American Express Just Killed One of the Best Ways to Earn More Membership Rewards Points
Well, folks, American Express finally did it.
One of the most popular strategies for earning additional Membership Rewards points appears to be dead.
If you’ve spent any time in the points-and-miles world over the last few years, you’ve probably heard people talk about the “upgrade-downgrade cycle.” Content creators like Cesar Joel, Sledge, Joe Berto, and countless Reddit users have discussed it extensively because it was one of the easiest ways to continue earning American Express points long after your original welcome bonuses were gone.
Unfortunately, that strategy appears to have stopped working.
While there are still ways to earn Membership Rewards points, American Express has made things considerably more difficult for people who relied on upgrade offers to keep the points flowing.
Let’s talk about what changed, why it matters, and where I think AMEX users should go from here.
What Was the Upgrade-Downgrade Strategy?
To understand why this matters, we first need to understand how American Express structures its Membership Rewards cards.
For most people, the Membership Rewards ecosystem revolves around three personal cards:
American Express Green Card
American Express Gold Card
American Express Platinum Card
Because of American Express’s family language restrictions, the typical strategy has always been to work your way up the ladder. You start with the Green Card, earn that welcome bonus, then move to the Gold Card, and eventually to the Platinum Card.
The problem comes after you’ve collected those bonuses.
Once you’ve earned the welcome offers on all three cards, your opportunities to earn large chunks of Membership Rewards points become much more limited. American Express generally only allows you to earn a welcome bonus once per lifetime, meaning most people eventually hit a wall.
That’s where the upgrade-downgrade cycle came into play.
Many cardholders would downgrade their Gold or Platinum Card to a Green Card after the annual fee posted. Then, after some time passed, American Express would often send targeted upgrade offers encouraging them to move back up the ladder.
Those upgrade offers could be incredibly lucrative.
Why People Loved This Strategy
The reason this strategy became so popular is simple: the upgrade offers were often generous and relatively easy to earn.
For example, last year I downgraded one of my cards and later received an offer to upgrade back to the Gold Card for 50,000 Membership Rewards points after a relatively modest spending requirement.
After completing that offer, I later received another upgrade offer to move from Gold back to Platinum. That offer was worth 125,000 Membership Rewards points after meeting the spending requirement.
That’s 175,000 Membership Rewards points without opening a new account.
For many people, this became the primary way to continue earning Membership Rewards points once they had exhausted the traditional welcome bonuses.
The Problem: The Offers Have Stopped Appearing
Earlier this year, I decided to test the strategy myself.
When my Platinum Card annual fee hit in January, I downgraded it to the Green Card. Around the same time, I downgraded another Membership Rewards card as well.
Then I waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Months passed without a single upgrade offer.
At first, I assumed I might just need to be patient. But as time went on, I started noticing the same thing being reported across Reddit, Discord communities, and various points-and-miles forums.
People simply weren’t receiving upgrade offers anymore.
I checked again recently.
Still nothing.
At this point, it appears American Express has largely shut down the Membership Rewards upgrade cycle that so many people relied upon.
Hilton Upgrade Offers Seem to Be Disappearing Too
Unfortunately, the issue doesn’t seem limited to Membership Rewards cards.
I’ve also noticed a significant decline in Hilton upgrade offers.
Historically, it wasn’t uncommon to receive targeted offers encouraging you to upgrade from a Hilton Honors card to a Surpass or Aspire card. Those offers often came with substantial bonus points.
Today, those opportunities appear far less common.
In my own portfolio, neither my Hilton Honors Card nor my Hilton Surpass Card is currently receiving upgrade offers to the Hilton Aspire.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll never return, but it certainly looks like American Express has become much less aggressive in this area.
The Silver Lining: Delta Cards Still Seem to Work
The good news is that not everything has disappeared.
While Membership Rewards and Hilton upgrade offers appear to be drying up, Delta upgrade offers are still very much alive.
In fact, my wife recently downgraded her Delta Gold Card to the no-annual-fee Delta Blue Card and received an upgrade offer not long afterward.
The offer allowed her to upgrade to the Delta Platinum Card while earning bonus SkyMiles and a statement credit after meeting the spending requirement.
I’ve seen similar opportunities on the business side as well.
In my case, I was able to receive upgrade offers on Delta business cards while simultaneously earning welcome bonuses from newly opened Delta cards.
That combination allowed me to stack multiple bonuses and significantly increase my SkyMiles balance.
So while AMEX may have shut down one strategy, another remains available for now.
What Should Membership Rewards Collectors Do Now?
If the upgrade-downgrade cycle is truly dead, Membership Rewards enthusiasts need to start looking elsewhere.
The first option is referrals.
Referral bonuses can still generate a meaningful number of points, especially if you have friends, family members, or an audience interested in opening American Express cards.
The second option—and the one I’ve leaned into most heavily—is business cards.
Why Business Cards May Be the New Play
One of the best decisions I made recently was opening an American Express business checking account for my YouTube business.
Not only did I earn the checking account bonus, but it also triggered a steady stream of targeted offers for business credit cards.
Those offers ended up being far more valuable than anything I was seeing on the personal side.
Over time, I received offers for:
Business Gold Cards with bonuses as high as 150,000 points
Business Platinum Cards with bonuses as high as 250,000 points
Blue Business Plus offers as well
Those bonuses quickly added up to hundreds of thousands of Membership Rewards points.
If you’re willing to explore the business side of American Express, there are still plenty of opportunities available.
And remember, you don’t necessarily need a massive company to qualify. Many side hustles, consulting businesses, content creators, and sole proprietors can legitimately apply for business credit cards.
My Strategy Going Forward
For now, I’m keeping one Green Card open just in case American Express decides to revive upgrade offers in the future.
But I’m no longer counting on it.
Instead, I’ve shifted much of my spending toward other ecosystems.
Recently, I’ve been focusing heavily on Bilt, particularly because I’m working toward Bilt status. The Bilt card has become both my catch-all card and my primary grocery card.
For dining and travel, I’ve been using the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Gas purchases have largely moved to my Citi Strata Premier.
In other words, I’m no longer relying on American Express as heavily as I once did.
And honestly, that’s probably the biggest takeaway from all of this.
Final Thoughts
The American Express upgrade-downgrade cycle was one of the most reliable ways to keep earning Membership Rewards points after exhausting traditional welcome bonuses.
For years, it allowed savvy cardholders to move between Green, Gold, and Platinum cards while collecting valuable upgrade offers along the way.
Today, that strategy appears to be largely dead.
The good news is that opportunities still exist through business cards, referrals, and certain co-branded products like Delta cards. But if you’ve been waiting for an upgrade offer on a Membership Rewards card over the last several months, you’re probably not imagining things.
The offers simply aren’t showing up the way they used to.
The question now is whether American Express is making a temporary adjustment or permanently changing the way it rewards existing cardholders.
Based on what I’m seeing so far, I wouldn’t count on those upgrade offers coming back anytime soon.