My thoughts on downgrading instead of canceling were that a) I could still use some of the benefits of the card (for instance, 2 points per $1 on dining with CSP), and b) would hurt my credit score less because I wouldn't be eliminating entire credit lines (therefore reducing my total overall credit available). Is it really so bad to have to call Chase and get them to "move" credit from an existing card to a new one?

I guess my real concern is whether I really need to keep any "premium" Chase cards to be able to transfer points at a moment's notice, or whether I should just cancel/downgrade to avoid the annual fees, and just apply for new cards later on when I actually may need to transfer points out.