American Express Membership Rewards - Gold to Plat upgrade

So I was thinking... Why do I pay AmEx $150 a year? No clue really.

Well I would use the DL/CO/NW lounges so I thought I would upgrade to Plat. One issue; I have not received any MR bonus offers but only letters offering the upgrade. I read here on FT that people get 20K to 50K MR bonus points for the upgrade.

So I called and explain Chase/UA gave me a bunch of miles for a Gold to Plat card upgrade and a $25 fee increase but AmEx only offered a 6K MR bonus for a $300. How nice of them

So what do I do? I want the points solely for the prinicpal of the issue. I could simply buy a DL/CO/NW membership for a similar cost of the Plat card and cancel my gold.

Thanks - Pimp#1

if youre not going to use FHR and other benefits, i would not upgrade..

if youre not going to use FHR and other benefits, i would not upgrade..

Oh I would ~3 times. Also would like to get an EOS award (heard they are hard to get). So I feel it would be a good move but the question of equal upgrade bonus lingers....and is turning into a 'upgrade to Plat or cancel my AmEx' issue. If AmEx only kept the EveryDay Spending deal or frequent double point deals........

I have called about 4 times trying to get an incentive to upgrade to platinum (either reduced or no annual fee 1st year or MR bonus) and got rejected every time. You pretty much have to be targeted for those offers. They might offer them depending on how long you've had accounts and how much your spending is on the card. Some get them for spending thousands, and others simply don't use the card awhile and get them. It's weird how it works.

I am still deciding on whether I'm going to upgrade. I fly twice a month for business, so I'd use the lounges. The FHR program and domestic companion tickets are useful also. Alot of the other benefits either come with the gold card or I wouldn't use them anyway.

I have called about 4 times trying to get an incentive to upgrade to platinum (either reduced or no annual fee 1st year or MR bonus) and got rejected every time. You pretty much have to be targeted for those offers. They might offer them depending on how long you've had accounts and how much your spending is on the card. Some get them for spending thousands, and others simply don't use the card awhile and get them. It's weird how it works.

I am still deciding on whether I'm going to upgrade. I fly twice a month for business, so I'd use the lounges. The FHR program and domestic companion tickets are useful also. Alot of the other benefits either come with the gold card or I wouldn't use them anyway.


Ah the cliche. If you are going to make an effort to use the benefits, it is very worth it. If not, save the money and skip it. Look at the lounges that you get access to while flying. If you are a US cardholder, you are not getting a priority pass, but the less robust access to a few lounges. I thought this benefit would ice the deal for me, but it hs proven impossible to use as I fly UA the majority of the time.