Can I upgrade my American Express card?

You can request an upgrade from Amex Gold card to American Express Platinum card by calling customer service at (800) 528-4800. Alternatively, log in to your online account and click on “Amex Offers and Benefits” at the bottom of the page to see if you’re eligible for an upgrade from Amex Gold card to American Express Platinum card. You may also receive a targeted upgrade offer, either by e-mail or through regular mail.… read full answer

Here's what you should know about the Amex Gold card upgrade:

• If you have unredeemed rewards, you should wait until you’ve had the card for at least 12 months before requesting an upgrade. Otherwise, you will lose any reward points you’d previously earned but not redeemed.
• If you upgrade from Amex Gold card to American Express Platinum card, you’ll be disqualified from earning the American Express Platinum card’s initial bonus offer of 80,000 points.
• American Express will credit the pro-rated portion of the Amex Gold card’s annual fee that you’ve already paid toward the new American Express Platinum card and charge the remainder of the new card’s $695 annual fee to the first month’s billing statement.
• If you qualify for an upgrade from Amex Gold card to American Express Platinum card, you should get your new card within 7-10 business days of approval.
• The card number, credit limit and APR won’t change, but the new card will come with a different expiration date and security code.
• There’s no hard inquiry associated with an upgrade, so there’s no effect on your credit score.

Once you upgrade, you’ll get perks like 5 points / $1 spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (up to $500,000 spent per year) and prepaid hotels booked with Amex. The card also offers annual Uber and airline fee credits, automatic elite status with the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy loyalty programs to enrolled cardmembers, and more.

Six or more credit card accounts might be too many for some people, given that the average American has a total of five credit cards. Everyone should have at least one credit card for credit-building purposes, even if they don’t use it to make purchases, but the exact number of cards you should have… read full answer differs by person. It depends on how well you can manage one credit card, then two, and so on.

If you’re not sure how many credit cards is too many for you, there are a number of factors you can think about when making your decision. In particular, consider your recent spending and payment history. If you’re having trouble paying the full statement balance by the due date on each account you already have open, think twice about applying for another credit card account.

How to Determine How Many Credit Cards Is Too Many For You

1. Look at your credit report and score.

   If you have a history of financial mistakes, such as missed payments, you probably don’t want to get more than one card until you prove yourself to be a responsible borrower. Besides, it may be hard to get more than one worthwhile cards with damaged credit, anyway.

2. Review your utilization and payment history.

   If you’re maxing out all the cards you have, credit card companies probably won’t want to give you more spending power. Plus, credit card debt can be very expensive, and you don’t want to rack up balances that exceed what you can repay comfortably.

3. Consider credit card company rules.

   Some issuers have unofficial rules regarding how many credit cards is too many for an applicant to have. For example, there are lots of rumors floating around that Chase will deny a credit card application if you’ve already opened five accounts (from any issuers) in the past 24 months. Such restrictions could limit your options for opening a new account, or just serve as a sign that you might want to slow down the pace of your applications.

4. Determine how well you’re keeping track of your credit cards.

   Even if your credit is good and you’ve never forgotten to pay a bill, that doesn’t mean you never will. Having too many open accounts to keep track of can lead to forgotten due dates, interest charges from simply forgetting to pay a credit card in full, and other issues. If you have trouble listing your credit cards from memory, you’re likely to forget to pay one at some point.

There are benefits to having more than one credit card account. Having several credit cards can help you save money by allowing you to get the best collection of rates and rewards for your biggest transactions. For example, you could get a flat-rate cash back credit card for everyday expenses, a bonus rewards card for travel, and a balance transfer card to reduce the cost of existing debt. Having multiple cards can also help your credit score if you keep your credit utilization low and your payments on time.

What you should watch out for is applying for too many credit cards too quickly. It’s best to not apply for more than one or two per year, as each application puts a hard inquiry on your credit report and temporarily hurts your credit score.

The more data that’s at your disposal, the easier it will be to decide how many credit cards you should have. WalletHub can help with free daily credit score updates and personalized credit-improvement advice.

You can downgrade your Amex card by calling customer service at (800) 528-4800. Then, ask a representative about available downgrade options. However, there are a few things to consider before calling.

Here’s more info about the Amex downgrade option:

• Amex users must switch to the same type of card they had originally. Switching from a charge card to a credit card or from a cash back card to a card with points is not allowed, for example. In addition, you cannot downgrade from a regular card to a co-branded card, or the other way around. These same rules apply to upgrades.… read full answer
• Your American Express account must be in good standing to downgrade a card.
• American Express uses a soft pull for downgrades, so there’s no effect on your credit score.
• Card members can also ask about downgrade options through Amex’s online chat feature. Although it’s possible to complete the downgrade process online via chat, some cardholders may still be asked to call in depending on their situation.

The best way to downgrade, even if you use the chat to find downgrade options, is to call customer service and ask the rep about your choices. Representatives frequently offer different downgrade options than what you may find online. Feel free to call back multiple times if you don’t love your selection on the first attempt. You might have better luck with a different customer service rep.