Originally Posted by sdcacevedo
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).
Maybe charge cards are different, but they will downgrade a credit card. I had no problems downgrading a regular SkyMiles card to a SkyMiles Options. (This could also be because the different charge cards are different products, whereas the SkyMiles cards are the same product at different levels.)
As for the OP, if you're going to travel on DL/CO/NW a lot, or plan to use the FHR rates, it's certainly worth it. The Concierge can range from being completely useless to occasionally being extremely useful (e.g., sometimes being able to get you a reservation at a "full" restaurant.)
Personally I just picked up a Chairman Card mainly for the Priority Pass and will be dropping the Amex Platinum shortly. You might want to consider the Chairman Card if you're after lounge access primarily.
(I still love Amex for their customer service and reward programs though. No plans to stop charging almost everything to my *wood Amex.)