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It’s MMMondayMemo: When do points expire?
Each Monday Miles has decided to drop a tip, hint, tutorial, trick that maybe you’ve missed or haven’t heard before. If you’re an expert in this field, some of these may be things you already know, but there are a lot of beginners out there who are just getting their feet wet. This week the Monkey Miles Monday Memo focuses on keeping your miles alive so that you can use them when you want! MMMondayMemo: When do points expire?
Yes, your miles will expire if you don’t do something to keep them alive!
The two big exceptions to this rule are Delta and JetBlue. But who knows with Delta, they devalue without warning so I’d assume they would do the same thing with their mileage terms. Here’s a look some of the top programs and their transfer partners:
| Program | Expiration after | Extend? | Transfer Partner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | 24 months | with activity | Amex | |
| Air Canada | 18 months | with any activity | Amex | |
| Alaska Airways | Accounts locked after 24 months of inactivity | Call to restart | Marriott | |
| American Airlines | 18 months | with any activity | Bilt, Marriott | |
| ANA | 36 months | nope | Amex | |
| Asiana | 10 years | nope | Marriott | |
| British Airways | 36 months | with any activity | Chase, Amex, Cap1, Marriott | |
| Delta | Never | Amex, Marriott | ||
| Emirates | 3 years | nope | Bilt, Chase, Amex, Citi, Cap1, Marriott | |
| Etihad | 18 months | Acitivty | Amex, Citi, Marriott | |
| EVA | 36 months | nope | Cap1, Citi | |
| Flying Blue: KLM/Air France | 24 months | Activity | Amex, Bilt, Chase, Citi, Cap1, Marriott | |
| Hawaiian | No expiration | Amex, Bilt | ||
| Iberia | 36 months | Activity | Chase, Amex, Marriott | |
| JAL | 36 months | nope | Marriott | |
| Jetblue | Never | Amex, Cap1, Marriott | ||
| Korean Air | 10 years | Marriott | ||
| Lufthansa | 36 months | nope Credit card holders of more than 3 months = no expiration Elites = no expiration | Marriott | |
| Malaysia | 36 months | activity | Citi, Marriott | |
| Qantas | 18 months | activity | Amex, Citi, Cap1, Marriott | |
| Qatar | 36 months | activity | Citi, Cap1, Marriott | |
| Singapore | 36 months from earning. | Not with activity. But you can pay a fee per 10,000 miles | Amex, Chase, Cap1, Citi, Marriott | |
| Southwest | None | Chase | ||
| Turkish | 36 months | For a fee ( $10 per 1k miles ) for another 3 years | Bilt, Citi, Cap1, Marriott | |
| United | None | Bilt, Chase, Marriott | ||
| Virgin Atlantic | None | Amex, Bilt, Chase, Cap1, Citi, Marriott | ||
| Hotels | ||||
| Accor | None | cap1 | ||
| Best Western | None | |||
| Choice | 18 months | Activity | Cap1, Citi, Amex | |
| Hilton | 24 months | Activity | Amex | |
| Hyatt | 24 months | Activity | Bilt, Chase | |
| IHG | 12 months unless elite then none | Activity | Bilt, Chase | |
| Marriott | 24 months unless lifetime elite | Activity | Amex, Chase | |
| Radisson | 24 months | Activity | ||
| Wyndham | 18 months | Activity | Cap1, Citi |
For MOST programs, activity will extend them.
That’s right, any kind of activity. Whether it be flights, dining, purchasing points, using a co-branded credit cards, etc. The clock resets with that activity. Pretty great really.
What are some easy ways to get activity without flying?
-
Have a credit card
- Many credit cards keep your miles alive without ever spending a dime on them. Even if they don’t, it’s very easy to just pay a parking meter or buy a coffee. That simple purchase will extend your miles.
-
Belong to a dining program
- Dining programs earn you money every time you dine at a partner restaurant. The best part is you don’t have to do anything after you’ve registered your card. Just dine, charge, and collect the points on the back end. It’s a great way to double dip: you’ll earn credit card points as well as points with whichever program your dining account is partnered.
-
Purchase Points
- If you’re really close to expiration, buy a 1000 points. Better to spend 30 or 40 bucks on buying some points than let all of them expire.
-
Transfer points
- Transferring points from a partner program qualifies as activity.
-
Redeeming points
- Just using your points restarts the clock on activity!
-
Shop through an award mall
- Most programs have some sort of award mall portal. If you want to buy something online and the store is listed as a partner of the award mall that you need to extend points with… buy it through that portal. That will give you the activity you need to extend your expiration date.
-
Credit your hotel stay to an airline
- Many hotels are partnered with airlines. En lieu of earning hotel points you can earn airline miles instead. This will push your expiration date out as well.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
- NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
- 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
- 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.
Benefits and Credits
- $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
- NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠ you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year. It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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