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
