How To Upgrade or Downgrade the Amex Platinum Card [2024]

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is, without a doubt, one of the most popular travel cards in the business. Offering superb luxury travel benefits and impressive rewards, it’s almost impossible to beat this card if you’re looking to get pampered.

But let’s say you gave this card a shot and found that it’s not the right fit — maybe you’re looking to make a change and swap out your card for something else.

In this guide, we’ll compare the benefits of the major types of cards in the same family as the Amex Platinum card and show you how you can downgrade or upgrade your Amex Platinum card to another product.

Amex Platinum Card — Overview

Before we dive into how to downgrade or upgrade your Amex Platinum card, let’s take a quick moment to review the card and the benefits you receive as a cardholder.

BEST LOUNGE ACCESS

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Learn More(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,760

Annual Fee

$695

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card^® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card^® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card^® Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card^® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck^® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card^®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.¤
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Some of our favorite perks include:

• 5x points on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 spent per year, then 1x points), and on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com
• Access to over 1,400 lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
• Access to American Express’ Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection
• Elite status and benefits with National, Avis, and Hertz (upon enrollment)
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (upon enrollment)
• Up to $200 airline incidental credit (upon enrollment)
• Up to $200 prepaid hotel credit towards eligible stays
• Up to $200 Uber Cash credit per year
• Up to $199 CLEAR Plus credit
• Up to $120 Global Entry (as of October 1, 2024) or up to $85 TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• No foreign transaction fees (rates & fees)
• Impressive travel insurance, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay insurance, and more

Downgrading Your Amex Platinum Card

It’s recommended that your Amex Platinum card is at least 1 year old before you can downgrade your card to the American Express^® Gold Card or the American Express^® Green Card*.

Amex Gold Card

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

American Express^® Gold Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

Learn More(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

American Express^® Gold Card

This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

60,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$325

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Gold Card is a game-changer.

With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants, up to $50,000 per calendar year, and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1x.

There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are several other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 4x points per dollar at restaurants worldwide, up to $50,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 4x points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year; then 1x thereafter
• 3x points per dollar on flights purchased directly from airlines or at AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $325 annual fee (rates and fees)
• No lounge access

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 4X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 2X Membership Rewards^® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
• Earn 1X Membership Rewards^® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
• $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations.
• $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express^® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
• Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. Eligible charges vary by property.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees.
• Annual Fee is $325.
• Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Amex Green Card

American Express^® Green Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

All information about American Express^® Green Card has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

American Express^® Green Card

This card can provide a great way to accumulate Membership Rewards points on eligible travel, transit, and at restaurants.

Welcome Offer

Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

40,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$880

Annual Fee

$150

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The American Express^® Green Card is an excellent all-around travel rewards card thanks to earning 3x Membership Rewards^® points on eligible travel and transit purchases and at restaurants, access to American Express transfer partners, and a reasonable annual fee.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 3x points per $1 spent at restaurants worldwide, on all eligible travel purchases, and transit purchases
• Up to $199 per calendar year in statement credits after you pay for a CLEAR^® Plus membership with the Card.
• Up to $100 in statement credits annually when you purchase airport lounge access through LoungeBuddy with the Card.

Cons

• $150 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your American Express^® Green Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, campgrounds, and vacation rentals.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® Points on transit purchases, including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
• Earn 3X Membership Rewards^® points on eligible purchases at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the US.
• $199 CLEAR Plus Credit: Receive up to $199 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the American Express^® Green Card.
• $100 LoungeBuddy: No airport lounge membership? No problem! Purchase lounge access through the LoungeBuddy app using the American Express^® Green Card and receive up to $100 in statement credits annually.
• Payment Flexibility: When it comes to paying your bill, you have options. You can always pay in full. You also have the flexibility to carry a balance with interest or use Plan It^® to split up large purchases into monthly payments with a fixed fee, up to your Pay Over Time Limit. You may be able to keep spending beyond your limit – you’ll just need to pay for any new purchases in full when your bill is due.
• Trip Delay Insurance: If a round-trip is paid for entirely with your Eligible Card and a covered reason delays your trip more than 12 hours, Trip Delay Insurance can help reimburse certain additional expenses purchased on the same Eligible Card, up to $300 per trip, maximum 2 claims per eligible account per 12 consecutive month period. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Coverage is provided by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
• No Foreign Transaction Fees: No matter where you’re traveling, when you use your American Express^® Green Card there are no foreign transaction fees.
• $150 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Downgrades can take place in 2 ways:

1. Call the number on the back of your card and request a downgrade of your Amex Platinum card.
2. Start a chat conversation after logging into your Amex online account to request a downgrade of your Amex Platinum card.

*The information regarding the American Express^® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Hot Tip:

When you process the downgrade of your Amex Platinum card, you may be able to get a prorated refund of the annual fee you paid.

Reasons To Downgrade Your Amex Platinum Card

Below, we’ll focus on reasons why you might consider downgrading your Amex Platinum card to either the Amex Gold card or Amex Green card.

You Don’t Travel Much Anymore

The Amex Platinum card is first and foremost a travel card, which means its benefits will help frequent travelers the most. It comes with a $695 annual fee (rates & fees), but also a bevy of travel perks.

If you’re able to use most of these benefits, particularly the statement credits, then their value easily outweighs the annual fee in spades — but that’s if you can actually use them.

If you’re truly cutting down on travel, the Amex Platinum card probably isn’t going to be a good fit for you moving forward. Instead, you can downgrade your Amex Platinum card to the Amex Gold card or Amex Green card, both of which offer mild travel benefits but strong rewards for popular spending categories.

You Don’t Want To Pay a High Annual Fee

If you’re looking to cut down your spending in general, one of the easier ways to do that is to cancel a high annual fee card — and the Amex Platinum card is definitely one you’ll turn your attention to for this reason.

So if you’re tight on cash and don’t want to pay a large $695 annual fee, there’s a strong case to downgrade your Amex Platinum card, even though you’ll lose all of its travel benefits.

You Want More Rewards on Everyday Spending Categories

A common realization for many with a travel card is that the value of the rewards you earn for spending is more than the benefits you enjoy on the card.

For example, if you travel only once or twice per year, you might get some value from the Amex Platinum card, but not as much value as a road warrior that travels every other week.

Meanwhile, if you spend a lot of money at restaurants or supermarkets, the Amex Gold card is almost a dream come true with its strong points-earning bonus categories.

For example, if you spend $3,000 per month on eating out, you could earn 4x points on those points with the Amex Gold card, which is 144,000 Membership Rewards points per year, worth $3,168 by our valuations. In contrast, if you spend all that money on the Amex Platinum card, you’d only earn 36,000 Membership Rewards points, which are worth $792 based on our estimations.

The Amex Platinum card isn’t an ideal card for everyday spending, whereas the Amex Gold card and Amex Green card offer multiple times better rewards on everyday categories like dining, groceries, travel, transit, and more.

Bottom Line:

If you look at your spending patterns and discover that you’re missing out on thousands of dollars worth of rewards by using the Amex Platinum card instead of the Amex Green card or Amex Gold card, you might want to consider downgrading your card.

Upgrading Your Amex Platinum Card

Upgrading your Amex Platinum card is a lot different from upgrading a lower-tier Amex card, simply because the Amex Platinum card can’t be upgraded to any other card besides the Centurion^® Card from American Express. However, you can’t upgrade to the Centurion card unless you’re invited.

The Centurion card is informally known as the Amex Black card and comes loaded with luxury benefits, however, it also charges an eye-popping $5,000 annual fee and $10,000 initiation fee. In the past, you were allowed to request an invite to the Centurion card, but American Express has recently rescinded the ability to do so — now, the only way to get invited to the Centurion card is to be a loyal American Express customer and spend a lot on your Amex cards.

Anecdotally, the minimum spending requirement you’ll likely need to have on your Amex Platinum card to even get considered for an invite to the Centurion card is $250,000 per year.

In practice, the minimum figure is probably closer to $500,000 per year — however, in our experience, it’s actually more important to have a long, perfect payment history and relationship with American Express to be considered for the Centurion card.

We’ve seen people with spending that exceeds far beyond that figure who continue to wait for an invite, while those who spend near the minimum requirement but have a long (20+ year) history with American Express get invited to become a Centurion cardholder.

All information about the Centurion^® Card from American Express has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.

Reasons To Upgrade Your Amex Platinum Card

Now that we’ve compiled all of the reasons to downgrade your Amex Platinum card, let’s take a look at all of the reasons why you might consider upgrading your Amex Platinum card to the Centurion card.

Admittedly, if you’ve been invited to upgrade to the Centurion card and are considering doing so, you’re likely in the 1% of the 1%.

You Get Invited to the Centurion Card

If you’ve been invited to upgrade your Amex Platinum card to the Centurion card, you’ve essentially been invited by American Express into one of the most exclusive clubs in the world.

Typically, you will get a package in the mail inviting you to upgrade to the Centurion card. This package may contain a phone number to call, as well as an invite code to provide to the Centurion service agent.

If one of your life goals has been to get entry to this club and you’re willing to pay thousands of dollars in annual fees and initiation fees, then you should absolutely accept an upgrade offer if you’re invited.

You’re Looking for Super High-end Benefits

Maybe you liked the Amex Platinum card’s travel benefits, but you were left wanting for even more luxurious perks from your card.

While it’s difficult to decline an invitation to one of the most hyped-up financial products out there, you should still evaluate whether or not you can get enough value from the card to justify the $10,000 initiation fee and $5,000 annual fee (as well as a $5,000 annual fee for each additional cardholder, up to 2 additional cardholders).

Here’s the shortlist of the Centurion card’s notable perks (terms and conditions apply for all benefits):

• Access to the Centurion concierge service
• Access to Centurion New York, a new luxury space located on the 55th floor of One Vanderbilt in the heart of Midtown Manhattan delivering luxury hospitality and dining
• Complimentary Delta SkyMiles Platinum Medallion status
• Access to the Centurion Hotel Program (includes a room upgrade at the time of booking when available and an additional property credit of around ~$200 per stay) at properties like Aman, Belmond, Mandarin Oriental, Oetker Collection, Peninsula Hotels, Rosewood, St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite, and IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status
• Access to Centurion International Arrival Services (meet and greet service)
• Complimentary PS membership (private airport lounge) and an annual complimentary visit 
• Complimentary Equinox Destination Access membership
• Up to $250 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits per quarter

There are a ton more benefits associated with this card, but this is just a taste of what you can expect when you hold this card. These perks are all quite valuable if you can use them, and even if you take advantage of just a few, you may be able to justify the annual fee.

For the right person, the Centurion card could actually end up saving money. For example, the Equinox Destination Access membership can cost typically around $290 per month. If you use your Centurion card to get a complimentary Equinox membership, you’d be saving upwards of $3,480 per year from this 1 perk alone.

Amex Membership Rewards Cards

Now, in this next section, we’ll walk you through each of the major products in the same family as the Amex Platinum card. From most premium to least premium, here are the cards in the personal Membership Rewards family:

• Centurion card (invite-only)
• Amex Platinum card
• Amex Gold card
• Amex Green card

You should be able to downgrade your Amex Platinum card to the Amex Gold card or Amex Green card without issue as long as your card has been open for at least 12 months.

But you can only upgrade your Amex Platinum card to the Centurion card if you get invited.

Benefits Comparison

Below you can compare the benefits of each card side-by-side:

Final Thoughts

Downgrading or upgrading your Amex Platinum card is a big decision. You probably opened this card to take advantage of the travel benefits and to earn Amex Membership Rewards points (and maybe even for the card’s prestige).

Your favorite travel companion could potentially be no more — if you upgrade your Amex Platinum card, you’ll join the likes of the ultra-wealthy with the Centurion card.

If you downgrade your Amex Platinum card to the Amex Gold card or Amex Green card, you’ll still have a fantastic card, though it’ll mostly be a machine for earning lots of Amex points.

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For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the trip delay insurance benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.