I had the Surpass card but downgraded it to the no AF version before the Ascend and Aspire were launched. I waited a bit, applied for the Aspire and received the bonus points.

I feel like the legal jargon, which I imagine is coming straight from AMEX to protect themselves, is causing a lot of over-analyzing. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is if you have an Ascend, then you cannot get another Ascend bonus. If you have an Ascend or had a Surpass, then (other factors notwithstanding) new Aspire applicants who have never had the product, are eligible for the Aspire bonus.

You are correct. Ascend is considered a Surpass, so if you have ever had either one, you cannot get the Ascend bonus. The Aspire is a totally new product, so having Ascend/Surpass does not affect eligibility for Aspire.

This confusion is constant, and is caused by a) renaming the Surpass and b) giving it a new name that sounds close to the new Aspire card. It is amazing that people at American Express are paid (big money) to come up with these branding campaigns, yet no one thought that coming out with 2 cards named Hilton Ascend and Hilton Aspire would cause confusion. Any of us on these credit card BBs could've told AmEx that using these two names would cause a headache.

Unfortunately, this will be going on for a long time. I do not expect AmEx to take the bull by the horns and fix their problem.

I have applied Ascend card with 100k bonus promo. Now they increased it to 125k bonus. No luck with amex getting 25k extra bonus points. Are there any 2X points amex promo for spending at hilton properties.
There was one in during 2nd quarter. Nothing so far in 3rd quarter.
Thanks

I just got off the phone with Amex, attempting to cancel my Ascend card. I originally had two Ascend cards, converted one to an Aspire card, and moved all of the credit limit for both cards to the Aspire card. The Ascend card is now sitting there with $0 balance and a $1000 limit. I noticed today that it has the $95 annual fee pending, so I called to formally cancel it.

However, the agent said that a new benefit was added on September 1st: I get a Free Weekend Night every time I renew Ascend the card. I said I thought that was an Aspire benefit only, and she said no - it was recently added to Ascend. I asked her to clarify: don't I need to spend $15k on the Ascend to get the night? She said that benefit is still there, enabling me to earn a 2nd free night.

This was the "account rescue" person - whatever they're called. She called it an annual renewal benefit, not a one-time rescue promo for me. (She had those too...spend X to get 10k bonus, etc.)

The problem is: I can't find this in writing anywhere. Has anyone else been told this? Lauren, is this accurate? Or did I run into a confused / misinformed agent? Everything I can find references the $15k night for Ascend and the free annual renewal night for Aspire.

@ pinniped...I think she is confused! Based on the following link for the Ascend application the free night requires a $15k spend. I wonder if she is confused because there was an offer (that I actually applied under last year) that gave you a free night for your annual renewal Year 2 and then you could get a second free weekend night for the $15k spend. So NO spend for renewal night but $15K spend for 2nd night.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...CardArt-Bottom

I was in the same situation as you and I called to cancel my Ascend last Saturday and did not receive such an offer.

OK, frustrating, but I'm going to call again and actually cancel.

Some mild temptation to spend the $15k and get another free night but I just don't want to bother with it. The card has not been open for so long that closing it will alter my credit history too much. It's more of a nuisance to keep track of another card, especially one with an AF that I have to consciously think about spending $15k/yr on.

Aspire, with its benefits, is sufficient for me.

Could you downgrade it instead? AMEX seems to be tightening the leash on signups/cancels in terms of bonus offerings. (And not just per card, but counting any of their cards.)

Is there a clawback if we cancel the Ascend after the 2nd year free weekend night posts? Thinking of applying for the Aspire due to 150k bonus and the other benefits associated with it. (Being annoyed at MR/SPG integration has made me evaluate moving some business to HH especially since I will be LTPP at the end of the year.)

I don’t think there is a clawback, but it would be worth invstigating if you could upgrade the ascend to aspire and get the bonus, vice closing and applying.

If no bonus for upgrading, try converting ascend to the NF version, then apply for aspire.

Lauren, back in Post #34 you said Amex was working on an offer for an upgrade (bonus) from Ascend to Aspire. Any news on that?

I have also been looking for an upgrade offer from Ascend to Aspire. I originally had the Surpass and it was converted to Ascend. I have changed jobs and am not traveling as much for work, so I won't re-qualify for Diamond this year. Aspire would take care of that.
I just checked my account and still no offer. Just the usual "get $25 off when you spend $250 at onlinecrap.com"

Thanks for the heads up but no, nothing in my offers. There are several Amex things "you spoke, we listened", "2 day shipping", etc., etc. but no upgrade offer from Ascend to Aspire. I'll wait for Lauren to follow up on her info before that something was in the works.