Originally Posted by sdsearch

Why only for 13 months? Aspire can easily have a lower "effective" annual fee than Ascend. Aspire gives you a free weekend night annually, Ascend doesn't. Aspire gives you up to $250 airline credit (similar rules for what counts as for Amex PRG/Plat cards), Ascend doesn't. Aspire gives you up to $250 resort credit, Ascend doesn't. For example, if you get the $250 airline credit (say, with 2x$100 + 1x$50 AA e-gift cards) and your free weekend hotel cert gets you a hotel over $105 (including taxes), you've paid less than $450-$250-$105=$95, which is the AF on the Ascend. With a hotel night over $305 (including taxes), just the free weekend hotel night cert would do it by itself! Or stay 2 nights (including at least one on a weekend) at a hotel on the Hilton resort list where the room rate (with taxes) is a bit over $250, and you've saved about $500 ($250 resort credit plus free weekend night cert), which is more than the $450 annual fee.

(I've had cards from Chase that give an annual free night cert of some sort for many years, and I've always gotten more value out of those than the AF on those cards, so I'm used to the concept of "net negative" AF being possible on hotel cards.)

So I don't see the point for most travelers in downgrading from Aspire to Ascend.