The reason for upgrading or downgrading to the Senior Green for $35 eventhough it has no rewards for spening is to maintain full MR status for existing points.
For the following scenarios:
1. Accrued 500,000 MR points from travelling and using Amex Platinum, but have since retired and no longer travel or use the card for significant spending.
2. Used Zync card to accrue 100,000 MR Express points.
In scenario one, since the $450 fee is no longer justified nor does spending justify a PRG (since the cardmember no longer travels), should he: (1) transfer all points a FF program; (2) redeem retail gift cards; (3) redeem for statement credits for subpar value; (4) or, downgrade to the $35 Senior Green to maintain full MR transferability of the accrued 500K MR points.
For scenario two, should the Zync cardmember: (1) redeem for retail gift cards for subpar value; (2) or, upgrade to Senior Green for $35 per year for full MR status. If you only wish to redeem a value 0.5 cpp on the 100K points, there is no reason to upgarde to Senior Green. However, if you prefer to redeem the 100K points for a $4,000 business class international flight, then upgrading to Senior Green would be worth 4 cpp.
The value of the Senior Green's (like all Amex cards) is entirely determined by the motives of the cardmember.
PS - For business owners, combine Senior Green + Business Blue. For $35 per year, you receive a 30% bonus on *all* MR points earned and full MR status for 2-3% return on spending when redeemed for travel. Compare this to the value of the "regular" Green for $95 and only 1 point per MR earned.
