American Express Membership Rewards - amex premier rewards card cancel or downgrade?

I just got hit with the annual fee on July 22nd and it shows the fee is due by August 6th. Called and they said No fee waiver or credits and they can cancel it if I ask. So they want me to keep by paying $175 fee or cancel.

What other non annual fee cards with cash backs/ rewards points/miles are out there to downgrade to?

Thanks

Do you mean only Amex cards, or all cards?

Do you have MR points currently that have not been transferred to a travel partner? If so, how many?

What, approximately, is your annual spending on credit cards?

Do you mean only Amex cards, or all cards?

Do you have MR points currently that have not been transferred to a travel partner? If so, how many?

What, approximately, is your annual spending on credit cards?

I meant the AMEX PREMIER REWARDS card only. I have 1k points left there and annual spending is not more than 4k cos I mostly use chase cards.

I have the amex one no annual fee card since 2006( it is not downgradeble to any amex cards & it gives no points/miles cash backs and I have good history with this card.

I also have the amex gold biz card applied with amex premier rewards card back in july 2011 for 75k points bonus each. I don't use this card much and annual fee hasn't come up yet.

I meant the AMEX PREMIER REWARDS card only.

I have the amex one no annual fee card since 2006( it is not downgradeble to any amex cards & it gives no points/miles cash backs and I have good history with this card.

There is confusion.

Premier Rewards Gold is the name of a card. It participates in the program called Membership Rewards. There is no "premier rewards" program.

American Express issues several cards with no annual fee. Which one do you already have?

There is confusion.

Premier Rewards Gold is the name of a card. It participates in the program called Membership Rewards. There is no "premier rewards" program.

American Express issues several cards with no annual fee. Which one do you already have?

I have already said amex premier rewards card and i am hit with annual fee of $175. 2 senior reps I spoke to says no credits or fee waiver.


which amex card is good to downgrade to? I know that by downgrading I don't damage my credit score but don't get any sign up bonuses. Or should I just cancel it since I don't use it much?

Above was my main question seeking suggestions!

I have other amex cards like the AMEX ONE CARD which I have kept open and been using since 2006. I mean to say that this so called AMEX ONE CARD no longer offers cash backs and the saving account automatically linked to this card is discontinued and the 20 something amex senior reps I spoke to says this card is not downgradable to any other amex card, but I chose to keep it open anyway becos I have good history with it and it has no fee.

I also have the amex gold business card applied with the amex premier rewards gold card in July 2011 for 75k bonus points each and I will have to cancel this card too since I rarely use it and won't keep with annual fee.

Thanks

The only reason to downgrade from a charge card to Blue from American Express is to maintain a Membership Rewards balance. Even if you do not have a balance now it may be helpful in the future to avoid inadvertently closing your rewards account.

See this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1303190-mr-earning-cards-no-annual-fee.html

The only reason to downgrade from a charge card to Blue from American Express is to maintain a Membership Rewards balance. Even if you do not have a balance now it may be helpful in the future to avoid inadvertently closing your rewards account.

See this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1303190-mr-earning-cards-no-annual-fee.html

thanks!

I only have about 1k amex membership rewards points on my amex PR gold and AMEX gold biz card.

maybe i should downgrade to the blue cash but that doesn't work right becos what i got is charge card?

... doesn't work ...

You will need to ask. There are mixed reports on converting from a charge card to Blue from American Express without a credit pull.

Here's a tangentially related question while this thread is active:

My AmEx PRG is associated with my oldest open credit account. An AmEx green card was my first credit or charge card I opened out of college! In the past, I've upgraded from Green to gold, and from Gold to Premier Rewards Gold; however I've never downgraded!

If I downgrade to a regular Green Card, do I get to keep my long positive history associated with this account?

I have no reason to believe I wouldn't, but I was just idly curious this morning.

...do I get to keep my long positive history associated with this account?

Yes, all of your USA-issued American Express card accounts should have the same Member Since date.

That's precisely the reason I recommend to all people who start working on their credit score (students, immigrants, etc.) to get an Amex card as soon as possible. Average credit history age is important for credit score, and you can offset the negative effect of card churning with a few Amexes if you've held membership for a number of years.

The only reason to downgrade from a charge card to Blue from American Express is to maintain a Membership Rewards balance...

2nd reason, as I just pleasantly found out when calling to downgrade AMEX PRG card & getting offered Blue card with 10K bonus pts if $1K spend in 3 mos., no annual fee, PRG pts transferred.

My question: is there BETTER than 10K Blue card offer out there?
Thanks in advance!

2nd reason, as I just pleasantly found out when calling to downgrade AMEX PRG card & getting offered Blue card with 10K bonus pts if $1K spend in 3 mos., no annual fee, PRG pts transferred.

My question: is there BETTER than 10K Blue card offer out there?
Thanks in advance!

Is this with/without a credit pull? Meaning is the account getting straight converted, or are you closing one, opening another?

Mia's reply above has me curious. I was under the impression that you can't just downgrade to Blue as PRG is charge versus credit (Blue). I was going to Zync it up as I don't want any more pulls while considering a refi.

Also, anyone have suggestions for what to do with a Gold Biz for no/reduced annual fee?

Also, anyone have suggestions for what to do with a Gold Biz for no/reduced annual fee?

The Blue for Business card is interesting if you keep it for a few years, because you can earn up to 1.3 points per dollar on general spending:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1301451-new-blue-business-usa.html

The Blue for Business card is interesting if you keep it for a few years, because you can earn up to 1.3 points per dollar on general spending:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1301451-new-blue-business-usa.html

Mia - Is this like the prg/blue situation re: the charge/credit situation? Any idea if there is a fee or low fee charge option so that I can avoid credit pulls?

I do not know if there is a credit pull when downgrading an existing charge card to a credit card. There are mixed reports. My hunch is that it is related to the length and strength of the cardholder's history with American Express.

There are no longer any no-fee charge cards, personal or business. If you want a no-fee card it will be a credit card.

Thanks Mia. Will make a few calls to Amex this week or the next and get it all sorted out and report back. Any ideas BTW if downgrading causes account #'s to change? Would hate to have to resync for all the Amex LLL/Twitter specials :)

The account number will change if you cross the charge::credit barrier. If you change credit:credit or charge:charge it can remain the same.

I have the same situation with business and personal annual fee being due in early august. I have about 100K that I don't want to loose. So it looks like if I can downgrade I can keep points and still be able to transfer them later the same as if I had the earning card, correct? Then the question about credit pull. I have been holding out for a couple of months but there are no good transfer options at this point. Wait to hear if anyone finds something else out. Thanks.

^^is the account getting straight converted, or are you closing one, ^^opening another?

Converted. My 400+ PRG pts. were transferred to the Blue downgrader.