topic Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it? in Credit Cards

Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

Shan888 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:08:40 GMT

Hi all.
I know this Question has been probably been asked hundred times. But I guess my situation is different I guess anyways:

April 2022 - Gold Card opened and Paid annual

Sep 2022 - Redeemed Bonus points (dunno if that matters)

Now I feel like this card for me is not worth the $250. I already have Amex blue cash preferred which I have good limit on it.

So 2 questions:

When is good time to close this card? I don't wanna pay back bonus points (that I already used - almost $1000 in bonus lol)

Or is it better to downgrade to green card?

I don't want to f'up my relation with Amex and the credit limit I have with them in my other card. More likely I would like to close this card.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

wasCB14 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 16:28:01 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
Hi all.
I know this Question has been probably been asked hundred times. But I guess my situation is different I guess anyways:
April 2022 - Gold Card opened and Paid annual
Sep 2022 - Redeemed Bonus points (dunno if that matters)
Now I feel like this card for me is not worth the $250. I already have Amex blue cash preferred which I have good limit on it.

So 2 questions:
When is good time to close this card? I don't wanna pay back bonus points (that I already used - almost $1000 in bonus lol)
Or is it better to downgrade to green card?
I don't want to f'up my relation with Amex and the credit limit I have with them in my other card. More likely I would like to close this card.

Wait at least until the second year's annual fee hits to close or downgrade (around April/May 2023).

Why do you prefer BCP and Green over Gold? Do the Uber and GrubHub credits not work for you?

You might also try to seek a retention offer.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

Shan888 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 18:35:32 GMT

So once the annual fee hits. Do I have to pay it? And then they will refund me if I close the card?

The reason I prefer Bcp over gold card is 6% cash back on groceries. I can justify $95 annual fee and I can easily recover $95 in a 2-3 months. But I cannot justify $250 for gold. And Uber eats is just over priced. Almost double than what I get in person. So $120 is more like $60 to me. So I'm paying $200 extra for almost nothing.

will my score go down drastically if I close a charge card? Provided there's no limit so my total credit limit would stay same?

thankyou

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

wasCB14 — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 21:14:21 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
So once the annual fee hits. Do I have to pay it? And then they will refund me if I close the card?
The reason I prefer Bcp over gold card is 6% cash back on groceries. I can justify $95 annual fee and I can easily recover $95 in a 2-3 months. But I cannot justify $250 for gold. And Uber eats is just over priced. Almost double than what I get in person. So $120 is more like $60 to me. So I'm paying $200 extra for almost nothing.

will my score go down drastically if I close a charge card? Provided there's no limit so my total credit limit would stay same?

thankyou

You don't need to actually pay the annual fee. You can get it prorated or refunded if you downgrade or close the account.

I totally understand about Eats price inflation. I use the ride service and I'm fortunate to have some Eats/GH options that allow easy pickups and don't inflate prices. I'm not a fan of the monthly nature of the credits so don't give them full value, but the card does allow me to earn 4x on a lot of spend without rotating categories or low caps.

What's the appeal of Green for you? Do you have a lot of travel spend?

I don't see a lot of detail about your credit profile and rewards are more my field than credit scoring, so I'll leave that part for someone else.

Be aware that closing a card after a year may possibly lead to Amex denying you bonuses on other cards in the future. I'm not sure of the actual probability of this happening.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

SouthJamaica — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 02:13:58 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
Hi all.
I know this Question has been probably been asked hundred times. But I guess my situation is different I guess anyways:
April 2022 - Gold Card opened and Paid annual
Sep 2022 - Redeemed Bonus points (dunno if that matters)
Now I feel like this card for me is not worth the $250. I already have Amex blue cash preferred which I have good limit on it.

So 2 questions:
When is good time to close this card? I don't wanna pay back bonus points (that I already used - almost $1000 in bonus lol)
Or is it better to downgrade to green card?
I don't want to f'up my relation with Amex and the credit limit I have with them in my other card. More likely I would like to close this card.

Wait until 13 months have passed.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

Shan888 — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 13:48:08 GMT

So today marks 12 months. Called to close to the gold anticipating that I will be offered a Retention offer; no luck. Not over phone and neither over chat. Chat agent said try after a few weeks lol. I paid the annual $250 anyways.

Should I wait a few weeks? then call? any suggestions?

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 14:25:58 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:

The reason I prefer Bcp over gold card is 6% cash back on groceries. I can justify $95 annual fee and I can easily recover $95 in a 2-3 months. But I cannot justify $250 for gold. And Uber eats is just over priced. Almost double than what I get in person. So $120 is more like $60 to me. So I'm paying $200 extra for almost nothing.

How have you been redeeming MRs? The 4x on groceries (with a much larger cap) can easily exceed 6% so if you can recover $95 in 2-3 months, $250 a year should also be doable. Major issue is that redeeming MRs at higher rates is more work and requires travel

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

SouthJamaica — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 14:31:50 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
Hi all.
I know this Question has been probably been asked hundred times. But I guess my situation is different I guess anyways:
April 2022 - Gold Card opened and Paid annual
Sep 2022 - Redeemed Bonus points (dunno if that matters)
Now I feel like this card for me is not worth the $250. I already have Amex blue cash preferred which I have good limit on it.

So 2 questions:
When is good time to close this card? I don't wanna pay back bonus points (that I already used - almost $1000 in bonus lol)
Or is it better to downgrade to green card?
I don't want to f'up my relation with Amex and the credit limit I have with them in my other card. More likely I would like to close this card.

Wait until it's been open 13 months, then you can do whatever you want with it.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

SouthJamaica — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 14:33:41 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
So today marks 12 months. Called to close to the gold anticipating that I will be offered a Retention offer; no luck. Not over phone and neither over chat. Chat agent said try after a few weeks lol. I paid the annual $250 anyways.
Should I wait a few weeks? then call? any suggestions?

You should wait one month, then close it.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

Shan888 — Sat, 22 Apr 2023 17:33:22 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Shan888 wrote:
So today marks 12 months. Called to close to the gold anticipating that I will be offered a Retention offer; no luck. Not over phone and neither over chat. Chat agent said try after a few weeks lol. I paid the annual $250 anyways.
Should I wait a few weeks? then call? any suggestions?
You should wait one month, then close it.

I just paid $250 annual today. Rep told me If I call within 30 days It Can be refunded. So My goal should be to call within next 30 days? or surpass 30 days then call but then I wont get refund. If I wait another month woudlnt it make me ineligible for refund?

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

jojo79 — Sun, 23 Apr 2023 17:34:58 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Shan888 wrote:
So today marks 12 months. Called to close to the gold anticipating that I will be offered a Retention offer; no luck. Not over phone and neither over chat. Chat agent said try after a few weeks lol. I paid the annual $250 anyways.
Should I wait a few weeks? then call? any suggestions?
You should wait one month, then close it.
I just paid $250 annual today. Rep told me If I call within 30 days It Can be refunded. So My goal should be to call within next 30 days? or surpass 30 days then call but then I wont get refund. If I wait another month woudlnt it make me ineligible for refund?

Once the AF posts you have 30 days to close/downgrade the card, and the fee will be reversed in a prorated basis.

If you're over the 30 days may as well keep the card open for another year since you've already paid for it.

Re: Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

MarkintheHV — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 14:02:02 GMT

@Shan888 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Shan888 wrote:
So today marks 12 months. Called to close to the gold anticipating that I will be offered a Retention offer; no luck. Not over phone and neither over chat. Chat agent said try after a few weeks lol. I paid the annual $250 anyways.
Should I wait a few weeks? then call? any suggestions?
You should wait one month, then close it.
I just paid $250 annual today. Rep told me If I call within 30 days It Can be refunded. So My goal should be to call within next 30 days? or surpass 30 days then call but then I wont get refund. If I wait another month woudlnt it make me ineligible for refund?

Oops sorry, I was wrong.