings accounts may be tempting enough to draw you away from CDs.
Many don’t require a minimum balance nor charge fees. And because it’s still a deposit account, $250,000 of your funds are guaranteed per person per covered institution by the FDIC or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).
Pay off high-interest debt
Rather than invest and earn interest, consider paying off debt so that you pay less interest on your own loans. Compare how much you’re paying in APR on your loans to what you could earn in APY on your deposits to see which is better.
Get cash-value life insurance
If you’d like to kill two birds with one stone, you could get cash-value life insurance, which allows you to invest part of your policy to earn interest on it. You can also make withdrawals from it.
Is a Citibank CD worth it?
Citibank CDs don’t have the most competitive rates. Although its highest CD yield, 0.05% APY on a seven-month term is an impressive offer, the rates overall don’t stand up to what other big banks offer.
You’re better off going after the CD with the highest yield, regardless of the financial institution that offers it. (Assuming, of course, that you have FDIC protection.) Here are some of the best CD rates by term:
- Best three-month CDs.
- Best one-year CDs.
- Best three-year CDs.
- Best five-year CDs.
- Best 10-year CDs.
A Citibank CD may only be worth it if you want a higher rate than what its savings accounts offer and the convenience of sticking with Citibank outweighs what you’d earn by opening a CD at another financial institution.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
To get the best CD rate at Citibank, choose the term that best fits your savings need. Citibank doesn’t make you jump through hoops to qualify for a relationship rate like other banks may do.
You’ll pay 90 days worth of interest for withdrawing early from Citibank CDs with terms ranging from three to 12 months and 180 days of interest for CDs with terms greater than one year.
Some additional ways you could save, alongside of or instead of in CDs, include: a traditional savings account, high-yield savings account, money market account, retirement account or taxable investment account. Each mode for saving comes with varying potential returns, risk and requirements, and a financial planner can help you determine which accounts will work together to help you meet your financial goals.
A CD ladder strategy is a method of dividing your savings across multiple certificates of deposit with varying maturity dates—one year, three years, five years—then renewing each into a longer-term CD, such as five years. The strategy gives you access to cash out about once per year without penalty, as each CD reaches its maturity date, while taking advantage of the fixed interest rate on the remainder of your funds.
