Summary: $100-$200 for Citibank Account $35 for Money Market Account $100-$200 for Credit Card

Citibank is offering 10,000 ThankYou Points ($100 Gift Card)  if you open Citibank® Account or Citibank Everything Counts® Account or 20,000 ThankYou Points ($200 Gift Card) if you open a Citigold account with $1,000 in deposits  by March 31, 2009)

Citibank is offering 3,500 Thank You Points ($35) if you open a new Citibank Ultimate Money Account by March 31, 2009 with a $100 minimum opening deposit and link it to the new checking account.

Citibank is offering 10,000 ThankYou Points if you apply and get approve for a Citi Diamond Preferred Rewards Card.  To qualify for the 10,000 ThankYou Points ($100 Gift Card), you mus make at least $100 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.  To qualifty for 20,000 ThankYou Points ($200 Gift Card), you must make at least $600 in purchaes wihtin the first  three months of account opening.

Make sure to read the terms and conditions of the site and call Citibank if there are any questions

Terms and Conditions

¹ To qualify for the checking bonus points offer, you must open a new qualifying regular checking account in either the Citibank® Account or Citibank Everything Counts® Account relationship packages for the 10,000 ThankYou® Points offer or in the Citigold® account relationship package for the 20,000 ThankYou® Points offer and make $1,000 in deposits in the new checking account by 3/31/09 (4/30/09 for accounts opened remotely via CitiPhone Banking® or Citibank® Online). Within 60 days of account opening, you must (1) enroll your new checking account in ThankYou® Network and (2) complete one direct deposit, two eligible electronic bill payments or five signature-based debit card purchase transactions per month for three consecutive months. Checking account enrollment and participation in ThankYou Network are subject to terms, conditions and restrictions. Existing Citibank checking customers are not eligible. 

With checking account enrollment in ThankYou® Network, Citibank offers more ways to receive points for your checking relationship each month which are redeemable for valuable rewards. Monthly points for checking relationship are subject to terms and conditions and require customer to perform minimum of one credit or debit transaction per statement cycle. Participation limited to customers who are either citizens or resident aliens of the United States (U.S.) with a valid U.S. taxpayer identification number. Taxes, if any, are customer’s responsibility.

² To qualify for the money market account bonus points offer, you must meet all of the terms of the checking account offer and open a new Citibank® Ultimate Money Account (“Account”) by 3/31/09 with a $100 minimum opening deposit and link it to the new checking account. The Account earns an interest rate (“Rate”) that is not determined by the balance in your account or your other accounts at Citibank. Two Rates can be applied to the balance in your Account. To qualify for the higher Rate (currently 1.50% APY as of 03/24/2009), you must make at least two qualifying electronic bill payments from your linked checking account during the calendar month preceding the statement cycle date. If the bill payment requirement is not met, a lower Rate (currently 0.77% APY as of 03/24/2009) will be applied for that statement cycle. The Rate may change after the account is opened. Fees may reduce earnings. An alternative money market account with this same bonus point offer is available at Citibank Financial Centers.

Applicable to footnotes 1 and 2: Eligible electronic bill payments are those made using Citibank® Online, Citi Mobile or CitiPhone Banking, excluding transfer payments made to accounts with Citibank or its affiliates. Qualifying debit card purchase transactions include those made by selecting “credit” when prompted, contactless (MasterCard® PayPass), Internet and phone transactions. Purchases initiated using a Personal Identification Number (PIN) are excluded. Limit one of each offer per customer. Offers can be modified or withdrawn at any time without notice, expire 3/31/09, are not transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers. Bonus points will be rewarded within 120 days of your satisfying all offer terms. Checking account must be open and in good standing at time points are credited. Both offers limited to customers who are either citizens or resident aliens of the United States (U.S.) with a valid U.S. taxpayer identification number. Customer is responsible for all applicable taxes. Consumer accounts only. All accounts are subject to approval and applicable terms and fees.

³ Each depositor is insured by the FDIC up to applicable limits.

⁴ To qualify for the 10,000 ThankYou Point credit card offer, you must make at least $100 in purchases within the first three months of account opening, redeemable for a $100 Gift Card or other rewards through ThankYou Network. Bonus points can only be earned by new Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards cardmembers approved through this offer. Points will become available for redemption when they are transferred from your credit card account to your ThankYou Member Account, which may take one to two billing cycles. You may earn up to 75,000 points in a calendar year. Additional terms and conditions apply which you will receive when you become a cardmember. 

To qualify for the 20,000 ThankYou Points credit card offer, you must make at least $600 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. The 20,000 ThankYou Points are redeemable for $200 in merchant gift cards or other rewards through ThankYou Network. Bonus points can only be earned by new Citi PremierPass® Card – Elite Level cardmembers approved through this offer. Points will become available for redemption when they are transferred from your credit card account to your ThankYou Member Account, which may take one to two billing cycles. You may earn up to 200,000 points in a calendar year, only 100,000 of which may be earned through miles flown. Additional terms and conditions apply which you will receive when you become a cardmember.

Average credit card rates have been low compared with the previous 5 year average.  As of March 2009, the national average APR for credit cards is 12.66%.  What is your credit card rates?  Now it’s a good time to check the rates on your statement; If you don’t know the rate, call the toll free number on the back of your credit card and speak to the customer representative to see if they can lower it down.

Source: CreditCards.com

Marquette Bank, FDIC member, is a regional based in Illinios with 24 branches.  Currently, Maruqette Bank is offering $75 in free gift cards if you open a Marquette Totally Free Checking Account with a minimum $10 deposit.

To get $75 dollars follow these simple steps:

1. Open an Marquette Totally Free Checking Account (branch, call 888-254-9500 or visit emarquettebank.com) with a minumum deposit of $10 (Receive $25)
2. Activate just ONE of the following to get $50 more in gift cards (1) Online Statements 2) Online Bill Payment or 3) Establish a Direct Deposit with your new personal checking account)

Free gift cards include, iTunes, Home Depot, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, BestBuy, bp Gas, amc Entertainment, Red Lobster, Olive Gaden, Longhorn Steakhouse, JC Penny and Walgreens gift cards.

It is extremely important to keep up to date with your credit report and credit score especially in this credit deprived economy.  Whether you’re thinking about buying a new home or car, it’s good to know what your credit score is so you can work on improving it’s score.  myFico is the consumer division of Fair Issac, the company that invented FICO credit score that lender use to judge your application.

myFICO is offering 30% off on all it’s products from Score Watch, FICO Standard to Suze Orman’s FICO Kit Platinum plan.

myFICO is celebrating it’s 8th anniversary and offering super discounts to consumers.  Just use code myFICOis8 during the checkout process and save 30% off.

First State Bank headquarter in Kansas, a member of FDIC,  is offering 5.03% APY to all people nationwide.  There are 3 simple requirements.

1. Must use the debit card 10 times per month (gas, grocery, drug stores, restaurants all count)
2. Must receive one direct deposit per month
3. Enroll in E-Statement

The requirements are pretty simple if you want one of the highest yield available.  They even credit up to $25 monthly statement of ATM withdrawal fees used outside of First State Bank.  The 5.03% yield is for the first $25,000.  You must open the account with a minimum deposit of $100.

Sony is giving $200 card credit after any purchase over $349 at their website.  If you’re in the market for the Sony Playstation, HDTV and digital camera, now it is a good time to buy it.  Offer ends on March 14, 2009.  Sony Card is issued by Chase Bank and includes the following benefits

• Full Platinum Visa® benefits
• 5 Sony Rewards Points per $1 spent at SonyStyle.com, and Sony Style® stores2
• Exclusive members-only deals on Sony products

Apply for the card, once you are approved, you have 45 days to purchase at sonystyle.com to get back $200 in statement credit.

This is a snapshot of the  Top Online Banking instutions offering their competitive rates as of March 2009 (March 12, 2009).  We search the rates so you don’t have to invidually visit their sites.

Name	APY Yield	Detail
	2.15% APY	FNBO Direct – No minumum balance, no fee
	2.00% APY	Emigrant Direct – No Minimum Deposit; All products: Savings Accounts, Checking Accounts, Credit Cards, IRA
	2.15% APY	E*Trade – No Minimum Deposit; All products: Savings Accounts, Checking Accounts, Credit Cards, IRA, Mortgage, Home Equity, Brokerage
	1.85% APY	HSBC Direct  – No Minimum Deposit; New Online Deposit Only; All products: Savings Accounts, Checking Accounts, Credit Cards, IRA, CDs
	1.65% APY	ING Direct – No Minimum Deposit; All products: Savings Accounts, Checking Accounts, Credit Cards, IRA

Mortgage Rates for Top 10 Metropolitan Areas in US as of March 04, 2009.  This information is very handy when you speak to your banker or mortgage broker as you can use the number as your guideline.  Most likely banks and mortgage brokers can’t beat the numbers but don’t expect to pay a lot more than the normal average rates.

source: BankRate

Open some bank accounts and deposit some cash, and you can be $325 richer!  

Name	Bonus Amount	Detail
	$25	Citibank – Open and fund an Ultimate Savings Account with $1,000 by April 30.
	$100	Compass Bank – Open a new Build-to-Order Free Checking account with a minimum deposit of $100 before March 21.
	$25-$75	HSBC – Get $75 for opening an HSBC Plus Checking account with a minimum $1,500 deposit
	$25-$100	M&T Bank – Open and fund a new checking account by April 4.
	$25	Wachovia – Entice a friend to open a Free Checking Account with a minimum deposit of $100, and you’ll each get $25. Offer expires December 31.

One of the more popular online savings bank, FNBO Direct, just lowered it’s yield to 2.15% APY.  That’s a drop of 45 basis point from 2.60% APY just yesterday.  It is still higher than most other online savings bank.

Below are some of the highest CD Rates in the US.  It appears anything above 3.15%APY for 12-24 months is considered a very attractive rates.  If you live around these banks and credit unions, go ahead and open one.  If not, compared these rates with your local bank or credit unions to see if they match these rates.

Red Rock Credit Union is offering 3.3% APY for a 2 year CD (minimum deposit: $5, 000) – Only Available to people living in Douglas County, Colorado

Citizen Equity First Credit Union (CEFCU) is offering 2 Year CD with a 3.10% APY.  Minimum deposit is $1,000 and is available in Illionois and California branches (via Valley Credit Union)

Community Bank of Nevada is offering 3.29 APY for 12-18 months CD and 3.03% APY for 6 months CD.  Branches are located in Las Vegas.

Highlands Bank is offering 3.0% APY 2 Year CD with a minumum deposit of $500.  Highlands Bank is located in Dallas, TX.