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Citi Product Change Rules Explained: How (and Why) to Downgrade, Upgrade, or Switch Cards Citi Product Change Rules Explained: How (and Why) to Downgrade, Upgrade, or Switch Cards

Citi Product Change Rules Explained: How (and Why) to Downgrade, Upgrade, or Switch Cards

Ian Snyder
by Ian Snyder
June 30, 2025
14

Reviewed byTyler Glatt

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Thinking about changing one of your Citi credit cards? You’re not alone. Whether you're aiming to downgrade a card to avoid an annual fee or hoping to upgrade to unlock better rewards, product changes can be a smart way to manage your account without affecting your credit history.

In the past, Citi made this process especially attractive, allowing cardholders to change between products in different families, including cards that weren’t open to new applicants. But Citi has recently tightened the reins, and some of that flexibility is now gone.

Here’s what’s still possible when it comes to Citi product changes — and how to navigate the latest restrictions.

Citi Product Change Rules

Here are the rules and restrictions for a Citi credit card product change:

  • Your account must have been open for at least 12 months to be eligible for a product change.
  • You cannot product change a personal card to a business card — or vice versa.
  • You cannot product change within business cards; product changes apply only to Citi's personal cards.

Things to be aware of before you request a Citi product change

With those basic rules covered, here are a few additional things you should be aware of before requesting a Citi product change:

  • You will not be eligible for a welcome bonus on the new card.
  • Product changes may take up to 51 days, but conversions should process quickly. Previously, conversion between card “families” could take quite a while.
  • As soon as you see the new card in the online account management, the new card terms are in effect, including the earning rates.
  • If your card number has remained the same, you can continue to use the old card until you receive the new one.
  • Citi's welcome offer eligibility typically counts 48 months from earning the bonus on the original card before you're eligible again. You aren't earning a welcome bonus during the product change, so this shouldn't affect your eligibility for sign-up bonuses. However, other rules for bonuses will still be in place.
  • Citi will charge you a prorated annual fee and offer a prorated refund of your old card's annual fee, based on the conversion date and annual fees of the cards involved.
2 friends use a laptop together while considering a Citi product change
Credit: Brooke Cagle/Unsplash

Changes to the Citi product change rules

Citi used to stand apart from other issuers with its product change rules. However, it appears that this is changing, and this is an unfortunate blow. Citi used to allow product conversions to most cards, even if they don't earn the same rewards currency. Contrast this with changes among cards at a bank like American Express or Chase, where you can only product change within a card family.

For example, American Express allows product changes between its personal Hilton credit cards. With Chase, you can upgrade from a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Additionally, you could downgrade to a Chase Freedom Flex℠. That's because all of these cards earn Ultimate Rewards points.

What you cannot do is convert a Hilton card to a Delta card (with American Express) or a Sapphire card to a United credit card (with Chase). That's because these cards aren't in the same families.

Citi used to allow “out of family” conversions for many of its cards, which meant that its product change rules were the most flexible of any major bank. However, it now seems that you cannot convert outside of card families, at least based on recent reports. There are some limited situations where an out-of-family conversion may be allowed, but these appear far more restricted. As one example, you can no longer convert a card that earns American AAdvantage miles to one that earns ThankYou points, and vice versa.

Related: How to Earn Citi ThankYou Points

When to Still Consider a Citi Product Change

All that said, you may still want to consider a Citi product change, even though Citi has tightened the rules. One reason is that several Citi cards are attractive from a points-earning perspective but lack a sign-up bonus. Applying for another product, earning a bonus, and then product changing a year later becomes an attractive option, if you're willing to wait.

Another reason to product change to a different Citi card is to give yourself additional earning potential. The Citi Custom Cash® Card is a great example. The card earns 5% cash back on the first $500 in purchases in the bonus category where you spend the most. If you have another Citi credit card you no longer need, you can product change to the Citi Custom Cash, giving yourself 5% spending potential to complement your earnings on other cards. We should note that this is another Citi product change that has been problematic for some people. It initially appeared that Citi was not allowing some people from holding multiple Citi Custom Cash products. But there are also reports where this conversion was successful.

Yet another reason is to upgrade a Citi credit card to one that has more useful benefits. Say you have the  Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard® but have a lot of travel coming up. Maybe the Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard® makes more sense for the lounge access it provides. While you won't earn a sign-up bonus, you can still do a Citi card upgrade to the AA Executive Card and enjoy its perks. And this is an “in family” conversion that is still allowed.

What's unclear is whether you can still obtain one of the issuer's discontinued cards with the new rules.

a couple reads credit card information about a Citi product change on a smart phone
Credit: Kampus Production/Pexels

List of Product Change-Eligible Citi Credit Cards

Here are the personal credit cards you have historically been able to product change to or from, some of which are discontinued or closed to new applications:

Here is a list of discontinued cards that you can no longer product change to:

Another thing to note is that to convert to Citi Costco Visa, you must have a Costco account. This is a requirement of opening the card, as well. As long as you maintain a Costco membership, there is no annual fee on the Citi Costco Visa card.

However, understand that converting a Citi card to the Citi Costco Visa is a one-way street! You can convert another card to the card, but you cannot convert the Citi Costco Visa to a different card. The Costco Visa appears to be one of the exceptions to the new family product change rule. However, it still only works in one direction, limiting its usefulness.

Related: Build a Winning Combo of Citi ThankYou Rewards Cards

How To Product Change or Upgrade a Citi Card

Call the number on the back of your card to request a product change. Once you've verified your identity with the Citi representative, you can request a product change or to “convert” your card to another Citi card.

At one point, I'd understood that you could complete a product change via chat with a Citi rep. However, when I tried this, the agent I was connected to directed me to call Citi to complete the change and provided the phone number for Citi account specialists: 800-950-5114. Maybe I got a bad representative. However, calling is likely the way you'll have to go about completing a Citi credit card product change. Changes should also process quickly, given the new Citi product change restrictions.

Make sure you ask if the card number will change! I can recall the rep clearly stating that the card number would remain the same during my last Citi product change, so this question was answered before I even had to ask. If your card number changes, you won't be able to use that account until the new card comes in the mail and you activate it. Typically, as a conversion will be within a given card family, the number should no longer change.

Related: Tips for Managing Your Credit Score This is a key detail for a couple reasons.

Final Thoughts

It's unfortunate that the Citi product change rules aren't what they once were. Citi used to offer the greatest flexibility of any major bank. Many people have taken great advantage of Citi's broad rules over the years, converting cards to discontinued products or to another family etirely.

A product change is still a great way to pick up a card you want without a sign-up bonus, such as the Costco Anywhere Visa® Card by Citi. I do a decent amount of Costco shopping, and a product change is likely how I'll eventually get a Costco credit card. As long as Citi still allows this. But at the moment, I don't want to surrender any of my cards that earn ThankYou points.

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