5 credit cards to consider downgrading if you want to save money but still want to earn rewards

• Downgrading a credit card, rather than closing it, is a good option if you want to avoid paying an annual fee but don't want to affect your credit score.
• Depending on the card you want to downgrade, you could still be able to earn rewards points without paying an annual fee.
• For example, if you have the The Platinum Card® from American Express, you could downgrade to the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express and still earn Membership Rewards points.
• See Business Insider's list of the best credit cards with no annual fee »

In the current economic climate, many people are looking to tighten their belts. One of many ways to cut costs is to take a look at the annual fees that you're currently paying on your credit cards. While there are some great no-annual-fee cards, many cards do come with annual fees that may or may not be worth the benefits that you're getting.

Here are a few popular cards that you might be available to downgrade into cheaper alternatives. We'll explore some of the options for downgrading and also help you know how to keep your points even when you downgrade. Take a look at this list and decide which of these downgrades might make sense for you.

Why downgrade a card rather than cancel it?

There are a few benefits to downgrading a card rather than canceling it.

For one, downgrading won't affect your average age of accounts — a factor that goes into your credit score. If you cancel a card, on the other hand, you'll be lowering your average age of accounts, which could negatively impact your score. The longer you have credit card accounts in good standing open, the better your length of credit history, which accounts for 15% of your FICO score.

The other advantage to downgrading a card rather than closing it is that you can retain your rewards points. If you were to cancel a card, you'd need to use up all your points, or transfer them to a bank partner so they're parked somewhere else, before the cancellation is complete if you don't want to lose them. When you downgrade a credit card, you should be able to keep the rewards you've earned, as long as the card you downgrade to participates in the same rewards program.

Just note that you may lose some redemption options, since premium credit cards generally offer the most sophisticated options for using points, like transferring to airline and hotel loyalty programs.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve: Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is Chase's ultra-premium credit card, with a $550 annual fee. Perks include up to a $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass airport lounge access, 3 Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent on travel and dining and the ability to redeem your Ultimate Rewards for 1.5 cents per point for travel booked through Chase or for dining, grocery, home-improvement, and charity purchases through Chase Pay Yourself Back.

Consider downgrading to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The annual fee on the Sapphire Preferred is $95. You'll only earn 2 point per dollar spent on travel and dining, and your Ultimate Rewards points will only be redeemable for 1.25 cents per point for travel booked through Chase or for purchases eligible for Pay Yourself Back. On the other hand, $455 is a hefty savings, and because the Sapphire Preferred is still considered a premium card, you'll still have access to Chase's airline and hotel transfer partners.

Your Ultimate Rewards will automatically transfer from your Sapphire Reserve account to your new Sapphire Preferred account.

If you have the Sapphire Preferred: a Chase Freedom card

Another option to eliminate annual fees from your Chase credit cards would be to downgrade the Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee) to either a Chase Freedom® or a Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Both the Freedom and Freedom Unlimited cards have no annual fee.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase, while the Chase Freedom® has rotating quarterly bonus categories that earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 each quarter (then 1% cash back). If you're not sure which of these two cards is right, check out our comparison of the Chase Freedom and the Chase Freedom Unlimited.

Because the Freedom and the Freedom Unlimited aren't premium Chase cards, your rewards will only be worth 1 cent apiece for travel booked through Chase, and you won't be able to transfer your Ultimate Rewards to hotel or airline transfer partners.

If you have the Ink Business Preferred: Chase Ink Cash / Chase Ink Business Unlimited

A similar downgrade option exists for Chase business cards. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a $95 annual fee, but there are two Chase business cards that are available for a downgrad: the Ink Business Cash℠ credit card and Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card, both with no annual fee.

Like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, the Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card earns 1.5% cash back on every purchase. The Chase Ink Cash earns 5 Ultimate Rewards per dollar on the first $25,000 at office supply stores and on internet, cable and phone services each year (then 1x), 2 Ultimate Rewards per dollar spent on the first $25,000 spent at gas stations and restaurants each year (then 1x), and 1 point per dollar on everything else.

Again - neither the Ink Cash or Ink Business Unlimited are considered a premium credit card by Chase, your rewards will only be worth 1 cent per point for travel booked through Chase, and you'll no longer be able to transfer your Ultimate Rewards to hotel or airline transfer partners.

If you have the Citi Prestige or Citi Premier: Citi Rewards+

The Citi Prestige® Card and Citi Premier℠ Card are Citi's premium travel credit cards. The Prestige has an annual fee of $495 and the Premier's annual fee is $95. One great option to downgrade either of these cards is the Citi Rewards+℠ Card.

With the Rewards+ card, you'll get 2 ThankYou points per dollar spent at supermarkets and gas stations for the first $6,000 per year and 1 point per dollar spent thereafter. Your purchases will also round up to the nearest 10 ThankYou points and you'll get a rebate of 10% points back for the first 100,000 ThankYou points that you redeem per year.

Downgrading either the Prestige or Premier card to a Citi Rewards+ card will keep your ThankYou points from expiring. Without a premium card like the Prestige or Premier however, your Citi points will be less valuable, since you won't be able to transfer them to Citi's hotel and airline transfer partners.

If you have the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold, or Amex Green: Amex EveryDay

American Express has several premium cards that earn Membership Rewards points. The annual fees on these cards range from $550 on the The Platinum Card® from American Express to $250 on the American Express® Gold Card to $150 on the American Express® Green Card.

Read more: Amex Green vs Gold vs Platinum: How to figure out which credit card is right for you

There's an option that lets you downgrade any of these three cards and still earn Membership Rewards points: the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express. The EveryDay card has no annual fee, and earns 2 Membership Rewards per dollar spent at US Supermarkets on the first $6,000 each year. It earns 1 Membership Reward point per dollar spent after that and on all other purchases. Also, if you use your card 20 or more times on purchases in a billing period, you'll earn 20% more points on those purchases.

You only have one Membership Rewards account no matter how many different American Express cards you have. So as long as you keep at least one Membership Rewards-earning card, you won't lose your Membership Rewards while downgrading to the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express.

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