Product Change from American Express Gold to Green

[kerplunk]

Hey guys, I've had the American Express Gold card for around 7 months now and have decided to focus on Chase UR points instead of MR points. (At least right now.)

Are there any negative consequences to downgrading from the Gold to the Green? Will AmEx hate me? Will I be able to go to the Gold in the future, if necessary? Anything that might affect my credit?

Thank you in advance, brilliant minds of myFICO!

[FinStar]

Was your AF waived during the first year and did you earn a SUB?

[kerplunk]

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@FinStar wrote:
Was your AF waived during the first year and did you earn a SUB?

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With the Gold Card, I earned the SUB, but my $250 annual fee was not waived. Although, I think it posted as $195 instead of $250 for some weird reason.

[Credit-hoarder]

Probably best to wait almost a full year of having the Gold then doing a downgrade in case you earned a sub. IMO they shouldn't be as upset about a downgrade to a lessor or no fee card as they would an outright closure.

[pinkandgrey]

As others have said, Amex doesn’t like closing/downgrading cards too soon after receiving SUBs. They view it as churning and that can affect your eligibility for future SUBs. 

Just as a side note, other than slightly decreased annual fee, why would you want the Green? The Gold has much better rewards. Until they do this supposed refresh, that is....

[NRB525]

The negative consequence of the downgrade is that instead of a $250 AF that you have a chance to earn back through the airline credit and monthly dining credits, you have a $95 AF that you can’t earn any spend credits for.

At least the points earning on the Gold is better for dining and grocery than the Green.

When you gather all those UR points, what will you be doing with them? Some of the transfer partners are the same, so a focus on UR does not have to completely block out MR.

[UpperNwGuy]

If you ask Amex to switch you from Gold to Green, wait a full year and make your request after they bill you for the next annual fee.

By the way, the Green is not a very good card.  If you don't like the Gold, you won't like the Green either.

[Lucifer]

Can the OP PC out of the Charge card line up?

I have the Green and it isn't worth the AF.  

(Personnally hoping for the reset to be magnificent)

[Gunnerboy]

A charge card can only PC to another charge card, while a revolver can only PC to another revolver.

Since there was no downgrade-path for me when I had my Traditional Gold, I cancelled it, but decided to get the new Gold a few weeks later.

[kdm31091]

At least until (and unless) there's any refresh with the Green card, it is IMO completely useless. I can't see a situation where it would serve any purpose; it earns the bare minimum of rewards and costs $95. So while you could downgrade to it (but as suggested I'd wait until a full year has passed before doing so), wouldn't it just sit in a drawer and serve you no purpose?

I would just evaluate your reward priorities over the next several months and if you truly do want to focus on UR instead of MR, I would probably just cancel the account after 12-13 months. I just see no point in paying for a Green card. It's not like your Gold has a super long history or something.