The Invisible Estate: Don’t Let Your Loyalty Points Die with You

If cash is king and credit is queen, digital rewards points may be the wildcard in your household finances. Cash provides immediate purchasing power, while credit offers leveraged liquidity. Rewards points, meanwhile, function as a flexible form of currency that can offset everyday expenses, fund travel, or provide other benefits. But unlike cash and credit, rewards points may disappear when you do.

Most people don't factor rewards points and loyalty program credits into their overall cash flow or financial planning, even when they've accumulated a substantial balance. These rewards are also rarely addressed in estate plans, despite the fact that they can represent meaningful financial value. If you want to maximize the value of your points rather than risk losing them at death, they should be: 

• Inventoried

• Documented

• Addressed as part of your estate planning

 

The Legal Gray Zone

When you log into a banking or travel app and see a rewards balance, it can look remarkably similar to a digital bank statement. Legally, however, your cash and your rewards points exist in very different worlds. Money held in a bank account is generally property that you own. A rewards account, by contrast, typically represents a bundle of contractual benefits that you may use only according to the program's terms and conditions.

 

The Fine Print

Loyalty program terms commonly provide that points have no cash value, are personal to the member, remain the property of the issuing company, and may be transferred or redeemed only as the program permits.

In other words, you may not own your points in the same unrestricted sense that you own money in a bank account. Instead, you may have only a conditional contractual right to use them.

As a result, rewards companies generally have broad discretion over how their programs operate. They may change redemption rates, limit transfers, impose expiration dates, or close accounts, subject to applicable law and the terms of the agreement. That discretion is not necessarily unlimited. Federal and state consumer protection laws may apply when companies advertise rewards and then unfairly restrict consumers' ability to redeem them. Still, the starting point is usually the contract you agreed to when you joined the program.

These characteristics make rewards points particularly challenging from an estate-planning perspective. Although they can carry significant economic value, they do not necessarily come with the unrestricted ownership and transfer rights associated with cash, securities, or other traditional assets. That distinction can become especially important when the account holder dies.

 

Why You Can't Simply Bequeath a Mile

Because rewards points generally arise from a contractual relationship rather than traditional ownership of personal property, a will cannot override the terms of a loyalty program or give an heir rights that the account holder did not possess.

What happens to those points after death, therefore, often depends on the program's terms and the company's policies. Some programs may allow points to be transferred to a designated beneficiary, estate, or surviving family member under certain circumstances. Others may terminate the account and forfeit the accumulated rewards.

That uncertainty is precisely why rewards accounts deserve a place in your estate-planning conversation. A thorough inventory of your accounts, combined with careful review of each program's rules and appropriate instructions in your estate plan, can help ensure that valuable rewards don't simply disappear when you do.

• Strict Forfeiture:> Some programs prohibit transfers to an estate or beneficiary. For example, Southwest Airlines states that Rapid Rewards points may not pass through an estate, settlement, inheritance, or will.¹ When the account is closed following the member’s death, the remaining points are forfeited. 

• Discretionary Transfers: Other airlines reserve the right to make exceptions. United says that it may, at its “sole discretion,” credit some or all of a deceased member’s miles to an authorized person.² American Airlines provides that an AAdvantage account typically terminates at death unless the airline permits otherwise.³ In these cases, an executor or heir may request a transfer but cannot expect an automatic one as a property right. 

• Administrative Hurdles: Even when a company allows rewards to be transferred after death, the process can create significant administrative burdens for an executor. The company may require a death certificate, proof of the executor’s authority, account information, and other documentation. Transfer fees, processing requirements, or strict deadlines may also apply, adding another layer of complexity during an already difficult time.

• Account Closure and Forfeiture: Credit card rewards present an additional challenge. Once a card issuer is notified of a cardholder’s death, the account may be restricted or closed. Depending on the cardholder agreement and the issuer’s procedures, closing the account could cause unused rewards to be forfeited before the executor even knows they exist or has an opportunity to redeem them.

• Forced Cash Conversion: Some programs do not erase the account balance at death. For example, Chase Ultimate Rewards agreements state that points are not the cardholder’s property and cannot pass by inheritance.⁴However, when Chase is notified of a cardholder’s death, the remaining points are automatically redeemed for cash as a statement credit, preserving their cash value for the estate but eliminating the ability to transfer them to airline or hotel partners or for higher-value travel redemptions.

• Limited Unclaimed Property Protection: Most traditional financial accounts are subject to state unclaimed property laws, which may require dormant funds to be transferred to the state for later recovery. Loyalty points do not always receive the same protection. Some states expressly exclude frequent-flyer miles, merchandise points, and other noncash rewards from their unclaimed property statutes.

 

The Scale of the Unseen Wealth

Divorce courts have occasionally classified loyalty points accumulated during a marriage as marital property because they provide a measurable economic benefit.⁵ That legal recognition hints at just how much value lies within this gray zone.

The numbers are significant: 

• US consumers earned $47.5 billion in credit card rewards in 2024 and redeemed approximately $43 billion during the year, leaving about $4.5 billion unused or carried forward.⁶

• Hotel programs also carry enormous obligations. Marriott reported nearly $8 billion in deferred revenue tied to its Bonvoy loyalty program at the end of 2025.⁷

• Airline loyalty programs dwarf even that: Delta SkyMiles, American AAdvantage, and United MileagePlus were collectively valued at $83.7 billion in 2026. Delta’s program alone was worth $31.7 billion.⁸

• Gift cards and store credits add another layer. A recent Bankrate survey found that 43 percent of US adults held at least one unused balance with an average value of $244.⁹

Much of this value never gets used. The loyalty industry refers to unredeemed rewards as breakage—value lost to forgotten accounts, inactivity, expiration rules, or death. A 2026 industry report estimates that 26.2 percent of loyalty points go unspent and 11.9 percent expire before they are used, costing US consumers up to $10 billion in potential savings annually.¹⁰

That loss is unevenly distributed. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that subprime cardholders forfeit rewards at more than twice the overall rate.¹¹ Companies account for expected breakage when measuring their outstanding rewards obligations because permanently unredeemed benefits eventually reduce their liabilities. For consumers and their families, that breakage represents value that was earned and never recovered.

Death can quietly become another path to losing rewards, and unlike expiration or inactivity, that loss may occur before anyone realizes there was something valuable to preserve.

 

How to Preserve and Protect Your Loyalty and Rewards Points

To help ensure the rewards you've earned aren't lost to expiration, inactivity, or account closure, take the following steps to protect this often-overlooked form of wealth.

Audit and Maintain a Living Inventory

Treat loyalty points, airline miles, cash-back balances, gift cards, and travel credits with the same care you give to traditional financial accounts.

• Track Your Accounts: Create a comprehensive list of the loyalty programs you use, including account numbers, approximate balances, and estimated redemption values.

• Monitor Expiration Rules: Identify programs with inactivity or expiration provisions. In some cases, a simple qualifying transaction, such as making a purchase or transferring a small number of points, may be enough to keep an account active.

• Keep the Inventory Current: Review your list periodically to remove closed accounts, add new programs, and identify any unusually large or valuable balances.

Securely Document Access Information

An executor cannot administer an account they don't know exists. At the same time, account access information must be handled with care. Avoid putting passwords or other sensitive credentials directly in a will, which could become part of the public probate record.

• Use Secure Storage: Keep account credentials, recovery information, and other sensitive details in an encrypted password manager or another secure digital vault.

• Provide Access Instructions: Give your executor clear instructions for locating the inventory and explain how they can seek access through the provider's procedures.

• Take Advantage of Legacy Tools: If a password manager, email provider, or digital storage service offers emergency-access or legacy-contact features, consider designating a trusted person to use them if necessary.

Brief Your Executor on High-Value Programs

Some loyalty programs allow balances to be transferred or redeemed after death if an executor follows the company's procedures and provides the required documentation. Your executor should know which accounts are most valuable and where the relevant information can be found.

• Flag Significant Balances:Identify major airline, hotel, credit card, and retail rewards programs that should be reviewed promptly after death.

• Document Each Program's Requirements: Note whether a program permits transfers, allows post-death redemption, provides for discretionary exceptions, or prohibits transfers altogether.

• Address Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan: Work with an estate planning professional to authorize your executor to access and manage digital accounts and electronic records. While this authority cannot override a loyalty program's terms, it can give your executor the ability to identify accounts, obtain information, and pursue any transfer or redemption rights that are available.

 

Make Your Invisible Estate Visible

With billions of dollars in rewards reportedly going unused or expiring each year, loyalty points deserve a place in the estate-planning conversation. Your accumulated miles and points can represent more than just a perk. They may reflect meaningful financial value, as well as the time, spending, and effort you invested to earn them. While you may not be able to use those rewards yourself, that doesn't necessarily mean they have to disappear when you do.

Digital rewards may even provide a unique way to benefit someone through your estate plan. Making that possible, however, requires more than simply naming a beneficiary. It means understanding the program's rules, documenting your accounts and wishes, and giving your executor the information and authority necessary to pursue whatever redemption or transfer options the program allows.

If you need help ensuring your estate plan accounts for these often-overlooked assets, our experienced estate planning team is here to help. Contact us today to make sure your wishes are documented and your estate plan is prepared to protect what matters most.

 

1 Augusta Stone, What happens to your points and miles after you die?, The Points Guy (Apr. 10, 2026), https://thepointsguy.com/loyalty-programs/points-and-miles-after-you-die.

2 Id.

3 Id.

4 Id.

5 Bari Weinberger, Travel Rewards: Don’t Miss These Valuable Overlooked Assets in Divorce, Law.com (Oct. 7, 2022), law.com/njlawjournal/2022/10/07/travel-rewards-dont-miss-these-valuable-overlooked-assets-in-divorce.

6 Jack Caporal, Credit Card Rewards: Who Earns the Most Points?, Motley Fool Money (June 12, 2026), https://www.fool.com/money/research/credit-card-rewards-statistics.

7 U.S. Sec. and Exch. Comm’n, Form 10-K, Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2025, https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1048286/000104828626000007/mar-20251231.htm. 

8 Marisa Garcia, Revealed: The world’s most valuable airline loyalty programmes, with Delta SkyMiles topping the list at $31.7 billion, Aerospace Glob. News (Apr. 2, 2026), https://aerospaceglobalnews.com/news/worlds-most-valuable-airline-loyalty-programmes-2026. 

9 Katie Kelton, CCC, Survey: 43% of Americans have at least one unused gift card, Bankrate (Sept. 23, 2024), https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/news/gift-cards-survey. 

10 Antavo Global Customer Loyalty Report: More Than a Quarter of US Loyalty Programme Points Go Unspent With an Estimated $10 Billion in Savings Lost Annually, BusinessWire (Feb. 3, 2026), https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260203778943/en/Antavo-Global-Customer-Loyalty-Report-More-Than-a-Quarter-of-US-Loyalty-Programme-Points-Go-Unspent-With-an-Estimated-%2410-Billion-in-Savings-Lost-Annually. 

11 Consumer Fin. Prot. Bureau, The Consumer Credit Card Market, Report to Congress, p. 143 (Dec. 2025), https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_consumer-credit-card-market-report_2025.pdf.