I went through the link in post #4 and was almost done with the upgrade process when I noticed I wasn't going to get the 15,000 points for a $1,000 spend in the first three months, and it didn't mention anything about a waived annual fee.
Here are the benefits listed of the card as per my upgrade page:
- Earn Membership RewardsŪ points up to three times as fast: You can earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else(1)
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points: when you spend $30,000 per calendar year(2)
- Gold Card Destinations: Enjoy special travel packages and upgrades
- Gold Card Events(3): Access to Preferred Seating, pre-sale tickets, and more
- Additional Cards: Share the benefits of membership with your loved ones and earn points even faster
It still looks like a better deal than the Rewards Plus Gold Card (which I was going to upgrade from), but I'm going to hold off for now and see if I can get the offer with the waived fee and 15,000 sign-up points. (Going through the link in post #4 didn't do it for me. Maybe I'll call.)
EDIT: It appears I can see the waived fee/sign-up points offer if I open that link in another browser where I'm not logged in. I'd prefer to upgrade my current card (or at least have AMEX decide to offer me another card without a hard inquiry, which if I go through the logged-in application process, it says nothing about pulling my credit file) rather than apply for a new card. Any advice on how to do this while still getting the bonus and waived fee?