free iPod mini from Citibank by opening a regular checking account

[kyarchon]

i will call them tomorrow. I am seriously thinking about this. Now to find $2500.


EDIT: Forget it.

"Pay 2 bills online each month for 12 consecutive calendar months at citibankonline.com." the risk of missing one.... and getting charged 250.... forget it.

 

[KidViciou$]

hmmmmm, i got 2500+ in a bank account, i'm thinking about doing this deal

i wish it was the regular ipod though


how is citibank? i currently have bank of america and am indifferent to whether i like them or not. after 1 year, couldn't i move my account elsewhere?

 

[shurik92]

HOT deal if you can afford to tie up $2500 for a year

 

[magnux]

Originally posted by: shurik92
HOT deal if you can afford to tie up $2500 for a year

Don't simply skim the thread. You aren't going to "tie up" $2500 for a year. It's an initial deposit only. You're free to move your money about as you please.

Originally posted by: kyarchon
i will call them tomorrow. I am seriously thinking about this. Now to find $2500.


EDIT: Forget it.

"Pay 2 bills online each month for 12 consecutive calendar months at citibankonline.com." the risk of missing one.... and getting charged 250.... forget it.

I'm fairly sure you can setup the billpay to be automatic, at least that's how it is with my 2 other banks. I just tell it how much and when to send the money, and it goes out on that time every month. Of course, some bills require various amounts each month, so you wouldn't setup auto-pay for those. This would be ideal to pay your Cable/Internet, Auto Insurance, Student Loan, etc.. things with generally fixed rates.

CitiBank isn't a bad bank at all, it's not like their an unknown bank. I got a auto-loan through CitiBank about a year ago, and they had the most competitive rates around (at the time, at least).

 

[robsdeals]

FYI, you have to pay tax on the list price of the unit at tax time, They treat it like interest.

 

[Abdullus]

Just got off the phone with these guys...here is the details!

There is no minimum to keep up if you have direct deposit, if not than you have to keep a balance of $1500/daily maintenace fees is like $7/day for me in NY.

The iPod Mini will be shipped out two months after you use the online bill pay, since January would be the logical month to pay it in, you will get the iPod in April...thats too farking long.

So...you guys decide, I was gonna go for it, but it does'nt seem that hot now.:frown:

Fark

 

[KidViciou$]

yea, 2 months is too long, especially for a mini, especially with the ipod colors coming out

this thing will be worth 100 bux by then

 

[KeithP]

Actually, waiting the extra time might come in handy. Current rumors say Apple is just starting production of a new mini with a 5GB HD which is due to begin shipping beginning of January. If this is true it might take some time to sell off old stock. So, depending when Citi Bank purchases the mini you might get a new model instead of the old model.

Of course rumors aren't always so reliable.

-KeithP

 

[usernamemax20charact]

Originally posted by: KidViciou$
yea, 2 months is too long, especially for a mini, especially with the ipod colors coming out

this thing will be worth 100 bux by then

iPod colors? If you're referring to the iPod Photo, it's already out.

The only other iPod coming out is a rumored flash iPod. There'll also be a update to the iPod mini. The new mini's will have 5GB HDD's vs. the 4GB HDD in current mini's.

If Apple does upgrade the mini to a 5GB HDD, the 4GB mini's will still be worth at least $200. Unless they also drop the price on the 5GB mini too.

 

[KidViciou$]

i meant the ipod photo, but does it just display photos? if so it's pointless to me, i was thinking it could do video

the 1gb jump in the mini's isn't enough IMO, i want 20 gigs

 

[lsman]

Originally posted by: shurik92
HOT deal if you can afford to tie up $2500 for a year

no. just put the $1500 into CD that link to your EZ checking account (currently 2.0 %... a bit lower than say ingdirect 2.25). And transfer money to it when you need to pay for the bills each month. ($2500 inital, but you can get $1000 out once its opened.)

or no min. each month if you have a auto deposit.

 

[Jassi]

I just got off the phone with them. Here's what I got:

The 2500 is just initial deposit, after that you need 1500 minimum (savings + checking) OR direct deposit, you have to pay 2 bills online the first time, after that it is a minimum of 1 bill per month. Funny, my interest rate is 0.85% on savings...

 

[paulmob]

blah i would do this.. but i don't have 2 bills to pay !?!!?!

 

[sat4fun]

Originally posted by: lsman

Originally posted by: shurik92
HOT deal if you can afford to tie up $2500 for a year

no. just put the $1500 into CD that link to your EZ checking account (currently 2.0 %... a bit lower than say ingdirect 2.25). And transfer money to it when you need to pay for the bills each month. ($2500 inital, but you can get $1000 out once its opened.)

or no min. each month if you have a auto deposit.

Link your ING account to Citibank. I do this and it works great. I would do this if I didn't already have a Citi account with the $150 deal a while ago.

Two months to is to long? Are you guys serious?

 

[mkdrum]

Originally posted by: paulmob
blah i would do this.. but i don't have 2 bills to pay !?!!?!

You can setup a custom bill. I.E. Send 2 - $1 payments to yourself @ your home. Or even a decent friend so you can have a different address.

 

[Deucer]

Originally posted by: mkdrum

Originally posted by: paulmob
blah i would do this.. but i don't have 2 bills to pay !?!!?!

You can setup a custom bill. I.E. Send 2 - $1 payments to yourself @ your home. Or even a decent friend so you can have a different address.

lol, will this actually work? If it will, I'm in.

 

[DrPizza]

Hmmm...... marked for later.....

My wife and I pay ALL our bills online, with the single exception of our water bill.
My current bank isn't giving me an ipod.

How much are these mini ipods actually worth?

Is it worth the bother?

 

[KidViciou$]

okay, i think i'll give this a try, i'll sign up after finals on tuesday

 

[manly]

In consideration of my no-interest checking account, they should give me one free upon request.

 

[BigBadMunky]

This is quite an interesting deal. It almost seeems a bit too easy to mess up and end up paying the cost of the ipod. I was thinking about doing my student loan. But if I setup automatic transfer (from the loan holder's side) I get a .25% rate reduction. So I think that option will be out. But if we can in fact make payments to ourselves....hmmm. mighty tempting.

I'll keep pondering this one! Thanks for the heads up.

 

[usernamemax20charact]

Originally posted by: DrPizza
How much are these mini ipods actually worth?

Is it worth the bother?

iPod mini's currently retail for $249. Wouldn't this be like earning 10% interest, or if you only keep the minimum $1,500 and also have Direct Deposit almost 17% interest?

Anyone care to correct my math?

 

[usernamemax20charact]

Originally posted by: KidViciou$
i meant the ipod photo, but does it just display photos? if so it's pointless to me, i was thinking it could do video(

No video. Just displays photos as a slide show. You can also plug it into a projector or TV using the included AV cable. Guess that's why it hasn't been really selling well compared to their other models according to the WSJ.


"Holiday shoppers hunting down an iPod better be patient.

Shortages of the hot portable music player from Apple Computer Inc. are common at major retailers across the country. Many of the most-popular models -- including some of the colorful, diminutive iPod minis and the 20-gigabyte white iPod -- are out of stock through Amazon.com Inc., Buy.comInc. and other Web sites.

Target Corp. stores in Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area say they are out of many iPods, as does J&R Electronics Inc. , a big electronics store in New York. Best Buy Co. is out of most iPods on its Web site, although a company spokesman says the vast majority of its stores "have at least one" iPod in stock."

 

[yehfool]

So after you pay 2 months worth of bills can you cancel the account? Since they are sending the ipod after the first two months what is holding you to stay with them for the full 12 months?

 

[KidViciou$]

nope, 12 months worth fo bills

 

[imported_earthslash]

I wouldn't mind doing this, except I don't pay any bills online every month. I don't know how the paying yourself or whatever would work out... seems sorta iffy.