Citi Product Change
Many banks offer customers the ability to convert cards to other flavors they offer. Rules and methods vary. Amex is probably the easiest. Chase is quite feasible, but I recall needing to call in each time. And let’s not leave that other card heavyweight behind – Citi product change is easier than you may think. Interestingly, doing so via chat isn’t exactly new. I wrote about this back in 2020. Today, I’m sharing our latest success with this capability.
My Wife’s Citi Product Change
A Quick Reset
Just over a year ago, we returned to the Citi AAdvantage MileUp card. I’d held it years prior, and Citi targeted my wife for an elevated welcome offer. Most importantly, we enjoyed earning 2x miles on grocery purchases on a card with no annual fee. But things have changed since then, and we’re each able to earn plenty-enough AA miles on different Citi cards. My wife’s MileUp has been collecting dust the past few months. Why not conduct a Citi product change to an even more attractive card?
Getting to an Online Rep
Just over two weeks ago, we cruised over to the Citi site to check my wife’s options. Initiating a chat and hooking up with a rep is a bit clunkier with Citi than Amex, but the Citi method got the job done. Here’s how we (and hopefully, you) can get to an agent:
- Log into your Citi account.
- Click the Need Help? bubble in the bottom right corner.
- To the right and from top to bottom, you’ll see the following options: How Can We Help, Quick Actions, FAQ, and Let’s Chat. Click on the Ask Citi Bot within the Let’s Chat window.
- Click Get Started
- Type in your request for the Citi Bot service. I recall we typed Citi Product Change and were eventually routed to a live agent.
Wait time for a Citi rep is the wild card, in our experience. Both times recently, it took about ten minutes or so to get one. No biggie, as we had other things to do in the meantime. Plan accordingly!
Two Conversations
Once a rep joined, my wife asked for all of the possible Citi cards she could product change to. The agent responded with only two cards, the AAdvantage Platinum Select and Executive cards. She thanked this rep and ended the conversation, as she wasn’t interested in either of those.
A few days later, we tried again, following the same steps above. This time, we specifically asked for the card we’d been wanting to product change to – the Citi Strata Elite. After a brief back and forth, the Citi rep confirmed that my wife could product change to the Strata Elite! Unlike Amex, the agent could only send the disclosure for the change via phone text or email. My wife opted for the latter. She reviewed and accepted the terms, hopped back on the desktop, and the rep confirmed the product change. My wife thanked her and ended the conversation.
Why the Strata Elite?
So why did we want the Strata Elite via product change, anyway? We have multiple reasons. First, my wife and I each applied for the card, but we were both denied. Neither of us was surprised, but that’s a different story. Undeterred, we knew our next best option for picking up the card was via product change. Swapping out the MileUp made the most sense, as we hadn’t used the card in months and didn’t have any future need for it.
We found the 6x dining earning category during Citi Nights particularly attractive in return for how we considered the annual fee. We value the $200 Splurge Credit 1:1 at Best Buy. Quite simply, we didn’t hesitate at paying $395 to earn ThankYou points at a 6x rate. We’re confident we’ll obtain additional minor value from the other benefits, and I’ll assess those numbers in a different article as we get more stick time with the card.
Conclusion
Some of you are probably laughing at that value proposition. Indeed, this premium card isn’t for everyone. But it’s the good kind of wacky for us. Bigger picture, consider your current portfolio of Citi cards. Are you optimally using all of the Citi cards in your arsenal? Maybe not, and/or perhaps you’re looking to trim down those annual fees. Card options for Citi product change might not be as flexible as they once were, but it’s still an option. Consider doing so via chat!
How have your Citi product change experiences been lately?
Funny enough, my wife had the AA Mile Up and the chat rep offered her the Strata Elite. Easy peasy. Mater says, “Dad gum.”
Congrats, Jack!