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The other day, René from Eye of the Flyer wrote a post called, Secretary Buttigieg – Your First Move Should be to Stop Delta From Taking Miles from Grieving Loved Ones! In it, he talked about Delta’s policy to deactivate or close an account (and accordingly remove all miles in the account) if a Delta SkyMiles member passes away. René’s point was that Delta should change its policy and allow miles in a deceased member’s account to be transferred to someone else.

We had gone over this a few months ago in a post titled What Happens to Your Frequent Flyer Miles After You Die? In it, we went over the policies for all 9 major US-based airlines, and unfortunately, most (but not all!) are in the same boat as Delta: the miles belong to the airline, not the member. So just as “your” miles can be revoked if you p!ss the airline off enough, they also revert back to the airline upon your death (unless you go through some heavy handed trickery).

What about hotel points?

Just as travelers earn frequent flyer miles, they can also earn hotel points. So some people might wonder, if some airlines take their points back after you die, what happens to your hotel points under the same circumstances?

Happily, there’s not nearly as much doom and gloom from the hotel industry about that particular topic (I mean, the topic has enough doom and gloom as it is). Several (albeit not all) hotels have contingencies, so hotel points in a member’s account can be passed on upon their demise. Here’s the official word from several popular hotel brand umbrellas:

Accor

Accord, unfortunately, took a page from the vast majority of airlines. When a member passes away, they close the person’s account. Period.

In the event of a Member’s death, ACCOR will close the Member’s account on receipt of the death supporting document requested by the customer care team and will cancel all the Status and Reward Points as well as all the Status Nights earned by the Member.

One might consider the trick used to transfer airline miles from a deceased person’s account, but alas, Accor makes it well known that, “Points and Status Nights may not be transferred to another Member. They are strictly personal and non-transferable.” BOO!

Best Western

Apparently Best Western has no policy for a member’s death in their Terms & Conditions. However, according to The Motley Fool:

No policy in program terms, but points are transferable upon the death of the account holder; if the account has 50,000 points or more, the beneficiary must provide a copy of the account holder’s will. Transfers of less than 50,000 points don’t require one.

Choice

Choice hotels also apparently make no mention of what happens to your Choice Privileges upon a member’s death. Again, according to The Motley Fool:

No policy in program terms, but points are transferable upon the account holder’s death.

Hilton

Hilton, bless their heart, has an entire page devoted to what happens to a deceased member’s points. Essentially, points of a deceased member can be transferred, but status cannot. Fair enough. Here’s what they say:

In the event of a Member’s death:

• Points in the deceased Member’s account may be transferred to another Member upon Hilton’s receipt and approval of requested documentation and information.
• Transfer request and required documents must be provided within 1 year from the date of the Member’s death.
• Elite status can’t be transferred, and Points received by a Member through a transfer won’t count toward Elite status.

If you’re looking to transfer Points from a deceased Member’s account

1. Complete the Declaration form and send to priorityletter@hilton.com.
2. Provide a copy of the Member’s death certificate (doesn’t have to be a certified copy).
3. Provide a copy of an official document establishing the legal authority of the individual over the Member’s estate. 
4. The Member receiving Points must have an existing account. A new account can’t be created just to receive these Points.
5. Points can’t be transferred from a deceased Member to any number of recipients; however, separate paperwork must be completed for each.
6. There’s no minimum or maximum number of Points that can be transferred.
7. No fee will be charged.
8. Receiving Member(s) will receive Points within 5 business days of Hilton’s receipt of the completed documentation and information requested.

Transfers will be made within the sole discretion of the Hilton Honors team. Any decision made by Hilton Honors in response to a request for transfer is final and not subject to further review or dispute.

Hyatt

Like every other hotel brand, Hyatt’s rules about this topic aren’t nearly as easy to find as Hilton’s. They’re buried in a long page of Terms & Conditions—you know, the small print. Anyway, they mention a member’s death three times.

You can’t inherit someone’s points:

(f) Membership Nontransferable. Points, awards, membership benefits, and other aspects of a Member’s account in the Program do not constitute property of the Member. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, points, awards, membership benefits, and accounts cannot be given away by a Member and are not negotiable, commissionable, or redeemable for cash, and are void if a Member sells, barters, auctions, donates, assigns, conveys, or otherwise transfers them (or makes any attempt to do so) in a manner not expressly allowed by these Terms. Points, awards, membership benefits, and accounts may not be transferred via divorce or inheritance.

However just one paragraph down from that, it appears they can be reasonable:

As detailed elsewhere in these Terms, Hyatt may in some circumstances permit the transfer, combination, or conversion of points or awards or the merger of accounts in the Program.

Later on, they go into more detail:

In the case of documented death of a Member, points (but not elite status or awards) are transferable on a one-time basis to one (1) person sharing the same residential mailing address as the deceased Member. Receipt of points in such a transfer requires the recipient to be a Member.

IHG

IHG also hides its decisions about what happens upon a member’s death in a long list of T&Cs. But if you read the page long enough, you’ll be happy to discover that IHG offers fee-free transfers to an IHG Rewards member’s beneficiaries upon their death.

When an IHG One Rewards Member passes away, the Member’s Points may be transferred to the IHG One Rewards account(s) of the Member’s beneficiary(ies). The request for transfer should be sent to IHG Customer Care by the executor or administrator of the decedent’s estate, along with court documents showing authority, or by a sole beneficiary, along with copies of the decedent’s will and death certificate.

Marriott

Alas, Marriott’s rules about this topic are also buried in a long list of Terms and Conditions. But if you read long enough (and don’t fall asleep in the process LOL), they finally get to some good news (not that being about to a loved one’s hotel points is good news, because you’re only getting them after they’ve died…but you know what I mean.

In the event of a Member’s death, the Company may, in its sole discretion, allow unredeemed Points from the deceased Member’s Account to be transferred to a family member or a friend who is an active Member upon the Company’s receipt and review of all requested documentation and communications. Awards, hotel stays, Elite Membership Status, Lifetime Membership Status, and the related benefits, including, without limitation, Elite Night Credit, will not transfer to the recipient of the Points.

Radisson

Radisson will be happy to transfer a late member’s points to a beneficiary (or beneficiaries), albeit at their discretion.

Upon Death, Points belonging to a Radisson Rewards or Radisson Rewards for Bookers and Planners member who is deceased may be transferred to the account of the deceased member’s beneficiary(ies) at our sole discretion. The deceased member’s membership in Radisson Rewards or Radisson Rewards for Bookers and Planners must have been in good standing at the time of death.

So make sure you stay in good standing with Radisson!

Wyndham

Just as Accor took a page from airlines’ playbooks, Wyndham took one from Accor’s. Your points cannot be transferred upon your death.

Wyndham Rewards points in a Member’s account do not constitute property of the Member, have no cash value, and cannot, except as otherwise explicitly authorized in these Terms and Conditions, be sold, bartered or transferred by Member or any other party (other than Sponsor or its authorized agents) during or after the Member’s life, by operation of law or otherwise.

That being said, The Motley Fool does say otherwise:

…the name on the account can be changed with a death certificate showing surviving spouse or partner’s name, or account can be merged with surviving spouse/partner’s account.

What about reward programs from banks?

American Express Membership Rewards

Amex, apparently, will be willing to work with you:

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.

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