Upgraded trinket Idea: Charges
To make upgraded trinkets more of a tempting option at any point before mid game, how about giving the upgraded versions (the ones you pay gold for) 2 charges of their ability? The charges would recharge at the same rate as the current cooldown (or perhaps a modified cooldown), just that it would allow you to use the ability twice in shorter succession, as well as allowing non-supports to place more than one ward at a time.