I have no sympathy for him too but he may have some recourse. The story is from CTV Toronto so assuming he is in Ontario there are protections from expiring points. It would depend whether AC closed his account entirely or just wiped out the points.
https://www.ontario.ca/page/reward-points#section-2
New rules: Some points can’t expire
On January 1, 2018, new rules came into effect that stops the expiration of reward points based only on the amount of time that has passed since they were earned. The rules are not an all-out ban on expiring points.
In some cases your reward points may still expire, including, if:
- the reward program closes accounts when a member is inactive (does not earn or redeem any points) for a long period of time and this is stated in the membership agreement.
- the program issues a voucher as a reward (for example a discount on a purchase), that is considered a gift card and cannot expire
- the reward points can’t be redeemed for any single item over $50.