Hi Lauren,
I have a question I'm hoping one of your Am Ex reps can answer.
The credit card reform act of 2009 prohibits a credit card company from raising an annual fee on a new credit card within that first year of having it. Even though the Aspire is offering a ore benefits than the Ascend, if someone has had the Ascend for less than a year American Express can't upgrade the card to an Aspire and the cardholder would have to apply for the Aspire card and then if approved and no longer wanted the Ascend close that out which means taking a hit on your FICO (which can be a big deal with Chase with their 5/24 rule).
If my Citi Reserve has been open for over a year and once the Ascend is issued by Am Ex will Am Ex consider the Ascend to be a new account with Am Ex thus making it ineligible to be upgraded to an Aspire for one year or will they consider they consider the date I opened the Reserve account to be the opening date (I tried calling Am Ex and they weren't sure and said I would have to wait until the new card was issued before they would have an answer). Also wondering if the date the Citi card was opened will show up on our credit reports after the takeover or if is going to show up as the Citi card being closed and the Am Ex card as being a new account.
I have the fee free Hilton Am Ex so I know I can easily convert that to an Aspire but I would rather have the Ascend card upgraded instead since I am a little nervous about the citi free night benefit not carrying over if I close the account out and I also have a lot more credit history with the Citi card than I do the Hilton Am Ex.