CarolynAnn

Has anyone had any experience in transferring miles after the death of the primary account holder? My husband passed away in January. American Airlines transferred his miles to me with no problem - in fact, the same day I requested the transfer. But I have heard many different answers about SW's policy. Any advice appreciated.

rsteinmetz70112

I can only suggest calling Dallas and asking. I'd do it soon, the longer you wait the less likely they are to be understanding. That also might cause problems.

On the other hand.

According to the T&C

It appears if you have access to the account (or can arrange it) you can use the points or possibly transfer them to another account (usually for a fee). If you don't tell them they are unlikely to know the member passed away. The 24 months expiration indicates there is no special status and if points could be added the account could be kept active indefinitely, until the points could be used.

If there is a Southwest Credit Card, it may remain active indefinately, I know my MIL used credt cards in her husbands name for years.

toomanybooks

Sorry about your loss.

From the T&C:

"Points may not be transferred to a Member's estate or as part of a settlement, inheritance, or will. 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."

As usual with Southwest this is a bit vague, but if the account is active for 24 months, presumably you can spend down the balance. Maybe even earn to it.

MSPeconomist

If you know the password to the account, I'd suggest using the miles fast. This assumes that there was some fairly recent account activity and that Southwest didn't close the account as a result of you contacting them about transferring the miles.

Often1

Unfortunately, like much of the advice you get, it's from people who can't be bothered to have read one sentence in the t&c. That sentence is crystal clear and is not particualrly different than AA's. Presuming that you had the facts to justify an AA transfer, you should have the facts to justify a WN transfer as well.

I don't know what AA required of you, but just have that handy for WN and don't offer more than is requested.

As to emptying accounts after death, you can do that with bank accounts, their houses and other property before folks catch wind of the death. But, it's sort of a bad way to go about things.

rsteinmetz70112

Please enlighten us.

nsx

AA says they don't allow transfer on death but they do. They email you a form and you sign it, scan it, and email it back with a scan of the death certificate. No charge and the miles are moved pronto at no cost. I've only done this with a tiny account, so I don't know if they would be as accommodated with a large balance.

rsteinmetz70112

That's entirely true. Here is the quote from the AAdvantage T&C:

CarolynAnn

Yes, American was great about transferring a large balance of points. I called one morning and had the points by that evening. Apparently Southwest used to allow transfers because at some point in the last year, I found a form online (not on their site) to transfer miles. I don't want to call because I don't want to trigger anything - he had a very large balance of points and I don't want to lose them.

Maybe the easiest thing to keep the account active would be to open a SWA credit card (I closed his) and earn additional miles. But now my question is: if the credit card is in my name, will can I have the points added to his rewards account?

LegalTender

Blindingly obvious that's not how it works.

joshua362

Unless you get positive confirmation WN will bless a transfer, I would just KISS. Was the online form just their normal process for anyone to transfer for a steep fee?

Burn the points as needed. Buy a magazine sub or do something else to keep the account active if time becomes a factor. Often "doing it the right way" incurs more red tape, time and hassles than its worth. Real Estate and bank accounts are one thing, piles of "funny money" are just that.

The new credit card shouldn't work because the names don't match. If you are interested in collecting more, open in your own name. But it sounds like you have too many points already?

rove312

The big question is: do you have access to his account so you could use his points to book travel for yourself, or to his email to get a password reset? If you aren't ready to book travel now, you could make a small purchase through the shopping portal to extend the point expiration.

joshua362

Oooops, that is a HUGE question. I (mistakenly) thought that was the case. Otherwise you'll be at their mercy making this all moot.

rsteinmetz70112

Im a little surprised no one with recent experiance has not come along and commented.

rove312

Also, what kind of ID verification is there if one books an award by phone?