i think (but i could be wrong) that american express will not allow you to downgrade a charge card.. i know that if you qualify, they will upgrade your current charge account if you want..but if you do decide to upgrade from gold to plat, you will not be able to go back to gold from plat..at that point you will need to cancel the plat for a new gold (not recomended, b/c it will drop your fico slightly)..

if you could get a new plat account w/ the first year fee free, then i try it out b/c you could always close the account a year later..