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It’s not the happiest thought in the world, but the inevitable ending for all of us is that we’re going to die someday.

We can make as many plans as possible for when it happens; mark your driver’s license so you can donate your organs if you’d like, make sure someone has access to any of your files and passwords they may need, make a will so people know who you want to get what, etc. But I promise you have some things that might not be easy to say, “What should we do with them?” once you’re gone.

Case in point, what happens to your frequent flyer miles when you die?

The first thing to remember is that frequent flyer miles aren’t property and are not really “yours.” They’re made-up currency you’re given for your loyalty, but those miles are still the property of the credit card or airline.

Each airline that offers miles includes as much in their terms and conditions as possible. Here’s United Airlines as an example:

“The [MileagePlus] Program is offered at the discretion of United and United has the right to terminate the Program, in whole or in part, or to change the Rules, benefits, conditions of participation, Premier (and/or Million Miler) qualification criteria or mileage levels, in whole or in part, at any time, with or without notice, even though changes may affect the value of Premier (and/or Million Miler) status levels, benefits, mileage or certificates already accumulated.”

And American Airlines:

“…the accumulation of mileage credit does not entitle members to any vested rights with respect to such mileage credits, awards or program benefits.”

Bottom line: your miles aren’t really your miles; they always belong to the airline. Therefore, you can’t put them in your will or include them as part of your estate (well, you can, but it won’t get your loved ones anything).

This brings us to our previous question: What happens to your frequent flyer miles when you die? Do they just disappear?

Officially, it depends on the program. Here’s what each program says if you Google the name of the airline, along with the terms “rewards” (or sometimes “frequent flyer miles”) and “death”:

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines doesn’t mention anything on its website about what happens to its rewards upon a member’s death. That being said, multiple sites suggest that if you send them a copy of the death certificate, they’ll transfer the deceased’s miles to a spouse or other request person, fee free, through their “Memorial Miles” program.

Allegiant Air

FAQ: Do my points ever expire?

Southwest Airlines

In the event of a Member’s death, his/her account will become inactive after 24 months from the last earning date (unless the account is requested to be closed) and points will be unavailable for use.

Spirit

Membership is non-transferable. Points credit and Reward Tickets are also non-transferable. Points
cannot be transferred from one Free Spirit account to another (other than with respect to duplicate
accounts as described below). Free Sprit points cannot be sold, gifted, pledged, attached, or seized.
Free Spirit accrued points and Reward Tickets do not constitute property of the member. Neither
accrued points, nor Reward Tickets are transferable by the member (1) as part of a domestic relations
matter, (2) upon death, or (3) by otherwise based on the operation of law

If the above won’t work well for you for Spirit, heads up that on April 1, 2022, Greg from Frequent Miler reported that Spirit had enhanced their Free Spirit loyalty program to the afterlife. 😉

United Airlines

In the event of the death or divorce of a Member, United may, in its sole discretion, credit all or a portion of such Member’s accrued mileage to authorized persons upon receipt of documentation satisfactory to United and payment of applicable fees.

So yeah – unfortunately, the only airlines that will officially allow the transfer of your miles to your loved ones upon your death are:

• Frontier
• United (well, maybe. They do say it’s at their sole discretion. In other words, “If they feel like it.”)

And Alaska MAY allow your miles to be transferred through their “Memorial Miles” program.

Is there anything I can do?

Yup. Those are the only 2 that officially allow your miles to be transferred upon your death, and of those, it’s “at their sole discretion,” which means it’s not definite. There are ways around it for the other airlines…it just means you have to do things a little bit, um, not how they would prefer.

Remember that unless you died in a plane crash on one of their planes, the airline(s) won’t know you died unless they’re told. So as long as your chosen person (A) has access to your account and (B) has their own account, they should generally be able to quietly transfer miles from your account to theirs, or use the miles in your account to buy flights, if the airline in question allows either of those.

Here’s where each airline stands on transferring miles to someone else and/or buying tickets for another person.

Alaska

Alaska’s Mileage Plan miles don’t expire, but for account security purposes, they lock accounts that have been inactive for more than 2 years.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, for a fee
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Allegiant

Allegiant’s Allways Rewards Points expire after 24 months of inactivity.

• Transfer miles to another person? No
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Points can be redeemed on all flight travel packages booked on Allegiantair.com.

American

American Airlines AAdvantage miles are valid for 24 months. Customers under the age of 21 are not subject to mileage expiration. However, the 24-month policy will apply as soon as they reach 21 years old, even if the miles were earned as a child.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, for a fee
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Delta

Under the SkyMiles Mileage Expiration policy, miles do not expire. Delta reserves the right to deactivate or close an account under the following circumstances: Fraudulent activity occurs. A Member requests an account closure.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, for a fee
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Frontier

Miles do not expire as long as you have activity every 12 months.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, using their “pooling” option
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Hawaiian

Hawaiian Airlines miles do not expire as long as the HawaiianMiles account is open and in good standing. The only time Hawaiian miles expire is when you or Hawaiian closes the account without first redeeming unused rewards.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

JetBlue

TrueBlue points never expire.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, using their “pooling” option
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Southwest

Rapid Rewards never expire.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, for a fee
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

Spirit

Points won’t expire as long as you continue earning or redeeming with Spirit or Free Spirit partners within 12 months. Another way to earn points and keep them from expiring is to apply for the Free Spirit® Travel More Mastercard®. As long as your credit card account is open, your points will not expire.

• Transfer miles to another person? No
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes, using their “pooling” option

United

MileagePlus miles never expire.

• Transfer miles to another person? Yes, for a fee
• Use miles to buy a ticket for someone else? Yes

What about reward programs from banks?

American Express Membership Rewards

If we cancel any of your Products for any reason (including your death, insolvency or bankruptcy), you’ll
lose all the points in your Rewards Account.

However:
• If you die, the executor of your estate or personal representative may be able to make a one-time
points redemption, depending on your Product, by calling 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276).

Bilt Rewards

How do I settle an account in the event of death?
Please contact customer service by calling the number on the back of your card.

This was confirmed via email by Richard Kerr, VP Travel at Bilt Rewards.

Capital One

Capital One has an entire page regarding what to do if a deceased loved one is a Capital One cardholder.  There doesn’t appear to be a policy in the program’s terms; it’s handled on a case-by-case basis.

Chase

Points earned are not the property of the Cardholder and are not transferable, have no cash value, and cannot be used as payment of any obligation to us or our affiliates, except to the extent specifically enumerated in the Redemption Rules.

Any points accrued shall be permanently forfeited if your Account has been closed, or upon the Cardholder’s death.

Citi ThankYou Rewards

You will lose your Points upon your death, and your estate, successors and assigns have no property rights or other legal interests in such Points, except under this circumstance:

Cash Reward Option. If we have received a written request within one (1) year of your death from the executor or administrator of your estate, along with evidence satisfactory to us of your death and the identity and appointment of the executor or administrator, we can allow Points remaining in your ThankYou account to be redeemed for Cash Rewards. Contact the ThankYou Service Center at 1-800-THANKYOU (1-800-842-6596) for more information.

With most airlines, your frequent flyer miles are forfeited upon your death. However, there are some “non-technical” ways to get around that, if your loved ones choose. Remember that if they’re caught, all frequent flyer miles in question will probably be forfeited, and, who knows, they might even have longer-term problems with the airline. I mean, I couldn’t see someone being banned from an airline because they transferred miles from a loved one who’s passed, but I guess it’s something to consider as “worse comes to worst.”

Credit cards with rewards that can be redeemed for miles each have their own rules.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary