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Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used...
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American Express tends to offer many different tiers of cards. Over time, your needs may evolve, and you might originally opt for a simple cash-back card with little to no benefits but discover that you can enhance your travels or get more out of your card by upgrading it to a more premium option.
So if you’re thinking about upgrading your Amex card to a higher-tier option, you’ve come to the right place! Today, we’re going to walk you through all the ins and outs of doing just that so you can make the best decision possible.
How To Upgrade Your Amex Card
The way you upgrade your Amex card is dependent on whether or not you see an upgrade offer online.
The first way you can tell if you have an upgrade offer is by logging into your online account at americanexpress.com and looking around on the account dashboard to see if you’ve been targeted for any upgrade offers.
Amex also sends out upgrade offers via email, which can look something like this:
Offer captured May 8, 2023, and may not be available to all cardmembers. Image Credit: American Express
Sometimes, you’ll be allowed to request an upgrade online without an offer, and it’ll look something like this (notice that there are no mentions of any offers for extra bonus rewards or points):
Image Credit: American Express
In other cases, you may need to call to upgrade your Amex card. Simply dial the number on the back of your card and speak to an agent about upgrading your Amex card.
You’ll need to have your card open for at least 1 year to be eligible to upgrade, and you must upgrade to a card within the same “family” of cards. For example, you cannot upgrade a Hilton credit card to a Marriott credit card because they are not in the same family.
Also, you can’t upgrade a personal card to a business card and vice-versa.
Reasons To Upgrade Your Amex Card
Although the decision to upgrade your Amex card depends on the individual, there are a few different groups of people for which it makes a lot of sense to upgrade:
You Get a Targeted Upgrade Offer
If you were thinking about upgrading your Amex card at one point but just haven’t pulled the trigger for one reason or another, you might want to do so as soon as you get an upgrade offer delivered to your email inbox or online account.
These targeted upgrade offers are particularly lucrative and could mean thousands of dollars back in your pocket.
Targeted upgrade offers are sent only to specific cardholders, and they’re typically time-sensitive. In some cases, the offers are so time-sensitive that they may be pulled even before the quoted expiration date!
For example, if you receive a targeted upgrade offer that requires your action by June 30, don’t be surprised if you try to accept the upgrade offer by June 27 and the offer is no longer valid!
There’s a Specific Perk You’re Looking For
Usually, when you’re considering upgrading your card, you’re doing so because there’s an attractive benefit or feature offered on the card you’re contemplating upgrading to.
The list goes on, but those who benefit most from upgrading their card will be focused on the 1 or 2 specific benefits where they would get the most value.
Your Spending Habits Change
Another great reason to upgrade your Amex card is if your spending habits start changing. For example, let’s say you currently have the American Express® Green Card and you originally got it because you spend a substantial amount of money every month on eating out as a young professional.
But as time went on, you got married, started a family, and your food expenses skyrocketed — you still eat out from time to time, but most of the spending is now at grocery stores.
This would be a fantastic reason to upgrade your Amex Green card to the Amex Gold card, which not only earns more at restaurants worldwide (4x with the Amex Gold card compared to 3x with the Amex Green card) but also earns 4x points (on the first $25,000 per calendar year, 1x thereafter) at U.S. supermarkets.
This singular move alone could result in earning hundreds of thousands of extra points in just a few years!
Bottom Line:
You should consider upgrading your Amex card if you get a targeted upgrade offer, if you need a specific benefit that your current Amex card doesn’t have, or if your spending habits change and your card strategy needs to be re-evaluated.
Amex Membership Rewards Cards
Image Credit: American Express
In each of the following sections, we’ll be walking you through each of the major card families in the Amex portfolio and comparing the benefits that each card has to offer.
In general, you can upgrade your Amex Green card to the Amex Gold card or Amex Platinum card. Meanwhile, you can also upgrade your Amex Gold card to the Amex Platinum card.
You can upgrade the Amex Business Green card to either the Amex Business Gold card or the Amex Business Platinum card — you can upgrade your Amex Business Gold card to the Amex Business Platinum card.
*All information about these cards has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Benefits Comparison
Without further ado, let’s get neck-deep into our benefits comparison for the major Amex cards!
Note: some benefits mentioned below require enrollment through your American Express account.
Rewards
5x points on airfare purchased directly from the airline and through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 per calendar year)
5x points on prepaid hotel stays booked through Amex Travel
1x points on other eligible purchases
4x points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
4x points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per calendar year)
3x points on airfare purchased directly through the airline or Amex Travel
1x points on other eligible purchases
3x points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
3x points on transit
3x points on travel
1x points on other eligible purchases
Travel Benefits
Access to 1,400+ lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
$300 annual fee for each additional Business Platinum card, $45 annual fee for each additional Business Gold Rewards card, and no authorized user fee for each additional Business Green card (rates and fees)
$50 annual fee for the first additional Business Gold card and no authorized user fee (up to 99 total additional cards)(rates and fees)
No authorized user fee
Amex Marriott Bonvoy Cards
Image Credit: American Express
Another popular family of credit cards that Amex offers is the co-branded Marriott Bonvoy credit cards. Although Chase also shares this portfolio with Marriott Bonvoy, American Express’ territory is with the ultra-premium and business variants of the Marriott Bonvoy cards.
Currently, there are 3 personal Marriott Bonvoy Amex cards and 1 business Marriott Bonvoy Amex card:
You can upgrade from the Marriott Bonvoy card to either the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy card or the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card. However, there are no upgrade options available to those who have the Marriott Bonvoy Business card.
Now, let’s take a look at a comparison of American Express’ line of Marriott Bonvoy co-branded personal credit cards:
Benefits Comparison
Note: some benefits mentioned below require enrollment through your American Express account.
Rewards
6x points for eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
3x points at restaurants worldwide
3x points on flights booked directly with airlines
2x points on other eligible purchases
6x points for eligible purchases at hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy
4x points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets (up to $15,000 in combined purchases per calendar year, 2x thereafter)
2x points on other eligible purchases
Travel Benefits
1 Free Night Award every year after your card renewal month (up to 85,000 points)
Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite status
Up to $100 Marriott Bonvoy property credit at The Ritz-Carlton or St. Regis when you book direct using a special rate for a 2-night minimum stay
As you can see, the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant card offers automatic Platinum Elite status among other benefits, making it an excellent card to upgrade to if you value these types of benefits.
Amex Delta SkyMiles Cards
Image Credit: Delta Air Lines
Amex offers consumer and business co-branded Delta SkyMiles cards. Here are your options for the family of personal cards:
*Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available.
**Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 10 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.
Here is the card comparison table for the Delta SkyMiles business credit cards:
Rewards
3x miles on Delta purchases made directly with Delta
1.5x miles after you spend $150,000 on your card in a calendar year
1x miles on other purchases
3x miles on Delta purchases made directly with Delta and hotels
1.5x miles on purchases of $5,000 or more, up to 50,000 additional miles per calendar year
1x miles on other eligible purchases
2x miles on Delta purchases made directly with Delta
2x miles at U.S. restaurants
2x miles on U.S. shipping purchases
2x miles on U.S. advertising purchases in select media
1x miles on other eligible purchases
Travel Benefits
Take 15% off any time you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights when using Delta.com and the Fly Delta app
Earn 15,000 MQMs after you spend $30,000 on your card per calendar year, up to 4 times per year through Status Boost*
Complimentary Delta Sky Club access when you fly on Delta on the same day**
Complimentary access to The Centurion Lounge when you booked your Delta flight with your card
Delta Reserve annual companion certificate
First checked bag for free and priority boarding for yourself and up to 8 others on your reservation
Take 15% off any time you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights when using Delta.com and the Fly Delta app
Earn 10,000 MQMs after you spend $25,000 on your card per calendar year, up to 2 times per year through Status Boost*
Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal
First checked bag for free and priority boarding for yourself and up to 8 others on your reservation
Take 15% off any time you book Award Travel with miles on Delta flights when using Delta.com and the Fly Delta app
First checked bag for free and priority boarding for yourself and up to 8 others on your reservation
Statement Credits
TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit
20% statement credit on Delta inflight purchases
TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit
20% statement credit on Delta inflight purchases
$100 Delta flight toward future travel after you spend $10,000 in purchases on the card in a calendar year
No additional annual fees for authorized users (rates and fees)
No additional annual fees for authorized users (rates and fees)
No additional annual fees for authorized users (rates and fees)
*Effective 1/1/24, this benefit will no longer be available.
**Effective 2/1/25, Reserve Card Members will receive 10 Visits per year to the Delta Sky Club; to earn an unlimited number of Visits each year starting on 2/1/25, the total eligible purchases on the Card must equal $75,000 or more between 1/1/24 and 12/31/24, and each calendar year thereafter.
*All information about these cards has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
You can upgrade your Hilton Honors card to the Hilton Surpass card or the Hilton Aspire card. And you can also upgrade the Hilton Surpass card to the Hilton Aspire card.
Benefits Comparison
Note: some benefits mentioned below require enrollment through your American Express account.
Rewards
14x points on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
7x points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel
7x points on car rentals booked directly with select car rental companies
7x points at U.S. restaurants
3x points on other eligible purchases
12x points on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
6x points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
3x points on other eligible purchases
7x points on eligible purchases at hotels and resorts in the Hilton portfolio
5x points at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. restaurants, and U.S. gas stations
3x points on other eligible purchases
Travel Benefits
Complimentary Hilton Honors Diamond status
Annual Free Night Reward
An additional Free Night Reward after you spend $60,000 on purchases in a calendar year
Priority Pass Select membership upon activation
Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status
Earn Hilton Honors Diamond status after spending $40,000 on purchases in a calendar year
Earn a Weekend Night Reward after you spend $15,000 on purchases in a calendar year
10 complimentary Priority Pass Select airport lounge visits per year
Complimentary Hilton Honors Silver status
Earn Hilton Honors Diamond status after spending $20,000 on purchases in a calendar year
Statement Credits
Up to $250 Hilton resort credit
Up to $100 property credit at participating Waldorf Astoria and Conrad properties when you book a 2-night stay or longer (restrictions apply)
There’s also a Hilton Honors co-branded card that’s issued to business owners — The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card. However, you can’t upgrade or downgrade to this card since there are no other co-branded Hilton Honors business credit cards available.
Amex Cash-back Cards
Image Credit: American Express
The last set of cards we’ll discuss is the family of cash-back cards under the Amex umbrella. Currently, there are 3 cards within the Amex cash-back card family on the consumer side:
All in all, you should only upgrade your Amex card if it makes sense to do so. In general, it makes sense to upgrade your Amex card if you have an attractive welcome offer, if you want to elevate the benefits you enjoy from your card, or if you’re interested in earning rewards more effectively due to changes in spending habits.
Amex has a few different families of cards, and you can only upgrade to cards within the same family. For this reason, you can’t upgrade a Delta SkyMiles credit card to a Marriott Bonvoy credit card, for example.
Your card needs to have been open for at least 1 year in order to qualify for an upgrade, too. For this reason, you can’t upgrade a new card you just opened a few months ago.
Remember to bookmark this page to refer back to it if you’re considering upgrading one or more of your Amex cards!
The information regarding The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the American Express® Green Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Business Green Rewards Card from American Express was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy American Express® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. The information regarding the American Express Cash Magnet® Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here. For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here. For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees for the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum Business American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold Business American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here. For rates and fees of The Hilton Honors American Express Business Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.
Featured Image Credit: American Express
Frequently Asked Questions
In general, your number does not change when you upgrade your Amex card.
If you are targeted for an upgrade offer that has a bonus, it will typically show up in your online account. However, you can also access any upgrade offers by calling Amex over the phone and speaking to a customer service agent.
In the vast majority of cases, it does not. Your card number usually stays the same, so it won’t get reported to the credit bureaus as a new card.
In general, you can only upgrade your Amex Blue Cash Everyday card to the Amex Blue Cash Preferred card. All information about these cards has been collected independently by Upgraded Points.
Unless the offer you take advantage of specifically mentions a bonus, you will not get any bonus points when you upgrade your Amex card.
Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used by hundreds of clients.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
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