---
title: "What is Product change? | Benefit Systems"
description: "A product change is swapping an existing card for a different one from the same issuer without closing the account and reapplying."
source: "aus dem gebauten HTML abgeleitet"
---
# What is Product change?

A product change is swapping an existing card for a different one from the same issuer without closing the account and reapplying.

Also called: Downgrade.

## How it works #

The change preserves account history and usually the credit line, avoiding the drawbacks of cancelling. Moving to a no-fee card from the same issuer is the common destination once the benefits stop covering the fee. The key question is what happens to points already earned: if they sit in the card’s own programme rather than with the issuer, a change can wipe them out.

## Not to be confused with #

A product change is not the same as cancelling: cancelling ends the account, while a product change keeps it open under a different name.

## In German #

The German term is Produktwechsel. [German version of this term](/de/glossar/produktwechsel)

## Related terms #

- [Annual fee](/en/glossary/annual-fee): An annual fee is the fixed yearly price of holding a card, charged regardless of how much is spent on it or which benefits are used.
- [Losing points when closing a card](/en/glossary/points-after-closing): Losing points when closing a card describes the forfeiture of a balance held in the issuer’s own programme as soon as the account is shut.
- [Credit limit](/en/glossary/credit-limit): A credit limit is the maximum balance a card account may carry between statements.

## Articles that use this term #

- [Cancel the card or downgrade it?](/en/knowledge/cancel-or-downgrade)
- [What happens to your points when you close the card?](/en/knowledge/points-after-closing)
- [At what annual fee does a travel card stop paying for itself?](/en/knowledge/annual-fee-math)
- [When collecting points isn’t worth it](/en/knowledge/when-points-arent-worth-it)
- [Do you have to accept a voucher instead of cash?](/en/knowledge/voucher-vs-cash)
- [What is the difference between premium economy and economy?](/en/knowledge/premium-economy)