Amex GOLD - Downgrade or Close it?

[Shan888]

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. 

[wasCB14]

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@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.

[Shan888]

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 

[wasCB14]

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@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 

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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.

[SouthJamaica]

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@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. 

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Wait until 13 months have passed.

[Shan888]

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?

[Anonymous]

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@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. 

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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

[SouthJamaica]

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@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. 

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

[SouthJamaica]

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@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.

[Shan888]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@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?

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You should wait one month, then close it.

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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?