I would take the offer in a second.
The credits include a bit more in Uber each month, the new $20 per month for NYT, and other specific media. You can consider that a prepaid link to try those services out as well.
If you travel even a couple times, you can try the Centurion lounge, or Delta SkyClub. The Hilton and Marriott status is there. Rental car upgrade status. There's a lot that goes with Platinum card with those perks.
The points you earn aren't a rush to use, since you may downgrade to Gold. Worst case is a transfer to Delta for 1.2c or so.
The point of these upgrades is to get you to try the card out. For this strong of an offer, why not try it on?
@xenon3030 wrote:Here are some considerations to help you to take your decision:
- Can you use the Amex benefits for travels/hotels, effectively, due to Covid? How frequently do you expect to travel? How do you book your ticket/hotel? If it is only 1-2 per year, it might be better to switch to travel cards with less AF or even cashback cards.
- The high AF gets paid in cash but you redeem the MR points in future. If not using all benefits of the card regularly, it might not be worth to apply for a card with a high AF.
- What is your MR redeem strategy? Compare it to the other cards with less AF or with cashback cards.
- Can you use Amex monthly benefits (expire after 30 days)? Uber, UberEat, dining credit, Equinox? If they are hard to use for you, think twice before PC or apply for a new card.
PS: I did my homeworks and finally instead of upgrading Gold to Platinum, I even decided to close Gold.
Thanks @xenon3030. I haven't stopped traveling during COVID so that's not an issue or a concern. I travel pretty much every week, mostly for work. But I don't pay directly for airfare or hotels, which is why Platinum is much less useful to me. It's also why I like the Chase Sapphire Reserve for travel since the travel definition applies more widely than airfare, and it offers great dining rewards.
I have found the Gold card credits moderately easy to use and the AF is starting out much lower anyway. Many of the Platinum credits such as the airline fee credit, new Equinox fitness credit, Digital Entertainment credit, or UBER credit are nearly worthless to me. I never UBER. I haven't sufficiently used my CSR Door Dash or Gold card Grub Hub food delivery credits to even rely on getting value from the UBER credit on UBER EATS. I have TSA Global Entry on other cards already. While Platinum offers some high-value credits to offset the AF, they would need to be things someone already uses to make them a good fit.
@SoCalGardener wrote:I wouldn't do it, but that's just me, not you! Personally, I don't ever open any kind of account for its bonus, knowing full-well I'm going to close it later, whether it's a bank account, credit card, whatever. I only accept an upgrade offer and its associated SUB when it makes good sense to do so, in the long-run, as in keeping the upgraded product.
Thanks, @SoCalGardener! That is generally what I've always said, that I wouldn't get a card purely for the SUB. While I've generally done that, this just seemed a little different since it was an upgrade (product change) with plans to downgrade (another product change) without a new account or inquiry added. The spend itself isn't an issue. I'd be more concerned with getting in AMEX's bad graces after an immediate downgrade.
@Curious_George2 wrote:I mean this in the most FSR way possible. It sounds like you are saying: "I want to change Amex's impression that I'm a SUB-chaser. Should I chase this SUB?"
As evidenced by the thread you linked to, I have had the same offer staring at me for over a month. I have wrestled with exactly the same should-I-or-shouldn't-I dilemma many times over that span. I've decided to let this one pass me by, because the Gold fits my spend and the Platinum doesn't. When I look at my collection of cards, the ones I am happy with are the ones that fit my spend. The thrill of a SUB dissipates very quickly for me. But that's about feelings, not math. Your feelings might be different from mine.
It sounds like you are saying:
"I want to change Amex's impression that I'm a SUB-chaser. Should I chase this SUB?"
I know, right, @Curious_George2? Lol ... spot on. Touche' my friend. Like anyone, I love a good SUB. I just don't normally pursue them casually with plans to close or downgrade immediately. Maybe My Fico has rubbed off on me? 
They don't make it easy when they send these targeted offers! I kept from applying for Platinum back in the winter with the SUBs were 125K+ points which was much higher than it had ever been. But now this has tempted me. You and I are alike in that Gold is a better fit, but I could see the 100K MRs being (potentially) worth a lot. Perhaps I'm deluding myself in how much value I will get from them?
@NRB525 wrote:I would take the offer in a second.
The credits include a bit more in Uber each month, the new $20 per month for NYT, and other specific media. You can consider that a prepaid link to try those services out as well.If you travel even a couple times, you can try the Centurion lounge, or Delta SkyClub. The Hilton and Marriott status is there. Rental car upgrade status. There's a lot that goes with Platinum card with those perks.
The points you earn aren't a rush to use, since you may downgrade to Gold. Worst case is a transfer to Delta for 1.2c or so.
The point of these upgrades is to get you to try the card out. For this strong of an offer, why not try it on?
All great points, as always, @NRB525! Thanks for the feedback! And yes, that is one way I've looked at it is that they want me to "try it on and see how I like it." So maybe I shouldn't think so hard about it since the first year should put me ahead of where I'd be with the Gold? Food for thought.
@TheBoondocks wrote:i would wait for the highest offer, i got a targeted mail for the plat of 125k points.
Thanks @TheBoondocks. Was that a targeted offer for a product upgrade or a new card? I have seen that 125K to 150K but it was on a new account I believe, not an upgrade.
I think it's very difficult to get 1.5 cpp from AMEX unless you're redeeming for premium travel. Your best non-travel redemptions are various gift cards at 1 cpp, and doing that means you're not putting that spend on a different credit card. 
I mean... maybe transfer to Hilton/Marriott? During a transfer bonus promo? But even there the best cpp value tends to be higher end properties. (I've found that at the wrong times of year Marriott points get you less value than Hilton- 40k Marriotts going for $160 a night cash. Ugh.)
I can get 1.3ish sometimes on Delta miles in economy when the moon is in the right phase, but that's largely when they're competing with Southwest on a route and they goose the point value a little (sssshhhh). And there is a small but not immaterial fee going AMEX->Delta. BA's value on AA is slowly being nibbled to death by ducks, Alaska sometimes can work.
I'm on Team AMEX (for the moment, I may defect to Team Chase once I am not LOL/24 and I can score a CSP/CSR, or Team Citi when they'll give me a Premier) with occasional dalliances with Team Cashback... and I bit on a Platinum card (CS Plat) because of historically high bonuses (100k + 10x restaurants and Shop Small for 6 months) + locked out from Vanilla Plat + I actually fly the pointy end + I know how to make those $200 hotel credits and airline credits work for me (and in year 1 I get to double dip them), plus my favorite Thai place is on Uber Eats... but even I am likely going to ditch it past year 1. I agree that I'd rather have 3x all travel and simple benefits vs. 5x airlines and fancy hotels on a portal plus a bunch of coupons, I mean, "monthly credits" I have to remember to use. Plus I see the crowds outside my home airport's Centurion Lounge waiting for entry and go "suckers" (now I am the sucker it looks like). The thing is I can get 1.1 cpp as a lock on that SUB (and I will probably cash out some points at 1.25 before month's end)... and it will be cash not $1100 in Red Lobster or Home Despot (sic) gift cards.
So all told... if you have a good way to get 1.5 cpp in AMEX that doesn't involve pointy end travel and it's not a state secret, feel free to share your thoughts. I'd be interested. But if the card doesn't feel like a good fit for you and the SUB seems marginal... I think you're right.
@Aim_High wrote:For our members with more AMEX experience than me, I'm wondering what advice you would give me under the circumstances. I've had my Gold card exactly one year. I carefully selected the Gold and never had any real desire for a Platinum card, since I don't purchase a lot of airfare and don't highly value the AF credits. It just didn't make nearly as much sense for me as the Gold, which excels in earnings on dining and groceries, has a much lower AF, and has (IMO) easier to claim credits. The recent increase on the Platinum AF from $550 to $695 just seemed to reinforce that decision.
I've been gardening for a year and AMEX even preapproved me for a Hilton card in May but then said they'd deny me a SUB due to credit profile. I declined to proceed without the SUB.
Now that my card is a year old, they have offered me an upgrade from Gold to Platinum with a 100K MR SUB for $6K spend/6 months along with a $150 statement credit and 5x MR points at supermarkets and restaurants for six months, up to $25K spending. And apparently, since this would be an "upgrade" or product conversion, it wouldn't entail either a hard pull or a "new account," so I'd still be gardening if I understand this correctly. Adding 100K MRs for no additional credit application seems a sweet deal.
It's a very attractive offer but I'm torn on whether to accept. I'm well aware of their Rewards Abuse Team (RAT) and reputation for disdain for SUB-seeking. Apparently, AMEX recently thought I was seeking excessive rewards, as indicated by the SUB denial. And it would make no sense for me to keep the Platinum beyond one year. I would accept the SUB and then return to my Gold card after one year. The Platinum just doesn't fit my spend and lifestyle.
However, the earnings rate for six months would outperform my Gold; the $150 statement credit lowers the effective AF to $545; and the 100K MRs would more than offset the remainder of the total AF, even at their lowest cash value (.006 ccp) not to mention for higher redemption values. Plus, I could still claim any credits that would work for me. It's not hard to see that I would come out at least a little bit (if not a lot) ahead of just keeping the Gold for the next year.
Should I accept the upgrade offer and downgrade promptly when the AF comes due or am I better off just ignoring it and keeping Gold? I have other plans with AMEX and don't want to "poke the bear" but they are tempting me.
IMHO your accepting the upgrade, and then downgrading a year later, would be 'poking the bear' with Amex. Since you value your future relationship with Amex, I would refrain if I were you.
