By far the Citi Prestige benefit I most used was access to American Airlines Admirals Club lounges. Not too long ago the Chicago O’Hare H/K Admirals Club felt like home. Sitting there for hours watching the American Airlines ramp was my idea of a relaxing afternoon. I’ve had Admirals Club access from one type of Citi card or another since 2014 and became extremely disappointed when Citi Prestige dropped the Admirals Club access benefit. Admirals Club lounge access is simply one of the perks I value most when traveling and it has saved me on countless occasions.
After months of deliberation I finally decided to downgrade my Citi Prestige card to the Citi ThankYou Premier card. The decision was tough, but ultimately I could not longer justify paying the $450 annual fee. Luckily, I remembered to call within 30 days after my annual fee posted.. The only issue was that 1 day after the downgrade deadline I would be leaving on a trip to Paris. There were other lounges I could use on my trip, but I always like having Admirals Club access when flying American in case of a delay/canceled flight. When I called to downgrade the Citi representative told me that I’d retain Admirals Club access for 14 days following the downgrade call which meant I shouldn’t have any issues. Sadly, that was not the case on my recent trip to Paris.
How The Citi Prestige Card Downgrade Works
When you downgrade or convert one Citi card to another you retain the same Citi account number. In fact, I’ve had the same account number since I first opened my Citi Executive AAdvantage card years ago. That original account number is the same one found on my new Citi ThankYou Premier card. This is a great benefit because it allows you to use your old card as your current card until your new card arrives, got it? I know that was a confusing statement, but basically after downgrading to the Citi ThankYou Premier card I was able to use my Citi Prestige card until my new card arrived.
The Citi Prestige customer service agent specifically told me that I’d retain my Citi Prestige benefits until my account fully converted to the Citi ThankYou Premier. That should mean that I’d retain Admirals Club access until I returned home and activated my new card. All was well until I finally called Citi back to actually downgrade the card and the customer service agent threw in the “up to 14 days” clause. I realized I may have a problem gaining access to Admirals Club lounges during my trip, but had no interest in paying the $450 annual fee so I downgraded anyway.
Trying To Access Admirals Club Locations After Downgrading
Less than 24 hours after the downgrade call I knew I may have a problem. When I logged into my Citi account I found the account name and card picture changed to the Citi ThankYou Premier card. I figured the card had converted and I wouldn’t have access the lounges. Luckily when we arrived at Chicago O’Hare I had no problem accessing the Admirals Club. The greeter swiped my Citi Prestige card and scanned my boarding pass and we were in.
Side note: The new ORD H/K Admirals Club renovations look incredible. I can’t wait for them to finish!
We didn’t get so lucky at the Dallas (DFW) Terminal D Admirals Club. The greeting agent swiped my card several times and recited an error message. “This is not the primary card on the account.” Apparently at some point between our flight from Chicago to Dallas the Citi Prestige downgrade kicked in. After a few awkward moments the American agent let us into the lounge, but only after I mentioned (politely) that the card just worked in Chicago.
Our flight home from Paris was a week later and we had no shot at getting into the Admirals Club there. After 15 minutes of trying to get in the AAgent finally let us go in, but that was only 10 minutes before our boarding time anyway. Each time the agent swiped the card she got the same message as the agent in Dallas about the card not being the primary card on the account. Luckily I showed her the Citi Prestige card which had the “Admirals Club Access” verbiage on the back which got us in.
Final Thoughts
If you plan on downgrading your Citi Prestige card and accessing Admirals Club lounges shortly thereafter make sure to have a contingency plan. I am eventually going to apply for the Citi Executive card again to get the 50,000 point sign-up bonus, but also to maintain Admirals Club access. For me the Admirals Club is less about amenities and more about customer service. I love visiting a friendly face when something goes wrong rather than waiting it out in the terminal. I also love having a quiet space to wait and work during an unplanned delay.
All in all everything worked out for our trip, but I wish Citi had simply said “after this call your Admirals Club access probably won’t work.” I would have still tried and maybe succeeded, but at least I wouldn’t have been let down.
