Originally Posted by
sethb
If the airline claims to provide benefit for "lifetime miles" then they're guilty of False Advertising when they claim that some miles the passenger flew during his lifetime "don't count".
They're entitled to change the rules at will. They're not entitled to lie about them.
AA offered "lifetime" "non-expiring" miles. They were actually usable for some specific rewards not available to those using the "three years became eighteen months" miles (iirc). But they announced those miles would either be used for the few remaining, highly diminished awards, or migrated into regular 18 month miles.
They did. Their lawyers have made sure those kinds of decisions are pretty much incontestable.
This isn't much different. A frequent flyer stops flying. The account cancels. The miles and record of lifetime miles disappear.
You rant on FlyerTalk, call everyone who disagrees with you wrong, apologists, whatever. Water under the bridge. No change. It is what it is, not what you want it to be.