Downgrading has started the clock on closed cards for as longs as I can remember. You should always do your research on these things prior to applying. I believe DOC has a post for every major bank, entitled "xx things you should know before applying for a xxxxxx card"
ETA: See this page.
I guess it’s my fault that I didn’t look into it before hand. Either way this rule doesn’t make sense. For the computer to think that it’s a closed account is normal. For a human to think like that, is not. When you speak to a supervisor, he should be able to manually add the bonus. I feel like Citi in general became so stingy and stiff.
I would love to hear someone who actually got the bonus in this case by writing in or something.