helvetic

I managed to get it all done before the new year. Credits posted 2 days ago! Thanks!

ChateauMargaux

I logged into my Amex account today and saw a banner saying I can upgrade my existing Hilton Ascend to an Aspire and earn 150K points after spending $4k in 3m. Does anyone know if this will result in a credit inquiry?

sdsearch

No, since there's no change in the actual credit account. It's simply the name, the AF, and the benefits that are changing, but your account number and credit limit stay the same (unless you separately request a credit limit increase, which may or may not result in a credit inquiry at Amex).

It also means it doesn't increase your Chase 5/24 count, since the account number won't change.

kyushuman

Actually this is how I've upgraded my cards in the past year-- moved from the standard Chase IHG card to the one that gives Platinum, and now have moved to this Aspire card.
I don't like the idea of getting a credit hard pull just for my miles/points addiction :P
So yes, the answer above is correct-- no hard pull on credit.
One benefit to this one: Unlike Chase, where you only upgrade the card and don't get the "welcome points", with moving to Asprire I can get the 150K HHonors points if I spend the $4k in 3 months.

sdsearch

No, it very like Chase, in that depends on the exact situation. Lots of people have gotten up to 50k Marriott points from Chase for upgrading from the legacy Chase Marriott Premier Visa to the new Chase Marriott Premier Plus Visa:

Chase Marriott Premier PLUS - post your upgrade offers

On the other hand, back in January and February of 2018, when the Aspire card was very new, lots of people got upgrade offers online from Amex that gave zero (0) bonus HH points for doing the upgrade. Those people who wanted the Aspire card immediately without a pull or a 5/24 uptick took the upgrade; others were told they might have to wait a month or two or three before upgrade bonuses were available, and that turned out to be the case.

So both Chase and Amex sometimes gives upgrade bonuses, and other times offer upgrades with no bonuses.

And while sometimes the upgrade bonus may be the same as a signup bonus for the same card, at other time at both banks the upgrade bonus may be different (smaller) for doing the upgrade the for signing up from scratch.

Having said all that: Amex has been doing upgrade bonuses (at least HH no-AF to HH Surpass) for many years, while I'm not aware of Chase having done any upgrade bonuses before the Marriott card mentioned above in the past year.

christianj

Background on fees and what I did with the hope that someone can help make sense of this for me:
1. Had HH Amex Surpass for a a year and on Oct. 25 they billed the annual fee of $75.
2. A week or so later, I took advantage of the Aspire upgrade.
3. No annual fee was ever charged for the Aspire at that time.
4. On Jan. 25 they billed $337.50 for the annual fee on the Aspire.
5. On Jan. 25 they also issued an annual fee credit of $56.25.

No matter how I do the calculation this does not make sense!

mia

$ 56.25 is a prorated refund for 9 months of Surpass annual fee.
$337.50 is a prorated charge for 9 months of Aspire annual fee.

STS-134

Why would they do 3 months/9 months prorated charges if the OP did a product change from Surpass to Aspire only a week after getting the card? Seems like the OP got about 3 months of the Aspire, at Surpass AF rates!

mia

It sounds as if it was a week after the renewal fee was billed. American Express processed the refund and billed the new fee three months later. I cannot say why the work was done then, but the arithmetic is consistent.

christianj

Thanks and based on our explanation it makes sense even thought I don't get the three month later billing either.

Does make me wonder what month they will see as my renewal month now. November when I originally upgraded or January since that is when they billed the renewal fee. Card has a November validity date on it.

mia

I expect the renewal fee will again be billed around 25 October.

vincewy

I have both upgrade offers (Ascend and Aspire) under my NAF card for 150K each. So does that mean upgrade offers don't count toward "once in a lifetime" rule for the particular card?

That means I apply for either Ascend and Aspire in the future again as a new card for the bonus, if the language implies.

mia

No, it means that previously holding the same card does not disqualify you from using the upgrade offer now.

However, American Express does not seem to consistently track accounts that have been up/downgraded, and you may be able to apply for the same product later and receive a bonus.

vincewy

Interesting, I was wondering why some bloggers chose to close NAF HH card and reapplied Hilton Aspire. Perhaps they plan to downgrade to NAF HH later and hoping there'd be an upgrade offer(s) with points.

To me upgrading with bonus now means I don't have to take up AmEx credit card slots each person is allowed (reportedly 5) and it doesn't count against new cards opened. With 2 upgrades I may be able to get under 5/24 soon and it will come in handy if I ever need to get CSR.

p.s. Has anyone applied as new card and upgrade later so you could get additional bonuses (up to 5 times)?

https://www.asksebby.com/blog/amex-h...uld-you-accept

The problem is the only option I see now is upgrade, doesn't look like there's a way to get Ascend as new card.

fivegirls

I have the same question as above. I have an upgrade offer (150k from Ascend to Aspire) and I have not yet had the Aspire card. Can I, as this blogger suggests, apply for the new card then a few minutes later also accept the upgrade offer on my current Ascend? I know it's possible to have two Amex Hilton cards, and I currently only have 3 cards, so I'm fine there. I just worry that my upgrade offer will disappear when I apply for the new card. If this is the case, I'd rather do the upgrade and avoid giving up a slot in my 5/24 to a new Amex card.