Citi Accelerate High-Yield Savings Account Review
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Citi now offers high-yield savings with one of the best interest rate. But it's only available in select markets. Read this review to see if it's good for you.
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Citi® Accelerate High-Yield Savings from Citi, a CreditDonkey partner, offers high interest with lower fees.
Can it stack up to the competitive rates offered by smaller (mostly online) banks?
Below, review the features, fees, and eligibility requirements.
Yes, Citi Accelerate High-Yield Savings offers 4.05% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) in select markets only. It has no minimum opening deposit. It does carry a $4.50 monthly service fee (which can be waived by maintaining a minimum average daily balance of $500).
Who Is Eligible for a Citi Accelerate Savings Account?
Citi® Accelerate High-Yield Savings account is currently available in 42 U.S. states:
- Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, select markets in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, select markets in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
Citi Accelerate is NOT available to:
- California
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York
- Virginia
Current Citi High-Yield Savings APY
The current rate for the Citi® Accelerate High-Yield Savings is 4.05% APY. This is a competitive interest rate for today's low-yield environment.
In comparison, the national average rate for savings is 0.40% APY.
Here's a calculator that can help you see how much more interest you can earn with a high-yield savings account:
Keep in mind, interest rates can change quickly. When the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates, banks make less profit from loans. As a result, they offer customers lower interest rates in return for their deposits.
Compare Savings Account Promotion
- APY: 4.05%
- Monthly fee: $4.50 if you don't maintain at least $500 in the account
- Available in AA, AE, AK, AL, AP, AR, AS, AZ, CO, DE, GA, GU, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, ME, MI, MN, MO, MP, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, PR, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VI, VT, WA, WI, WV, WY and select markets in Florida and Illinois.
Discover Online Savings - $200 Cash Bonus
To get your $150 or $200 Bonus: What to do: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, online, in the Discover App or by phone. Enter Offer Code CY223 when applying. Deposit into your account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Deposit must be posted to account within 30 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200.
What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers or existing or prior customers with savings accounts that are co-branded, or affinity accounts provided by Discover. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of the account qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is interest and subject to reporting on Form 1099-INT. Offer ends 6/15/2023, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. See advertiser website for full details.
High Yield Savings Account - 5.05% APY
- No fees
- $1 minimum deposit
- 24/7 online access
- FDIC insured
CIT Bank Platinum Savings - 4.85% APY
- 4.85% APY with a balance of $5,000 or more
- 0.25% APY with a balance of less than $5,000
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- No monthly maintenance fee
- Member FDIC
Citi Accelerate Savings Account Tiers
To open an Accelerate Savings account, you must choose one of Citi's banking "packages".
Citi offers customers 7 banking packages that come with different features or a combo of a checking and savings account.
Basic Banking packages
- Citi Access package
- Citi Basic Banking package
- The Citibank Account package
Premium Banking packages
- Citi Priority Account package
- Citigold Account package
- Citigold Private Client
You won't have to bundle the savings account with their checking account if you don't want to - the package just dictates your monthly fees and requirements and benefits.
Packages range from bare-bones to several that are suitable for the ultra-rich (like their Private Client account).
Citibank Accelerate Pros and Cons
Pros:
- High APY — especially for a big national bank
- No minimum opening deposit
- Many account options
- Tiered packages can offer a lot of perks, especially if you have multiple accounts with Citi
Cons:
- Not available to all states
- Tiered packages can be confusing
- Fairly high minimum balance requirement to waive the fee
FAQ
Is Citibank a good high-yield savings account?
With a high 4.05% APY, the Citi Accelerate High Yield Savings is a good account. It has one of the best rates in the nation, especially for a large bank. It's also easy to waive the monthly fee with just $500 minimum balance. However, it's not available in all states.
Is Citi high-yield savings account FDIC insured?
Yes, Citi checking and savings accounts are FDIC insured up to the federal limit of $250,000 (learn more). This includes the combined deposits in your Citi checking and savings accounts.
How it Compares
Citibank isn't the only big kid on the block when it comes to high-yield savings accounts. Let's review how Citi compares to some other big-name rivals.
- Citi vs Capital One 360 Performance Savings
Citi offers a higher base APY than Capital One's 360 Performance Savings account. However, Capital One has fewer fees and a less complicated system. There is no monthly service fee, regardless of your account activity or balance.Citi offers better interest compared to Capital One, which currently offers 3.90% APY.
- Citi vs PNC High-Yield Savings
PNC, the seventh largest bank in America, was among the select few large banks along with Citi to offer their own high-yield savings account.PNC also offers % APY — giving Citi the advantage in this comparison as well.
People with low account balances may prefer PNC, since no minimum balance is required to waive a monthly fee or earn interest.
- Citi vs Ally Bank
Ally's high yield savings account compares favorably with Citi. Ally offers 3.85% APY, free checks, and digital budgeting tools to help you keep track of your spending.
Bottom Line: Is Citibank Good for Savings?
Citibank offers a surprisingly competitive high-yield account for a big bank.
In fact, high net worth individuals will likely gravitate toward Citi in favor of the competitors listed above due to the additional benefits that extend far beyond basic banking.
While Citi does have minimum balance criteria to waive monthly fees, the amounts are low enough that anyone who would benefit from a high-yield account should be able to easily surpass them.
The main drawback is the exceedingly complex account package structure. While Citi may offer a little something for everyone, it can be difficult to decide what you want with all the different options.
Note: This content is not provided by Citi. Any opinions expressed are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Citi.
Citi Priority Account - Earn up to $2,000 Cash Bonus
- Earn up to $2,000 cash bonus when you open a new eligible Citi Priority Checking Account with required activities
- Within 20 days of opening, deposit the minimum amount of new-to-Citibank funds.
- Maintain a minimum balance for 60 consecutive calendar days from the 21st day.
- If your balance falls to a lower tier at any point during the maintenance period, the bonus changes.
- Bonus will be paid within 30 days after you successfully complete all required activities.
Chase Total Checking® - $200 Bonus
- New Chase checking customers enjoy a $200 bonus when you open a Chase Total Checking® account and set up direct deposit
- Access to more than 16,000 Chase ATMs and more than 4,700 branches
- Chase Mobile® app - Manage your accounts, deposit checks, transfer money and more -- all from your device.
- JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC
- Open your account online now
- Available online nationwide except in Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. For branch locations, visit locator.chase.com.
- Chase Overdraft Assist℠ - no overdraft fee if you're overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day or if you're overdrawn by more than $50 and bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day*
*With Chase Overdraft Assist℠, we won't charge an Overdraft Fee if you're overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the business day OR if you're overdrawn by more than $50 and you bring your account balance to overdrawn by $50 or less at the end of the next business day (you have until 11 PM ET (8 PM PT) to make a deposit or transfer). Chase Overdraft Assist does not require enrollment and comes with eligible Chase checking accounts.
TD Beyond Checking - $300 Cash Bonus
- Earn $300 when you receive direct deposits totaling $2,500 or more within 60 days
- Get more from your checking account. With TD Beyond Checking with Payback Plus, you'll earn interest and get reimbursed for non-TD ATM transactions, Overdraft Payback and more.
- Monthly maintenance fee waived when you receive monthly direct deposits of $5,000 or more within a statement cycle, or maintain a minimum daily balance of $2,500, or a combined balance of $25,000 across eligible TD accounts.
- TD ATM fees waived at any ATM and non-TD fees reimbursed when you keep at least a $2,500 daily balance
- Get overdraft fees automatically reversed up to two times a year.
- Get your money where it needs to go —fast— with Rush Bill Payments, Send Money with Zelle®, incoming wires and a reimbursement for one outgoing wire (domestic or international) per statement cycle.
- TD checking accounts come with an instant-issue debit card - and, you can pay with confidence with contactless technology Visa Zero Liability protection and 24/7 fraud monitoring.
- Monthly maintenance fee waived on one TD Simple Checking℠ account and any Savings accounts. Plus, get free standard check orders, money orders, official bank checks and stop payments.
CIT Bank Platinum Savings - 4.85% APY
- 4.85% APY with a balance of $5,000 or more
- 0.25% APY with a balance of less than $5,000
- $100 minimum opening deposit
- No monthly maintenance fee
- Member FDIC
Discover Online Savings - $200 Cash Bonus
To get your $150 or $200 Bonus: What to do: Apply for your first Discover Online Savings Account, online, in the Discover App or by phone. Enter Offer Code CY223 when applying. Deposit into your account a total of at least $15,000 to earn a $150 Bonus or deposit a total of at least $25,000 to earn a $200 Bonus. Deposit must be posted to account within 30 days of account open date. Maximum bonus eligibility is $200.
What to know: Offer not valid for existing or prior Discover savings customers or existing or prior customers with savings accounts that are co-branded, or affinity accounts provided by Discover. Eligibility is based on primary account owner. Account must be open when bonus is credited. Bonus will be credited to the account within 60 days of the account qualifying for the bonus. Bonus is interest and subject to reporting on Form 1099-INT. Offer ends 6/15/2023, 11:59 PM ET. Offer may be modified or withdrawn without notice. See advertiser website for full details.
Write to Justin Barnard at feedback@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.
Note: This website is made possible through financial relationships with some of the products and services mentioned on this site. We may receive compensation if you shop through links in our content. You do not have to use our links, but you help support CreditDonkey if you do.
This content is not provided by Citi. Any opinions expressed are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Citi.
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