The travel company that Citibank uses for flight redemption is very close to being a scam.

It's extremely difficult to redeem a ticket that you want if it's an expensive ticket for them since it's a paid ticket.

Get ready to have your blood boil as they'll want to book you on a flight that is the cheapest for them to book.

They will say they have no award availability - even though it's a paid ticket and the airline has plenty of seats.

I feel very sorry for the telemarketers that answer the phone - their morale is very low since customers become very irate with how difficult it is to redeem a ticket.

Also be aware they'll charge you more in taxes than what they're supposed to.

Both an award ticket and a companion pass ticket are upgradeable since it's listed as a paid ticket.

Be aware for the companion pass they will try very hard to book you in a higher fare bucket than the minimum for the 2 for 1 program and add pseudo taxes.