i cannot speak for others, but i i would generally discourage someone from taking an experience upgrade not because i feel it is a matter of who deserves it or not. if USAC offers an upgrade that way, then getting it is playing by the rules.

the reason i feel like it is wise for most people to wait is that the points seem to flow as people figure out how to race. scoring points breeds confidence and being competitive in races means that riders may use the time to experiment with different strategies. it may not happen from 4->3, but generally when one moves up they may find either that previous "strengths" are now just average and that opportunities to win are more rare than they were in the category they just left.

there's lots made of 'death of the group ride' and a lack of mentoring (sometimes blamed on training with power meters); it has struck me that many riders develop "cat 3 power" faster than they develop racing senses/skills--and a little more time spent

plus, it's fun for someone to win a race, and eventually we all upgrade to a level (even if that is the TdF) where wins just do not happen or are very rare.when times are tough for a rider, it is often nice/motivating to have a win (no matter whether it is cat 1 or cat 5) to look back on and help us through solitary winter training hours.

of course, there are exceptions to every rule. every case is unique--but if we're talking about the average cat 4, i'd suggest waiting until they have enough points.

"deserve" isn't a word i'd use in the context of upgrades. it's a hobby. i'm sure there's someone out there who got an upgrade to cat 3 through doping, though--i guess THEY wouldn't deserve it in my eyes.