I think by doing that, a lot of cardholders will see that they should hold on to their card rather than cancelling or even downgrading their card. (uponarriving.com)
Secondly, you may ultimately decide to close or downgrade a card if you feel it's not worth the annual fee, but may want to keep the points in the flexible Ultimate Reward currency. (themilesprofessor.com)
You won't know until you call and ask so try that before downgrading the card. (rewardexpert.com)