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Update: This post includes offers that were valid at the time of publication, but have since expired. Please click here to see the best offers currently available.
This is my third round of publishing easy ways to find credit card upgrade offers from American Express online. Over time, Amex has repeatedly changed the way upgrade offers appear on their website. Shown below are updated instructions for finding consumer upgrade offers. This approach has worked at least since June 2014, so maybe it will work for a while longer…
There are significant advantages of upgrading rather than applying new:
- No new hard credit inquiry
- No new account on your credit report
- Keep the same credit card account number
The primary disadvantage is that the upgrade offers tend to be smaller than the best new signup offers. Plus, you do need to wait 13 months after getting a new card before you can qualify for an upgrade.
Note: I don’t know if this approach works for business cards (my guess is no), but I don’t currently have any upgradeable business cards to test with so please let me know if it works / doesn’t work.
Step 1: Log into your Amex account, then click the Menu button
The Menu button should appear at the top, left of your screen:
Step 2: Click Cards… Personal Cards… View all Personal Charge & Credit Cards
Step 3: Find a card that is an upgrade to one you already have, then click “Apply for an Upgrade”
Examples:
- If you have the Hilton HHonors card, look for the
Hilton Honors Surpass - If you have the EveryDay card, look for the EveryDay Preferred
If you have the Gold Delta SkyMiles card, look for the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card or the Delta Reserve cardIf you have the Platinum Delta SkyMiles, look for the Delta Reserve cardetc.
Update: This offer has expired and/or is not currently available through Frequent Miler
In my case, I have the Platinum Delta SkyMiles card, so I see the following when I look for the upgraded Delta Reserve card:
Step 4: Evaluate the upgrade offer
After clicking “Apply for an Upgrade,” you’ll be taken to an application screen with the upgrade offer details shown along the left side. In my case, I see an offer for 5000 bonus miles and 5000 Medallion Qualifying Miles:
I’m not ready to upgrade my card yet, but when I am, I’ll follow the above steps and apply for the upgrade.
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[…] Targeted Amex upgrades […]
We’ve have the Business Rewards Gold for <less than 13 mos. and have an offer to upgrade to Bus Plat for 30k. Not upgrading though, as we actually use the bonus categories of the BRG, and not ready to pay hefty annual fee on the Plat card (not much traveling happening this year to take advantage of the Plat benefits).
As a side note, we took advantage of the Pay-over-time offer for 10k points.
Thank you for the info, I just upgraded my Delta Gold Card to the Platinum Delta Card..
[…] How to find Amex upgrade offers online by Freequent Miler. We’ve discussed upgrading before, good to see another way to find these offers. Remember that bonuses are once per lifetime and if you upgrade, you won’t be able to get a sign up bonus on that card again. […]
Not working for me…
I have had Amex BCE since Dec 2013. No any upgrade offers for me.
If you cancel the card after you upgrade it, can you still get the signup bonus for the card you upgraded to later on? For example, the Delta reserve in your case.
Probably not (with personal cards). With business cards, yes, if you wait 12 months after cancelling
I have AMEX Everyday but there is no offer available to upgrade to Preferred. How does AMEX determine if the card is eligible to upgrade?
Have you had the Everyday card account for 13 months? If not, you’re not eligible for an upgrade.
I had the everyday and when told i couldn’t upgrade yet, I just applied for the preferred and closed the everyday
In some cases, like the Hilton Surpass card, you can even upgrade from a different kind of Amex card to the upgraded offer. For example, I received the upgrade from the Delta Gold card to the Hilton Surpass.
That’s interesting: I didn’t know!
Hmmm. I have several AmEx cards and I do see an upgrade offer available to the Platinum Card. How do I know which of my cards it is proposing to upgrade?
If you have the Green Card or the Gold Card it is most likely one of those.
No, I got rid of my Gold Card a few years back, but I still have a couple legacy AmEx cards, the Zync card and the One card. Of the two, the Zync is a straight charge card, so maybe it’s that one. Hmmm.
That must be it.