🤔 Keep, cancel, upgrade, or downgrade?

Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 38 seconds

☀️ Good morning and welcome back to Daily Drop, the newsletter that’s a little long today. But hey — just pretend it’s TikTok and keep scrolling. You might learn something… and you definitely won’t have to dance.

Let’s get into it:

• 🤔 Keep, cancel, upgrade, or downgrade?

• 🥂 NEW Centurion Lounge coming to Amsterdam

• ✈️ Underrated airline transfer bonus

🤔 Keep, cancel, upgrade, or downgrade?

If you’ve ever opened a credit card for the welcome offer and found yourself staring down a hefty annual fee a year later… you’re not alone.

In fact, I’m in that boat right now. 😅

I opened the [[ american-express-gold-card.name ]] last year for its great offer and to lock in the old annual fee before it increased.

But now that it’s renewal time, I’m eyeing a $325 charge and wondering if this card is worth keeping.

Let’s break down the benefits I actually used:

• Resy credits: Although I spent most of the year on the road, this was still super useful as I can use it at any restaurant on Resy.

• Dunkin’ credits: I’m from New England, so Dunkin’ coffee literally runs through my veins.

• Uber Cash: This benefit is valid only in the U.S., so with most of my year spent abroad, I left about half of this unused.

• Dining credit: Again, this would’ve been more useful if I spent more time stateside, but it got me a damn good Five Guys burger, so I have no regrets. 🤤

The high earning rate on restaurants worldwide is great, but the [[ american-express-gold-card.casual-card-name ]] isn’t as widely accepted abroad, so the extra value there was minimal for me (especially since I can use the [[ chase-sapphire-reserve.name ]] instead for 3x on dining everywhere).

All in, I squeezed about $254 of value out of the [[ american-express-gold-card.casual-card-name ]] — more than what I initially paid, but not nearly enough to justify renewing at $325.

That said, your mileage may vary (literally). If you’re mostly U.S.-based, you should be able to get way more value than I did…

So what now? Well, you have a few options.

Option 1: Keep it

If you’re getting more value than you’re paying, easy decision. For me, not quite.

Option 2: Cancel it

Tempting… but tread carefully. Canceling might mean losing your Membership Rewards points unless you have another active Membership Rewards-earning card. Canceling can also ding your credit slightly.

Option 3: Downgrade it

A solid option. You could downgrade to a no-annual-fee (or low-annual-fee) card that still keeps your points alive — but you’d also lose bonus earning categories and those monthly credits.

Option 4: Upgrade it

This is rare, but in some cases, you might actually want to upgrade to a more premium card (like [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.name ]]) if the benefits better match your lifestyle — and especially if you get an upgrade offer.

💳 In my case? I’m canceling the card.

There’s no downgrade option for this card without an annual fee, but thankfully, I have another Membership Rewards-earning card to keep my points safe.

If you’ve got a card renewal coming up soon, take five minutes to do the math and ensure you’re coming out ahead.

🥂 NEW Centurion Lounge coming to Amsterdam

This is exciting! A sparkling new Centurion Lounge is being added to [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.issuer.name ]]’s global network — and with a touch of Dutch flair. 🌷

Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport (AMS) is set to welcome the new lounge sometime in 2026. And with AMS being the fourth busiest airport in Europe, I (and millions of other travelers, I’m sure) are ready for it.

As you can see from the jaw-dropping image above, she’s a beauty. The 6,000-square-foot space will feature soft green and blue tones inspired by Amsterdam’s iconic waterways.

This Centurion will be the ultimate tranquil escape. You can also expect:

• 🍽️ Locally inspired food and bev (including a Dutch-focused coffee bar)

• 💻 Dedicated workstations

• 🔌 Tons of outlets and USB ports

• 📶 Free high-speed Wi-Fi

• 🚴 And most importantly… no bikes to dodge inside 😅

If you want access to this beautiful lounge (or one of the Centurion’s 29 other locations), you’ll need to hold a card that grants you access — like the [[ the-platinum-card-from-american-express.casual-card-name ]] or [[ the-business-platinum-card-from-american-express.name ]].

✈️ Underrated airline transfer bonus

Got Membership Rewards points to burn? Through July 31, you’ll get a 15% bonus when transferring them to Avianca LifeMiles — one of the best programs for booking premium flights at great rates.

For every 1,000 Membership Rewards points, you’ll get 1,150 LifeMiles. 💪

And before you assume this deal doesn’t apply to you, check out some of the ways you can use Avianca miles:

Business Class to Europe: 45,000 LifeMiles

Fly New York (EWR or JFK) to Europe in a lie-flat seat on Lufthansa, TAP Air Portugal, or even United for just 69,000 LifeMiles. With the bonus, you only need to transfer 60,000 Membership Rewards points.

Lufthansa First Class: 120,000 LifeMiles

Think caviar, champagne, and a private terminal escort in Frankfurt (FRA). With the bonus, it’ll cost just 104,400 Membership Rewards points — a steep discount for one of aviation’s most iconic experiences.

Domestic United flights: From 10,000 LifeMiles

A short hop, such as Newark (EWR) to Washington D.C. (IAD), costs just 10,000 miles, or 8,700 Membership Rewards points with the bonus (and is often cheaper than using United’s own program).

A few quick notes:

• The bonus comes from Avianca, not M points — so it won’t show during the transfer. The extra 15% will land in your LifeMiles account within 24 hours.

• Transfers are final, so only move points if you have a plan.

• Mixed-cabin redemptions can offer crazy value, especially if the long-haul leg is in business or first.

Whether you’re booking a luxurious lie-flat seat or a quick hop to grandma’s, this is a smart way to stretch your points stash.

That’s all for today — now go forth and transfer, downgrade, or redeem some points for your next trip!

See you tomorrow ✌️

6.9175° S, 107.6191° E

With contributions by Tiffany Eastham, McKay Moffitt, and Benji Stawski