Many readers asked about whether you lose accumulated Thank You points when downgrading from Citigold to Basic.
Is it considered as if you closed the Gold and opened a new Basic or is it considered the same account, downgraded?
It appears that you can safely downgrade without losing the points.
I downgraded at the end of December and I was not charged the $30 monthly fee for January. It’s unclear why it tags me as Gold on 1/1 – in any case, I’m now clearly a Basic accountholder (this was confirmed via chat), and the 50 unredeemed points from my Gold days carried over to my Basic account. Apparently, it’s considered the same account and any unredeemed points can continue to be used.
The account keeps the same account number after the downgrade which is also indicative of it being considered the same account.
(Updated 5/5/16) Some people heard from Citi reps that the points will be safe for 90-days after the downgrade. Others heard 60-days. And others were told that there is no expiration at all. My personal experience is that even 90-days after the downgrade, the points are still safe. Thus, it seems that you can safely downgrade and keep the points for as long as you wish.
Image from my Citi Basic account on May 5, 2016
so regardless of expiration date of TY points earned from the citigold account, do I need to transfer out the TY points before downgrading? If I don’t will I lost the TY points which were earned in a TY account attached to the citigold checking account?
Thanks for this. Do you have a good write up of the different types of ThankYou points (bank acct vs credit card) and the various rules? I’m pretty confused on how they work. If you transfer bank account TY points to your Prestige card, are those points the same as Prestige credit card points, except they just expire after 90 days? It seems so complicated and a nice post would help!
I think Milestomemories once did a write up about it. I’m confused myself 🙂
So can the typ from gold account be transferred to airline partners? Whats the transfer being discussed here
No they can’t be transferred to airline partners.
I am confused by the line in the chat above since it indicates it can be transferred to TY account. Once the points are in the TY premier account; why can it not be transferred to airlines?
You: Ok. I also have a premier credit card Thank you points account. Can i transfer my Citigold Thankyou points to that account?
Parker: Yes, you can transfer the Thank you points to the Premier Card.
It’s just a rule they have for points earned from checking accounts, we discuss this in the promotional threads for these offers.
I was told that my points would expire within 90 days after downgrading by a rep on the chat. However, I have been checking my TY account consistently and it does not show any points expiring soon. My guess is that the rep is clueless
I see this applies for TY points, but what about for the AA bonus? Can I downgrade before receiving the bonus and still receive it?
I recommend waiting until you receive the bonus.
looks Like you have 3 months to redeem the points if you downgrade to basic. see my chat below with citi representative.
You are now chatting with Parker.
Parker: Welcome to Citibank. My name is Parker. How may I assist you today?
Parker: Hello there.
You: Hi Parker. I have a citigold account. I want to downgrade the the account to basic checking to avoid the $30 monthly fee. Will i loose my Thankyou points linked to the gold account if i downgrade to the basic checking?
Parker: I will be glad to help you with the information.
Parker: The Basic Banking Package is no more eligible for the thank you points.
Parker: It is effective January 2015.
Parker: So, you will not be earning the Thank you points inBBA.
Parker: But, the Thank you points earned till now into the Citigold Package, can be redeemed within 3 months from the time of Package downgrading.
You: Alright. What if i downgrade to Citibank® Account ?
Parker: Yes, you can definitely get your package converted to Citibanking Account.
Parker: In Citibanking account, you will definitely be earning the Thank you points.
Parker: Shall I help you with the details of Citibanking Account?
You: Do i have to redeem the points within 3 months if i downgrade to Citibanking Account?
Parker: No.
Parker: In Citibanking Account Package, you will be eligible to earn the Thank you points from your accounts.
Parker: So, you need not redeem it.
Parker: You can use them as long as you want.
You: Ok. I also have a premier credit card Thank you points account. Can i transfer my Citigold Thankyou points to that account?
Parker: Yes, you can transfer the Thank you points to the Premier Card.
Parker: You can transfer the thank you points by calling the Thank you department.
You: Does the 3 month redeeming condition applies to that transfer?
Parker: Not at all.
You: what if i transfer the points and then close my citibank account?
Parker: Once it is transferred, it will be as your Credit card thank you points.
You: Alright. Thanks for the info.
Interesting, so that may be why it’s still showing for me. Let me add this to the post.
When I chatted with agents, I was told conflicting info as well. The secure chat rep said that all points would expire 60 days after the downgrade. However, I have a DM from @AskCiti saying that “You will no longer accrue points moving forward [with regards to earning TY points from a checking account], but the points you’ve already earned will expire within 3 yrs from the date they were issued”. Also, “If the account is closed, the points will expire in 60 days. If the account is converted to a different banking package, the points will expire in three years.
I’d recommend reaching out to them via Twitter, because at least now I have it in writing if I need to use it later. Still have yet to downgrade my account.
I’ve had a downgraded CitiGold account for ~1 yr now (i.e. it’s a Basic account downgraded from Gold). Whenever I chat with a rep, they say things like “thanks for being a Gold member”. This has cont’d for the past year…>9 months as a basic account holder.
Makes me wonder if I’d still be eligible for the reduced fee on the Prestige? Any thoughts?
I signed up for the citi gold and when I called into fun the account the guy told me that they have been not giving out rewards if you weren’t targeted so it may be an issue so I said just close it (never really fully opened). My prestige credited me my prorated annual fee for 4 months and then rebilled me for a year at $350. And when I called yesterday to switch my AA card to a double cash they said thanks for being a citi gold client even though I did this like 5 months ago and never actually had an account…so I think you may be in luck. It is weird for sure!
That’s why I suggest calling to open the account to make sure the promo code is properly applied to your account.
People have reported that you are, but YMMV. If you try it, let us know.
As far as I understand, you transferred out points before downgrade you account. What happen if you keep the points in your account, and downgrade to basic checking?
If you look carefully, you’ll see that I had 50 points left. And those 50 points are still showing as valid. Hence the proof that you can downgrade without impunity.