I called and spoke with both Hilton and Amex with the rollout of the card changes from Surpass to Ascend. I was told that any sign on benefits that came with the Surpass would be honored despite program change, including the free weekend night after your 1 year card anniversary. Since you have to keep your card open for one year to receive this benefit, if you were to cancel your Surpass (which is technically now Ascend) anytime before your 1 year anniversary you would void this benefit. Since your annual fee will hit in your anniversary month, and was not waived the first year, that technically means you have to keep your account open for the 2nd AF to hit (1st one being when you opened the card, 2nd one on your 1st year anniverary) to receive the weekend night certificate. I believe this was also discussed on another thread on the Hilton forum.