AMEX Green to PRG upgrade offer. Do it??

[Open123]

Here's how I'd decide:

1.  If your value placed on the AAOA, new HP, new TL is > $1,000 --->  Keep the Green, or PC to the PR/Gold.

2.  If the value for AAOA, new HP, new TL is < $1,000 --->  App for new PRG.

That's how I'd usually decide.  In this case, to each his own, since we all place different values on the cost of the above.

Good luck!

*Edited*  PS - if AAOA is that important to you, can always keep the Green open, and just churn the PRG by closing it before the fee is due the following year to net an easy $1,000 in travel value.

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I know it's ultimately my decision but what do you guys think? Is this upgrade offer a worthy option for ditching the Green? 

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Worth is always highly subjective and you can't just poll to determine if something is worth it to you.  You should be doing your own due dligence, considering your spend and how well you can leverage the Membership Rewards redemption options as that will have an impact on reward value.  Once you've sorted that out you should be equipped to make your decision.  You should be doing this sort of thing for any rewards card you're considering.  It's never just about the card.  It's always about how well the given card suits the individual.  Look past the upgrade bonus and the earn rates with programs like Membership Rewards.

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@Anonymous wrote:
There's a loss no matter what I do and choosing the lesser of two evils is proving to be more difficult than I thought. Maybe I should take a little more time to think it over.

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Definitely considering you've closed it, reinstated it and now you're thinking of possibly closing it again.  Every decision is a matter of making compromises where you're willing to compromise and maxing what matters to you when possible.  It sounds like you just need to sort out your priorities and to carefully consider whether or not he PRG would really benefit you.  Once you have that sorted out the decision should be pretty clear to you.  What are you looking for the card to accomplish whether it's a Green, PRG or other card?  Definitely run the numbers for your spend so you have a better graps of the total cost/benefit and don't be lured just by the upgrade bonus.

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I appreciate your candid feedback and not trying to make me feel like an idiot in the process. I'm faced with a few questions I didn't even know I should be asking myself prior to joining this forum. Closing the Green is actually what brought me here. After reading several posts, I came to learn that I went through all of that trouble to reinstate a card widely considered as inferior to the PRG. I now know the PRG is far and away a better fit for me than my Green. There's no question that I want the card, just conflicted about how to get there. I'm starting to realize that there is no inherently "correct" answer to my question. I just have to decide what's best for me and accept that it will always be the wrong decision in someone's eyes. I'm going to step away for a while and think about it more. Sincerely, I appreciate everyone's feedback because it's helping me think more logically about this and I know that will serve me well in the future. I'll update everyone once I've pulled the trigger one way or the other. Thanks again.

[Anonymous]

 The plot thickens. I decided to cold app for the PRG to get the 50k points. I was hit with a 14 day message. I'm on the line with them now to find out what's going on. 800+ scores across the board so this is a little puzzling for me. Despite the 14 day message, I also decided to app for the BCE since it would fall under the same HP. Instant approval for $25k. Weird.

[Anonymous]

Gratz. on the SL for the BCE. and nice scores. As for the PRG. Hope you get the 50k points. Glad you decided to keep your oldest account <3

[Ghoshida]

In my opinion you've done the right thing OP by applying for the PRG.

Keep using the PRG and the Green for a year, depending on what category of spend you're focussing on. After a year, before either of their AFs are due, decide whether to keep the PRG or the Green. If you decide to keep the Green because of the age only, see if you'd be eligible for a product change to the PRG. At that point you can discontinue the new PRG. 

TBH both the BCE and the PRG at the same time is not very useful because you'll get 2X on groceries on the PRG anyway, which will be worth more than the 3% of the BCE, except if you were specifically interested in the bonus and the 10% off cell phone bill they're offering this year. Congrats on getting the two cards regardless. 

Note: The part in bold is a hypothesis. It's not necessary that AMEX would allow a PC. Check back on these forums.

[Anonymous]

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@Ghoshida wrote:

In my opinion you've done the right thing OP by applying for the PRG.

After a year, before either of their AFs are due, decide whether to keep the PRG or the Green. If you decide to keep the Green because of the age only, see if you'd be eligible for a product change to the PRG. At that point you can discontinue the new PRG. 

TBH both the BCE and the PRG at the same time is not very useful because you'll get 2X on groceries on the PRG anyway, which will be worth more than the 3% of the BCE, except if you were specifically interested in the bonus and the 10% off cell phone bill they're offering this year. Congrats on getting the two cards regardless. 

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+1

EDP would of been a better combo since you are building MR with those charge cards. However, great work. Cash back is an option as well but as Ghoshida said above

Anyway,  Gratz again 

[Anonymous]

Thanks all. Just received an email stating that my PRG application was approved. Not showing up on my account yet but I'll give it some time. As for the BCE, it sounds like the EDP would have been the better option. I just wasn't in a rush to add another AF. How about the plain ED card? Would it be wise to PC the BCE to that in the future?

[Anonymous]

you can't PC from MR to cash back. i have tried 5 times with no success lol.

[Anonymous]

I think you can pc after 13 months of the card being open. Not sure. 

[Anonymous]

hm. i was told no. 13 months (from my understanding) is if you go within the same rewards structure