How to Prevent Your Airline and Hotel Points and Miles from Expiring

While many programs are shifting away from expiration policies for points and miles, it's still a frustrating reality in the world of travel rewards. After all, who wants to waste (almost) free travel opportunities?

Fortunately, there are numerous ways to keep your accounts active without needing to board a plane or embark on a mattress run. You can typically refresh the expiration dates of your hotel and airline currencies right from your desk or couch.

Some airline and hotel loyalty programs have even abolished expiration dates for their points and miles. Delta Air Lines and JetBlue have maintained this policy for years, while Southwest Airlines and United Airlines removed their expiration rules several years back. Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines have also eliminated mileage expiration policies.

If you're curious about whether your points and miles have expiration dates or how to keep them from lapsing, you’ve come to the right spot. We’ll outline when the most popular airline and hotel currencies expire and share tips on how to keep them active.

When do points and miles become inactive?

Certain loyalty program currencies have no expiration date. For those that do, points or miles typically lapse after one to three years of inactivity, potentially resulting in the loss of your accumulated balance. If your points or miles are nearing expiration, some programs provide easier options than others for extending their validity.

Expiration of airline points and miles

As illustrated, these policies vary significantly. Some programs consider any activity as sufficient to extend the expiration date, while others may not permit extensions or may impose a substantial fee.

The standout programs include Aeromexico Rewards, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, Delta SkyMiles, HawaiianMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. These programs ensure you won’t lose your account balances even during travel breaks.

Expiration of hotel points

Similar to airlines, hotel point policies vary widely. Most hotel points do expire (with the exception of Best Western Rewards), but these programs offer ways to extend the life of your points through various activities.

How to prevent your points and miles from expiring

Now that you’re aware of when your points and miles expire, how can you keep them active? Fortunately, there are several effective methods to do this. Here’s a list of the simplest options.

Aim to complete these actions at least a few months prior to your points or miles expiring, allowing sufficient time for the activity to be reflected in your account.

Apply for a credit card

Many airlines and hotel chains waive mileage expiration for customers who have cobranded travel credit cards.

For instance, possessing the IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card grants you automatic IHG Platinum Elite status. One of the benefits of IHG elite status is that points do not expire for active elite members.

However, not all cobranded cards provide this advantage.

Sign up for the dining rewards program

Many airlines and hotel brands offer dining rewards programs through the Dining Rewards Network. You can usually keep your account active by linking a credit card to an airline or hotel’s dining program and earning points or miles when you dine at any of the over 10,000 participating restaurants.

And don’t worry: Most of the time, you’ll still accumulate these points or miles even if you order takeout. Just ensure you pay the restaurant directly, not through third-party apps like Uber Eats or Grubhub.

We’ve observed that points or miles typically post within a week of your purchase. However, you can’t double or triple dip using the same card across multiple programs. You can participate in several dining rewards programs, but if you register the same card in multiple programs, it will only credit points or miles to the most recently linked program.

For example, you could add the Chase Sapphire Reserve® to the Alaska Mileage Plan Dining program and then link your American Express® Gold Card to the American Airlines AAdvantage Dining program. If you request the server at a participating restaurant to split your bill between these two cards, you'll extend the expiration date of your miles in both programs.

Utilize the program's shopping portal

This is likely the simplest option for most individuals: shop through the loyalty program's shopping portal.

Most major hotel chains and airlines provide a shopping portal where you can earn points or miles by beginning your shopping there and navigating to a participating merchant before completing an online purchase. Any eligible purchase can help keep your points or miles active.

We suggest using a shopping portal for all your online purchases. It’s a simple way to accumulate rewards with most airline programs, allowing you to earn points and miles more quickly for that dream vacation. Utilize a shopping portal aggregator to maximize the points and miles you earn on your purchases.

Transfer points from a credit card or hotel loyalty program

Transferring points from Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, or American Express Membership Rewards can keep your points or miles active in many programs. Since any amount of points and miles usually resets the expiration clock, aim to transfer the minimum amount needed, although most programs require at least 1,000 points or miles for partner transfers.

However, this does not apply to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. While the expiration clock will reset, it only applies to the points you just transferred.

Don’t have a transferable points credit card? Now might be a good time to consider getting one. These programs offer remarkable flexibility, allowing you to transfer points to various airline and hotel programs.

You can also transfer points from most hotel loyalty programs to keep your airline points or miles active. Programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Wyndham Rewards allow transfers to various airline partners. However, be aware that many hotel programs offer unfavorable exchange rates, and transfers may take several weeks to process.

Explore TPG's list of the best rewards credit cards to find one that suits your needs and spending patterns. Remember, diversifying your points and miles can shield you from award chart devaluations and airline bankruptcies, while also increasing your chances for award tickets.

Make a donation to charity

One of the simplest methods to keep your points and miles active is by donating them to charity.

Many airlines, including American Airlines and British Airways, have donation programs. Generally, the minimum donation is 1,000 points or miles. The points or miles are usually deducted from your account immediately, extending the expiration date of your remaining balance as soon as you confirm the donation. This is especially useful if your points or miles are about to expire in the next few weeks.

Book a flight or complete a hotel stay

Not every loyalty program recognizes all the actions above as "activity" to prolong the life of your points or miles. However, for many programs, a guaranteed way to keep your points and miles active is by booking a flight with the designated airline (or a partner) or finalizing a stay with the associated hotel chain.

In most airline and hotel loyalty programs, both earning and using rewards are deemed valid activities for maintaining your account's status. Keep in mind that paid flights and hotel stays typically won’t reset your points or miles expiration until the relevant points or miles are credited to your account (which usually occurs a few days after flying or checking out).

Ways to recover expired points and miles

Naturally, all the previous tips are for those actively working to keep their account balances in good standing. But what should you do if your points or miles have already lapsed?

While this may feel like a "too bad, so sad" scenario, there might still be hope. A few airlines and hotel brands allow you to recover your points and miles, usually for a fee. Whether this cost is worthwhile depends on the number and worth of the points or miles you’ve lost.

If the article above doesn’t address your specific program, consider reaching out to customer support for assistance. If your points or miles have just expired or you happen upon a particularly helpful agent, there’s a chance you might recover them for free. Be sure to ask kindly, and try to call during off-peak times when agents aren’t swamped with ticket changes or cancellations.

Key takeaways

Understanding when your points and miles expire and how to maintain their activity is crucial. While expiration policies vary across airline and hotel programs, many require some qualifying activity within a specified timeframe to protect your account balances from potential loss.

Save this page as a bookmark to consult whenever you're unsure about when your points and miles expire or if you need tips on keeping them active. We will continuously update it with the latest news and policy changes regarding points and mileage expiration. Preventing your points and miles from expiring can be the key to flying in economy versus business class on your next getaway.