Earlier in January, Amex launched two new card products.  The Hilton Ascend and the Hilton Aspire card.

The Hilton Aspire card is a $450 annual fee premium card.  There was some ambiguity on whether the Hilton Aspire card comes with a free weekend night in its first year.

No one had any data point at the time given that the Hilton Aspire was new product.  I understood that a free weekend reward night is included based on the fine prints. I didn’t expect anyone to have confirmation until March or April at the earliest, given the language,

“You will receive the reward email within 8-14 weeks after opening your Card Account”.

This weekend, I received a promising email with the subject line:

Invalid request error occurred.

 

It comes with this message:

a screenshot of a email

 

How Long Does It Take To Receive the Reward Night Certificate?

Update:  I received the Hilton certificate today, two days after receiving the Amex email and a little over 8 weeks from application approval.  The subject header is “Your Reward Night has arrived!” from Hilton Honors. You have to call in with the reward ID and it expires exactly one year from the date of email delivery.  Have fun!

I thought the email was quite humorous. The subject line suggests that I’ve “received” an annual weekend night reward, while the email content says it might take another 8-14 weeks. I am not in a hurry to get the certificate, so I’m not fretting about the timeframe.  I strongly suspect that cardholders would still get the weekend reward certificate no later than 14 weeks from application approval.  In my case, I expect to receive it no later than late April/early May.

It seemed to me that Amex could use a little help in word-smithing. While it’s fine to recycle the language, timing must also be accounted for in the delivery of email.  For cardholders who have had the card for a couple of weeks already, the email is being read as an unexpected extension of the delivery date.

That said, for those who had doubts about whether a free weekend night is included in the first year, the email serves as a confirmation that it is included.  For those who has near term use of the certificate, plan ahead.  It still takes a couple of months before you get your rewards night email.