Which is better Citi or Chase?

Though Chase trumps Citi with over 4,700 branch locations -- thousands more than Citi's 600 branches or so in the U.S., Chase has high monthly maintenance fees, with their highest fee at $25. These are all factors to consider when choosing a bank that best suits your needs.

What are the disadvantages of Citi?

Citi does have some disadvantages such as there are fewer U.S. branches than other national banks and has lower than average savings rates .

Citi has a variety of checking account options and no minimum requirements to open a checking or savings account. This presents many options for individuals' varying banking needs.

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Citi® Review: Checking and Premium Checking Options

August 9, 2024

10 min Read

Written by Caitlyn Moorhead

Edited by Elizabeth Constantineau

Commitment to Our Readers

GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

20 Years
Helping You Live Richer

Reviewed
by Experts

Trusted by
Millions of Readers

GOBankingRates Score

4.7

SCORE

Quick Take: Citi® is a national bank that offers a range of banking products and no minimums to open a checking or savings account. It also has a mobile and digital banking network that rivals other banks in its league.

Checking Account

4.9
Savings Account

4.5
CD Account

4.4
Banking Experience

4.9

How did we calculate this?

Pros

Variety of checking accounts
No required minimums to open checking or savings accounts
Opportunities for bonuses

Cons

Low savings rates
Fewer U.S. branches than other national banks
Can't open top-tier savings account separately from relationship tier

Citi Overview

City Bank of New York was created over two centuries ago in 1812 as one of the first rival banks outside of Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Throughout the years, the financial institution has seen the creation of the Panama Canal, World War I and World War II. It has truly stood the test of time. Today, Citi®, Member FDIC, has over 600 branches in the U.S. and 70,000+ fee-free ATMs in its network.

The bank offers a full suite of financial products and services. With that in mind, GOBankingRates has ranked Citi among the Best Checking Accounts, Best Premium Checking Accounts and Best National Banks of 2024. If you’re curious about opening an account with Citi, consider how its bank accounts and investment options can support and grow your money.

Citi: Key Features

No matter what type of financial decisions you need to make Citi offers you a solution. When it comes to retail banking you want a name you trust, financial services you can count on and access to your money when and how you need it. The following are features used in reviewing Citi and why it was ranked among the Best National Banks by GOBankingRates for 2024.

Checking Accounts

Each Citi checking account offers standard banking features, such as online banking, mobile check deposit and a large fee-free ATM network.

GOBankingRates has ranked Citi among the Best Checking Accounts and Best Premium Checking Accounts for 2024. However, some of their account options are for everyday banking purposes, and the others are for banking and wealth management.

Basic Banking

No minimum deposit required
Unlimited check writing

Access Account

No overdraft fees because transactions that exceed your balance will not be approved
No paper checks

Citi Priority Account

Combines banking services with world-class wealth management
No Citi fees for using an out-of-network ATM
Preferred pricing and rates on some of the bank’s products and services
Access to travel and global benefits, on-demand financial advice from Citi Priority advisors and guidance from Citi Personal Wealth Management
This account qualifies account holders for relationship mortgage pricing

Citigold^® Account

Includes all of the features of the Citi Priority Account
Unlimited reimbursement of non-Citi ATM fees
Complimentary financial planning services
Access to both Citigold® Concierge and the Citi Personal Wealth Management investment platform
Must maintain a combined monthly average of $200,000 across linked eligible accounts to meet account requirements

Citigold^® Private Client

Includes all the features of Citi Priority and Citigold® Accounts
This account is for higher-wealth individuals because you must maintain an average monthly account balance of at least $1 million across all eligible linked accounts
Access to Premier banking services and Premier investing services
Access to a dedicated wealth team and wealth specialists, advanced wealth planning and premium benefits via Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services

Savings Accounts

Each of the Citi banking relationship tiers includes a Citi savings account. Here are some key takeaways:

Depending on the tier you select, your savings account may be eligible to earn higher interest rates as you save.
The accounts also allow you to link to Citi or non-Citi accounts and make transfers with AutoSave, which makes saving something you don’t have to worry about.
All relationship tiers but the Access Account allow for check writing, which may or may not matter to you.
As far as fees, there are options for waiving them. See Citi’s website for details on monthly fees.
For other account relationship tiers, the same requirements that apply to waiving checking monthly service fees also apply to your unlinked savings balance.

CD Accounts

Citi offers the following three types of certificates of deposit: Fixed Rate CD, Step-Up CD and No Penalty CD, which is a nice change from banks that only offer standard CDs.

The Fixed Rate CD: Offers three-month to five-year terms with rates up to APY. You can also opt to use a CD laddering strategy with this CD type, which involves splitting deposits between CDs with various terms and rates for greater financial benefits.
The Step-Up CD: Requires a $500 minimum opening balance. It offers a 30-month term, and the interest rate increases every 10 months.
The No Penalty CD: 12-month CD, also requires a minimum opening balance of $500. The advantage of this type of CD is that you can withdraw your full balance and interest with no penalty beginning seven days after funding your account.

Even though Citi offers a variety of CD types, you may be able to find a higher APY at another bank, so consider shopping around.

Banking Experience

Citi earned an overall score of 4.7 from GOBankingRates for such features based on many factors.

Minimum Opening Deposits: Citi doesn’t require any for its savings or checking accounts, you can open an account and fund it another day if it’s more convenient for you.
Range of Checking Products: There are a few checking accounts to choose from, all with different banking features for account holders, ranging from basic needs to top-tier services geared to those with high levels of wealth. The variety of checking options also gives account holders who are growing their wealth the opportunity to stay loyal to the bank and not have to look elsewhere for accounts and services that meet their needs.
Bonus Opportunities: Cash bonuses for opening certain accounts and meeting requirements. While bonus offers may change throughout the year, Citi often offers different levels of cash bonuses. Be prepared to part with a substantial amount of cash for a few months if you want to earn one of these bonuses. Qualifying deposits often are from $10,000 to $300,000.

Mobile and Digital Banking Network

Citi offers an award-winning website and mobile app, which make it easy to manage your accounts from anywhere. Citi’s website allows you to complete a variety of banking tasks at your convenience, such as view statements, transfer funds, make credit card and bill payments and find routing and account numbers.

Plus, the app was certified by J.D. Power for providing customers with a mobile banking experience that’s outstanding due to features like voice technology, text messaging, location assistance, digital pay and secure identification methods.

Citi’s mobile app has a ranking of 4.9 stars on the App Store and 4.7 stars on Google Play which indicates that it is not only highly rated but also user-friendly.

How Does Citi Compare?

Before opening an account at Citi, it can help to compare the bank to competing banks. Here are some factors to consider.

Citi vs. Chase

Chase trumps Citi with over 4,700 branch locations — thousands more than Citi’s 600 or so. However, Chase has high monthly maintenance fees; Chase’s highest fee is $25.

Citi vs. Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has more branch locations than Citi: 5,600 versus Citi’s 600 or so. But Citi has a network of over 70,000 ATMs, while Wells Fargo has 11,000 in its network.

Citi vs. Bank of America

Bank of America, Member FDIC, has reasonable monthly maintenance fees, with its highest fees at $25. Citi does not have overdraft fees, but Bank of America does have a $10 fee on some accounts, which could save you a few dollars a month, depending on if — and how often — you have overdrafts.

Final Take

Citi is best for those looking for a bank with a solid reputation and who want to stay with the same bank as they grow their finances. The range of checking account options Citi offers means there’s an account for everyone and that’s one of the reasons GOBankingRates named it one of the Best National Banks, Best Checking Accounts and Best Premium Checking Accounts for 2024.

Citi FAQ

Here are the answers to some of the more commonly asked questions about Citi.

Is Citi a good bank?
- Citi was rated by GOBankingRates and named to the list of the Best Checking Accounts, Best Premium Checking Accounts and Best National Banks of 2024. It also has a highly-rated mobile app.
Which is better Citi or Chase?
- Though Chase trumps Citi with over 4,700 branch locations -- thousands more than Citi's 600 branches or so in the U.S., Chase has high monthly maintenance fees, with their highest fee at $25. These are all factors to consider when choosing a bank that best suits your needs.
What are the disadvantages of Citi?
- Citi does have some disadvantages such as there are fewer U.S. branches than other national banks and has lower than average savings rates.
Why is Citi so good?
- Citi has a variety of checking account options and no minimum requirements to open a checking or savings account. This presents many options for individuals' varying banking needs.

More on Citi Bank

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Aug. 9, 2024.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To determine rankings for the Best Checking Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from all banks (excluding neobanks): (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) number of branch locations as sourced from the FDIC; (3) minimum deposit to open an account; (4) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (5) APY on the checking account; (6) overdraft fee amount; (7) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1), (2) and (5) were weighted 0.5 times, and factor (4) was weighted 1.5 times.

To determine rankings for the Best Premium Checking Accounts, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors from the most premier/costly checking product from the top 25 banks (in terms of total assets): (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) minimum deposit to open an account; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) APY on the checking account; and (5) associated and advertised benefits/perks from these premium products. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, and factor (5) was weighted 3 times.

To discover the Best National Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions (excluding online banks and neobanks) that have branches in 25-plus states and/or over $400 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) checking product minimum deposit; (3) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (4) savings product minimum deposit; (5) savings product APY; (6) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (7) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (8) the average mobile app rating between the Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1), (2) and (4) were weighted 0.5 times; factor (5) was weighted 2.5 times; and factor (7) was weighted 1.5 times.