Applying amex smart earn through plat reserve

Hi guys so I just completed my vkyc for the amex plat reserve card. I am planning to downgrade to smart earn as soon I get the card as you can't directly apply to smart earn it seems.

For the people who have done this in the past, have a few queries.

1. do I need to make a payment of 25-30k before downgrading or can I directly go to the downgrade link? (is the payment jus required for the points or can it be skipped too?)
2. If I get card tomorrow and dont activate it, can I still apply for downgrade? Or the card still must be activated before applying for downgrade? Asking as it will prevent me paying the 10k fees incase the downgrade didnt work as I didnt activate the card
3. What if I activate the card and then the smart earn downgrade didnt work - would I be able to cancel the card and prevent paying the 10k fees?