Originally Posted by
Yoshi212
Pros:
-Avoiding a credit pull
-Losing credit history length if you'd close the other card.
Cons:
-From no to low to at least lower bonus compared to the signup bonuses offered on new cards.
-Can lose out on a prorate credit of the annual fee depending on the card and issuer.
-Lose chance of signup bonus in the future
In the case of AMEX, they usually do a soft-pull when you already have a credit card with them so that's decent I guess.
What if you're doing something like a CSP upgraded to a CSR? Is that even worth it? United Explorer Card > United MileagePlus Card?
Originally Posted by
sdsearch
Additional pro:
Does not count as a new card, and therefore does not increase your Chase 5/24 count.
Additional con:
If the upgrade is done in the middle of your original card's yearly cycle, it may in some cases be confusing as to which annually-given benefits of the new card are on what calendar cycle. In the same case, it may be confusing as to how much annual fee you'll owe when, for the same reason that it's unclear whether it's using your old card's calendar cycle or re-synced to your upgrade date.
Ah that's definitely a pro, I just applied for the United Explorer Card and I would eventually want to upgrade, but I don't know if that's worth it at all. I'd like to keep it simple so I can apply for the CSP/CSR in the future.
That's definitely going to be a blur when it happens, the annual benefits do seem weird. I'm just asking because I do have both the AMEX Gold and Platinum, but in terms of general knowledge... I want to know more about it and don't run into unseen circumstances that can be avoided when dealing with opening a new credit card or upgrading/downgrading one.