jakeru said:Citi ACH BT Theory:
In order for the Citi credit card BT to external ACH account to work, the receiving account must:
1. be registered as a payment account, AND
2. prior to 20 days from BT request, have been used to make a $1000+ online card payment

I think the above is almost right: I registered a Chase checking account, paid a Citi CC ($20) using Citi's "Make a Payment" section with the Chase checking as the payment source. I checked after a month, and now the Citi CC accepts the Chase checking number for an ACH BT.

I have another question: If I have a negative balance on a Citi CC, and the APR for BT is 7%, will I get get charged any interest fees if I make a BT for the amount of the negative balance?

I have similar experience. Last year I opened a Citi Biz card and tried to do a BT to my checking account. Although the system allowed me to input routing number and account info, an error message popped up after I clicked "submit".

Anyway I have since paid the card online several times with my checking. This month I tried BT again to the same checking account and it went through just fine. The money showed up in my checking the next day. It's much better than waiting for a BT check.

beethovengirl - here is a timeline with some linked additional details of my recent Citi checking account BT deposit experience

2/20: requested BT online. (the system rejected Wa Mu but accepted BoA... kinda weird.)

2/21: online status changed from "pending" to "approved"

2/22: BT money landed in BoA checking account

Later on, I received in the mail a letter from the Citi Customer Service Department with a 2/22 date that confirmed they have accepted my BT request and sent the money and reaffirmed the 2/20 BT date and explained the 12 month 0% BT expiration date very clearly, etc.

And after the statement closed, I found it odd how they labeled the transaction as: "Balance Transfer Offer - charged to offer 4" This was the first balance transfer I completed with Citi, however perhaps it was labeled "offer 4" because I clicked the "find my BT offers" in online banking, but failed to complete the rest of the BT process on the first three times.

Anyone know if citi allows you to do an ACH balance transfer to a bank account over the PHONE. I have a feeling they would reject it online since I haven't made a payment with the account online.