PhlyingRPh

Here's a tricky question...

If one were to croak, what would be the best way for one's family members to use the points and/or miles in one's account?

My understanding is that in most programs, you take the points/miles to the grave and that there is no program option that allows others to posthumously operate the affinity accounts of the deceased.

However, if one's uncle Abbas or Uncle Guevara passed away and in their wills stated that I could use all their affinity points and miles from every program they participated in, clearly I could access some of their accounts online and make airline bookings in my name on virtually every airlines program without a problem. However, for hotels and car rentals it would be a bit more complicated as reservations in other people's names often require paper certificates/instruments, and often require a phone call by the account holder to set these up. Perhaps we could start a list of what it takes to make a booking in someone else's name for each of the most common affinity programs?

So, I'm not particularly interested in hearing the ethical dilemmas posed by the above scenario, unless you have never driven more than one mile over the speed limit and never paid a single bill more than a day late in your life. My position in respect to affinity programs is essentially that of Karl Marx. i.e., that all property is theft anyway, and for the purposes of this thread, the goal is to relieve the issuing corporate entity of the affinity points earned by the individual who has bequeathed said points to you in a will, even if the corporation issuing these points does not recognize the will. OTOH, maybe some companies do recognize such posthumous use of points, in which case it would be good to know about them.