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The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives, helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach. That's why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality.
Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
Ethan's been a frequent flier for as long as he can remember, from studying abroad in Paris to moving to Shanghai after graduating college, where he served as TPG's eyes and ears for all things travel in the Asia-Pacific region. If you asked him where he wants to travel next he'd quote Anthony Bourdain and tell you "anytime I'm eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I'm happy."
Chris was a reporter at The Points Guy, where he covered the intersection of credit card rewards and travel. At TPG, he wrote a broad array of stories ranging from in-depth features and reports to trending travel news as it related to loyalty, card benefits and consumer behavior.
also contributed to this story
August 5, 2024 • 11 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Upgrading a credit card can provide enhanced benefits without opening a new account or affecting your credit score.
Eligibility for upgrades is typically limited to cards within the same product family, and rules vary by issuer.
Upgrading may disqualify you from future welcome offers on certain products, making timing and strategy important.
Some issuers allow upgrades without impacting future bonuses, but others have strict lifetime or time-based restrictions.
What to consider
Upgrades generally do not create a new credit inquiry or change your account history, but may impact bonus eligibility for new accounts.
Some issuers have strict terms regarding upgrades and downgrades, including waiting periods and potential clawbacks if changes are made too soon.
Always review current terms and targeted upgrade offers, as rules and eligibility can differ significantly between issuers and card families.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of issuer-specific upgrade and downgrade policies, including timing recommendations and bonus eligibility nuances.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
For each card in your wallet, you should decide whether the card is a keeper or whether you’ll eventually try to upgrade or downgrade it. After all, by upgrading a card, you can enjoy increased benefits. And by downgrading a card, you can pay a lower annual fee — or potentially no annual fee.
Before discussing each issuer’s specifics, let’s consider a few essential things about upgrading cards.
Upgrading shouldn't affect your credit score
When you upgrade a card, you aren’t opening a new account, so there shouldn’t be a new inquiry on your credit report. Your online login information will stay the same, and while you’ll receive a new physical card in the mail, your account history, credit limit and other factors that affect your credit score won’t change. You may even keep the exact same credit card number.
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You probably won’t see the upgrade reflected anywhere on your credit report. However, you can use this to your advantage. Upgrading a credit card might be a great option if you’re about to close on a house and don’t want any new credit inquiries to mess up your mortgage application process.
You may earn a bonus — but likely won't
Sometimes, you can earn a bonus for upgrading a card. If a card issuer launches a new product or wants to entice people to move up to the premium version within a certain card family, it may offer bonus points for upgrading. American Express has been known to do this the most, offering upgrade offers from time to time for premium cards such as the American Express® Gold Card.
However, the majority of cards won't offer a bonus for upgrading — and there's another potential drawback along these lines.
You may sacrifice a future bonus
One of the biggest downsides to upgrading a credit card is that many issuers now base your eligibility for new welcome offers on which credit cards you’ve had open, not just which cards you’ve earned a welcome offer on. We’ll dive into the issuer-specific rules below, but this is an important factor in your decision.
You may not be able to upgrade
Generally speaking, issuers only allow upgrades within a single family of cards. For example, you couldn’t upgrade from the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card to The Platinum Card® from American Express. You might be able to upgrade your Delta SkyMiles Gold Amex to the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card. However, as we’ll see in a minute, that might not be the best idea.
Finally, issuers generally won’t let you change products between a personal credit card and a business credit card.
American Express has some of the stricter rules around upgrades, partly because it offers a wide mix of personal, business and cobranded credit cards.
Amex doesn’t formally require you to wait a year to upgrade or downgrade cards. While you may decide to upgrade in your first year, especially if you get a targeted upgrade offer, we strongly recommend waiting at least a full year before downgrading an Amex card.
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Amex has very broad language in its terms and conditions, giving it the ability to claw back your offers if it believes you’re gaming the system. One of the few types of abuse explicitly defined is downgrading a card within the first year. For example, here’s the relevant section of the welcome offer terms and conditions for the Delta Reserve Amex:
“If we, in our sole discretion, determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so (for example, if you applied for one or more cards to obtain a welcome offer(s) that we did not intend for you; if you cancel or downgrade your account within 12 months after acquiring it; or if you cancel or return purchases you made to meet the Threshold Amount), we may not credit bonus miles and MQMs to your account. We may also cancel this Card account and other Card accounts you may have with us.”
Amex also has incredibly stringent rules for welcome offer eligibility. Specifically, you can only earn the welcome offer on a card if you’ve never held that card before in your life. This means that upgrading a card, whether or not there’s any offer involved, would likely preclude you from ever getting the welcome offer on that card again. This makes the opportunity cost of upgrading Amex cards incredibly high.
As such, you might be better off just applying for a new account and canceling (or downgrading) the card you don’t want.
Upgrading an Amex Gold to an Amex Platinum
The American Express® Gold Card is compelling to many consumers but still has trouble competing with The Platinum Card® from American Express in terms of overall perks.
There are some great reasons to hold both an Amex Gold and a Platinum, but we strongly suggest you avoid a product change between these cards. Instead, it’s better simply to apply for the cards you want.
Capital One allows upgrades within their respective card families. So, you could upgrade your Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, for example. The issuer doesn't have a hard rule about how long you have to wait before upgrading, but we recommend waiting at least six months before attempting a product change — and at least a year if you're downgrading.
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Think twice before changing your Capital One card, though. An upgrade or downgrade could make you ineligible for a sign-up bonus on that card in the future.
Plus, Capital One allows you to hold both the Venture and Venture X at the same time. You may decide it's worth it to have both cards and get both bonuses rather than upgrade or downgrade between them.
Thanks to Chase’s 5/24 rule, many people start their credit card journey with Chase. So, Chase is often the first issuer for which a consumer may attempt to upgrade a card.
Chase may allow you to product change cards within the same family, although your account generally must be at least one year old. If you want to upgrade, you can call the number on the back of your card and ask about upgrade options.
Upgrading a Chase Sapphire Preferred to a Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase offers two of the best travel rewards cards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve®. However, you can only have one of these cards at a time. This means you have to make a choice when you initially apply — but what if you change your mind after a year?
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This is a great example of when to upgrade or downgrade a card. After the first year, you can pick the Chase Sapphire product that offers you the right mix of travel benefits and bonus categories with an annual fee you’re willing to pay.
Another common upgrade is from a Chase Freedom Flex® or Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) to a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve.
It’s generally best to wait until you can apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve and earn the sign-up bonus. However, if you’ve used up all your 5/24 slots and don’t plan to be under 5/24 any time soon, upgrading might be your best option — as long as you'll enjoy enough value to cover the card's annual fee.
You can also downgrade in the reverse direction. If you can’t justify the annual fee on your Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred, downgrading to a no-annual-fee card such as the Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited is a great way to keep your account open. You generally want to keep your accounts open so they continue to age and strengthen your credit report.
Between increased competition from other issuers and a painful devaluation of many travel protections, Citi has lost a lot of ground in the travel rewards industry in recent years. If you receive a targeted email invitation, you can upgrade a Citi credit card. You can also call the number on the back of your Citi card and ask whether there are any upgrade options.
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Interestingly, Citi’s bonus eligibility requirements don’t seem to be affected by upgrades. Specifically, the landing page for the Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees) notes:
Bonus ThankYou® Points are not available if you received a new cardmember bonus for Citi Rewards+℠, Citi ThankYou® Preferred, Citi ThankYou® Premier/Citi Strata Premier® or Citi Prestige®, or if you have closed any of these accounts, in the past 24 months.
So, upgrading or downgrading Citi ThankYou Rewards cards without receiving new cardmember bonuses shouldn’t prohibit you from earning a bonus on a Citi ThankYou Rewards card every 24 months if you time your applications carefully. However, check the language on your application before applying. Likewise, you’ll see similar language on most cobranded Citi cards.
The information for the Citi Prestige Card and Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
