Grade 8 recertification or Grade 7?

I'm due to recertify this summer, but a ref with whom I worked over the weekend suggested that I go for Grade 7 instead.

Any thoughts? I'm not upwardly mobile -- I'm almost 50 and would not pass anything with a fitness test.

However, the area assignor who lets me sign up for assignments is retiring, and most of her work has been taken over by another assignor who simply denies my requests without notification, much less explanation. Maybe if I'm Grade 7, I'll have a bit more pull?