A widow lost 610,000 American miles to a hacker — TPG helped her recover them

Gail and Andy Goldberg's last planned trip together was meant to be an exciting journey to Brazil. Andy used an impressive 610,000 American Airlines miles for round-trip business-class tickets, departing from Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) to Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), with a layover at Miami International Airport (MIA).

However, Andy was later diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, leading the Goldbergs to cancel their trip. American Airlines redeposited the miles into his account, and the couple hoped to travel again once he was well.

Tragically, Andy passed away several months later.

Gail recounts that within 30 days of her husband's death, a thief gained access to his AAdvantage account and stole all the American Airlines miles, without anyone informing her. A year later, when she felt ready to travel again, she was stunned to find the miles missing when she logged into his account.

After exhausting her efforts to resolve the issue with American Airlines through phone calls and emails, Goldberg turned to TPG for assistance. She hoped we could help her navigate the process of reclaiming the miles Andy earned as a devoted AAdvantage member.

Unfortunately, this incident occurred over a year ago, and American Airlines enforces a strict 90-day reporting window for stolen miles.

Goldberg encountered another hurdle: According to the AAdvantage program's terms and conditions, the miles were not even hers to retrieve.

This situation serves as a warning for anyone whose spouse or partner has passed away. It's crucial to act swiftly and request a transfer of any unused loyalty points. If you delay, thieves scouring obituary notices may seize the miles for themselves.

Gail Goldberg shared her story with us.

An unforgettable journey awaits

In early 2022, the Goldbergs discovered they had accumulated a substantial amount of American Airlines miles to utilize.

According to Gail Goldberg, "Andy had been a loyal AAdvantage member, earning points primarily through travel, but most of our American Airlines miles were accrued by using a Citi AAdvantage Mastercard for almost all our credit card transactions over the years." (Gail was an authorized user on her husband's account.)

With the easing of pandemic-related travel restrictions, the couple started planning their adventure to Brazil. Upon checking the points redemption options on the American Airlines website, they were thrilled to find available award tickets on their chosen dates, though it required a considerable number of miles.

Using 610,000 AAdvantage miles for travel to South America was a straightforward process, and the Goldbergs quickly secured their business-class tickets. They understood it was a significant number of miles, but their enthusiasm for the trip made it worthwhile. With the flights booked, they eagerly focused on planning their adventure in Brazil.

Goldberg noted that it wasn't long before those plans fell apart.

"Andy received a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in February [2022]," Goldberg recounted. "I contacted American Airlines, canceled our flights, and requested that the miles be returned to his account."

A compassionate American Airlines representative reassured Goldberg that the miles had been returned and would be available when the couple was ready to travel again.

"I was overwhelmed with caring for Andy and had little time for anything else," Goldberg shared. "I believed the miles were secure."

The AAdvantage miles were indeed restored to Andy's account, but only for a short while.

What will become of all those American Airlines miles?

After Andy's courageous fight against cancer ended, Goldberg had to close all his accounts, including the Citi AAdvantage Mastercard. It was then that she began to reflect on the miles they had accumulated through the credit card.

"I contacted American Airlines and informed the representative that Andy had passed away, inquiring about how to transfer the miles," Goldberg explained. "The agent reassured me that there was no need to transfer them; I could simply use them whenever I was ready for my next trip."

That was poor advice, but since Goldberg had never faced such a circumstance, she was unaware. With more pressing matters at hand, she felt relieved to have one less concern.

It took a full year for Goldberg to realize just how misguided the advice from the unnamed American Airlines agent had been.

Ready to travel again, but the miles were missing

In the fall of 2023, a year after her husband's passing, Goldberg started feeling ready to embark on a journey again. She thought about all those American Airlines miles she believed were still in Andy's inactive account.

"I hoped to take the trip we had to cancel as a means to find some healing from his loss," Goldberg shared with me.

However, when she logged into Andy's AAdvantage account for the first time since shortly after his passing, Goldberg was taken aback. The miles were missing.

She promptly reached out to American Airlines customer service to inquire about the situation. That’s when she encountered another shock.

"They informed me that all the miles had been removed from the AAdvantage account in November," Goldberg recalled. "That was just a few weeks following Andy's death. I suspect that hackers monitor obituaries and target those accounts as easy targets."

Initially, Goldberg thought American Airlines would be as taken aback as she was and would swiftly restore the miles. Instead, she says multiple agents emphasized the AAdvantage program rules: Stolen miles must be reported within 90 days of the incident.

When Goldberg informed the fraud department agent that she had been assured Andy's miles were secure in his account and had no reason to doubt this, the representative told her that American Airlines had sent an alert to Andy's email address.

"That was especially cruel because by the time the hacker stole Andy's miles, he had already passed away. It’s difficult for someone who is deceased to respond to an email. That email account was unattended. I placed my trust in the American Airlines representatives I spoke with about the security of Andy's account, and that was my error," she said.

After Goldberg's attempts to escalate her request for the return of the miles from customer service to the supervisory level and finally to the fraud department were unsuccessful, she reached out to TPG for assistance.

Managing your deceased spouse's American Airlines miles

The terms of the American Airlines AAdvantage program state that your frequent flyer miles aren't technically considered your property. Upon your passing, the airline reserves the right to delete your miles.

The American Airlines contract of carriage specifies: "Unless stated otherwise below, mileage credit is non-transferable and cannot be combined among AAdvantage members, their estates, successors, or assigns. Accumulated mileage credit and award tickets do not belong to the member. Neither accumulated mileage, award tickets, status, nor upgrades can be transferred by the member (i) upon death, (ii) as part of a domestic relations matter, or (iii) as dictated by law."

Nevertheless, American Airlines generally permits the transfer of an AAdvantage account balance to a spouse or partner after the member's passing, provided that the request is made promptly and the spouse or partner adheres to these specific steps:

• Notify American Airlines of the AAdvantage member's death.
• Complete an affidavit confirming your relationship to the deceased.
• Submit a copy of the death certificate to American Airlines.

In my experience, I have not witnessed an American Airlines AAdvantage member's miles transfer request being denied after following these steps.

However, Goldberg received poor advice during her initial call to American Airlines for assistance, which led her to unintentionally leave Andy's account exposed to hackers, who swiftly exploited the situation.

How to officially report stolen miles or credits to American Airlines

When Goldberg's request for help arrived via email, I realized she faced a challenging situation. Not only was she well past the deadline to request a transfer of her husband's American Airlines miles into her AAdvantage account, but the miles had also been stolen quite some time ago.

American Airlines does consider requests to restore stolen miles and travel credits, but again, there are specific steps that the AAdvantage member must follow.

• Report the theft of the miles or travel credits within 90 days.
• Submit an official police report.
• Provide this documentation to corporate security at American Airlines.

However, none of that occurred in Goldberg's situation. Her request to restore the miles and transfer them to her account had been passed around to various agents, supervisors, and ultimately the fraud department, where she received a consistent response: the airline's official terms and conditions prohibited the reinstatement of the miles.

In spite of this, I believed American Airlines might make an exception for her, considering she had received incorrect information at the beginning of this ordeal, which ultimately led to her miles being stolen.

Goldberg was resolute in her quest to recover those miles and sought guidance on how to proceed.

I informed her that she would need to file a police report regarding the theft of the miles. While it's unlikely that law enforcement will investigate such a case, this step is mandatory in the process. The security team at American Airlines conducts the investigation once the police report is submitted.

Following that, she would have to send the report to American Airlines' Security and Fraud department or have it routed through customer service.

This frequent flyer didn't give up … and successfully recovered the miles

Consumers often hesitate when I outline the steps to reclaim their stolen American Airlines miles, especially the crucial requirement of filing an official police report.

What they often overlook is that hackers are committing a crime by breaking into frequent flyer accounts and stealing miles. As a victim of a crime, you must report it to the authorities. Even if the police department is unlikely to take action on your case, the American Airlines fraud department will conduct an investigation.

If you want to retrieve your miles, you must submit the police report.

In fact, it turned out that the absence of a police report was the only thing standing between Gail and those 610,000 AAdvantage miles.

Goldberg filed a police report the day after our conversation. However, she encountered another obstacle when it took about 30 days for the report to be accessible to her. Eventually, she managed to send the official document to American Airlines, and within 24 hours, her mission was accomplished successfully.

"Hi, Michelle. It took a month to obtain the police report from Howard County, but just one day after I submitted it to the customer service representative I had been communicating with since my request was acknowledged, I received confirmation that the miles were restored and would be transferred to my account within 7 to 10 days," she shared.

True to their word, American Airlines credited the 610,000 missing miles directly into Goldberg's account within the week. She was overjoyed and shared some advice for our readers to consider.

"I want to emphasize — and this goes for all administrative matters that widows and widowers face — the importance of persistence. If one person doesn't give you the answer you want, reach out to another ... and another ... and another, if necessary. You’re likely to find someone with compassion along the way," she advised.

I completely agree with Goldberg. As a consumer advocate, I often tell people not to abandon their efforts when they know they are right. Keep climbing that customer service ladder, and you are sure to find a sympathetic listener.

If you need help locating that sympathetic person, my advocacy organization, Consumer Rescue, is here to assist. We offer a free customer service and executive contact finder for consumers struggling to identify the right person within a company for support.

Bottom line

While there's no guarantee that you'll inherit your spouse's or partner's accumulated miles, you can enhance your chances of preserving what's left in their account by following a few straightforward steps.

• Never let a loyalty account go inactive.
• Change the contact email to yours as soon as possible.
• Update the password.
• Don't ignore any communications from your loyalty program.
• Formally request that the loyalty program transfer the points to your account.

And of course, if you encounter any issues, feel free to send your request for assistance to [email protected], and I'll be glad to help you as well.