I, too, am curious about the fact that it seems that most existing customers are not being upgraded to World Elite. I spoke with a manager in Nevada, who told me that "a few select" card members had been picked through a "random" process and that more would be chosen in the coming months. The fact that she used the word select makes me think that the process isn't so random, though.

I have excellent credit and a high limit on my Arrival card, but I admittedly don't put much spend on it each month, which I suspect is the real reason I wasn't upgraded.

I will probably keep putting most of my monthly spend on my Citi AA World Elite MC. The vast majority of my flying is on AA, so the perks with that card work better for my needs.

The agent did seem to want to emphasize that I "did not do anything wrong," and that, as an existing customer, there is no way to apply for the new card. In her words, "The only thing to do is sit back and wait to see if they upgrade you later this year."

I won't hold my breath.