Citi Product Change Rules

There was always one thing that Citi was better than everyone else at, and that was product changes. They were by far the most liberal bank when it came to product changes. They would let you move from one product to the next without any family rules are any other real restrictions. The one outlier was the Citi Costco card, but everything else was fair game. Taking advantage of the Citi product change rules was actually the best way to get the Citi Double Cash card, since it didn't come with a sign up bonus. Well, until now.

What Has Changed

There have been reports that the Citi product change rules have changed when it comes to the American Airlines AAdvantage card lineup. In the past you would be able to change your American Airlines Citi card into any ThankYou earning card you wanted after the first year. This is why many people grabbed an AAdvantage card for the sign up bonus, and then would product change it to the Citi Double cash after the first year.

Now it appears that Citi has adjusted their product change rules. Cardholders are being told that they can no longer move their AAdvantage card over to a ThankYou earning card. They can only product change it into another American Airlines credit card. Weird enough, you can also product change an AAdvantage card into a Costco card. Somehow that is an option, even if you are still not able to product change out of a Costco card. It makes no sense to allow it one way but not the other – we are talking about Citi here though.

I know one thing is for sure, this really jacks up my plan of attack for our Citi card lineup. Back to the drawing board I guess. That is what I get for being lazy and dragging my feet on making the changes.

Citi Product Change Rules: ToP Thoughts

There is no doubt that these new Citi product change rules are a real bummer. It was a great way to grab some of the no fee Citi credit cards, and get a better welcome offer while doing it. This could just be a temporary change, but I think it may have something to do with Citi taking over the full American Airlines credit card portfolio. My guess is that American caught wind of this and decided to stop people from grabbing their bonus miles, and then moving out of their product line after a year. I am sure they would rather have the cards closed versus see something like that happen. It wouldn't make sense for Citi to increase the likely hood of cardholder shrinkage by instituting this rule on their own.

Let me know your thoughts on these new Citi product change rules over in the ToP Facebook Group.

HT: DoC