I mentioned in my post yesterday that I need more points for my lofty travel plans. Recently, my husband received an upgrade offer from American Express that would bring more points to our stash.
Upgrade Offer from Amex Gold to Amex Platinum
Last year, my husband got the Amex Gold credit card. He’s almost at his card’s one-year anniversary, and I noticed he had a card upgrade offer in his online account:
The offer is for 125,000 bonus points after spending $6000 in the first 6 months. The annual fee of the Platinum card is $695 (compared to the Gold card’s fee of $325). That annual fee is quite steep, but it does come with several credits that offset the fee.
The timing of this offer is perfect because we have a big auto insurance premium we need to pay in the next few weeks. But should we go for this upgrade or try to apply for a new card with a higher bonus?
Advantages and Disadvantages of a Credit Card Upgrade
Upgrading an existing credit card to new product has some advantages, including:
- No ding to credit report
- Upgrade doesn’t count as another card for Chase’s 5/24 restriction
However, there are downsides to upgrading a card instead of applying for a new one:
- The bonus is sometimes lower (or non-existent) than opening a new card
- In the case of Amex, which has a “once-per-lifetime” rule, you are ineligible to get the card’s bonus again after upgrading to it
I know there are referral links floating around for a 175k bonus on the Amex Platinum card, and some people have been targeted for this offer via email. However, no matter what we tried, neither my husband nor I could seem to get that higher offer.
So, accepting the card upgrade was a logical choice. And, 125,000 bonus points is nothing to sneeze at! We can use those points to fly to Europe next year.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
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