EWRTravelers

Any recent experiences with this topic? My mother passed away earlier this fall and she has a small MR balance (I am a supp on her account)

I want close out the account - will I be able to perhaps add them to my MR account? If not Ill probably transfer out to BA or Aeroplan as we tend to fly United/AA mostly.

Centurion

Some smart people, as in I am not saying do the following routine , would login online to your mother account and link your BA or Aeroplan number and transfer and then close your mother's account after the transfer. I would also make sure any family member who considers those miles part of your mother's estate knows what you are doing.

AndrewOnTheRoad

I just went through this yesterday for a deceased friend's Amex account and it's associated MR points so I thought I would provide a recent update with data points from an actual experience.

Called the number on the back of the deceased's credit card and said that we would like to inquire about the deceased's spouse retaining the Amex points or taking over the deceased's Amex account in order to retain the Amex MR points. The initial CSR transferred us to "a special department" they have that handles these sorts of request. That CSR said it would be no problem.

Said we had "two options each with their own pros and cons" and the awesome rep then outlined both options and their pros/cons.

1. Taking over the account: means maintaining the account history (age of account), taking over any balances, etc. and it means opening a new account as the same card type and right then over the phone.
2. Opening a separate new account (say from a referral link w/ a sign-up bonus) or if the person taking over the account already has an existing account then Amex would let us redeem the points for gift cards for/to the deceased's estate.

My friend's spouse decided to take over the account. We were told it would be a two part process whereby that current rep would properly note all the stuff for the account to be taken over and the points to be moved to the new account and then he would transfer us to another agent to actually complete the new account application over the phone. He said it would only take a few minutes and sure enough it only took a few minutes for him to make all the proper notes etc. before transferring us to someone to set-up the new account.

He did tell us that it takes up to 2 full billing cycles for the points to transfer over from the deceased's account and into the new account. He also said the two below statements as part of their standard disclosures.

1. We have to tell you that you are not obligated to take over this account and that the account, it's existing balances, etc. are the responsibility of the deceased's estate.
2. Do you agree to become a new member and take over existing balances disputes, etc.

After this we were transferred to the new CSR to actually set-up the new account, which meant completing a new account application over the phone. This was also easy but took about 10-15 minutes and was of course full of the standard, required disclosures.

At the end we were told the new card would arrive in 24-48 hours.

So, while the points haven't shown up in the new account I expect that there won't be any problems as they were very familiar with the process and were very happy to set-up the account take-over. (the account had zero balance on it) Hope this info helps someone.

hi-guy

How did Amex verify the person taking over the account was authorized to do so? Did they ask for a death certificate of the original account owner? Did they require a Will or Trust document indicating the new owner was the Personal Representative, Trustee, or Beneficiary of the estate?

StartinSanDiego

Thanks for the data point. This is interesting, since the high balance accounts can be thousands of dollars. It can be a worthwhile amount to pursue.

AndrewOnTheRoad

I forget how exactly they confirmed the person taking over the account was authorized to do so but it did not require a death certificate nor any wills etc. The specialist did ask who the executor of the estate was and then asked that we put that person on the phone as well. The CSR even said it would be fine to put it on speaker phone. They did ask to confirm the deceased account holder's information such as social security number, DOB, address etc. and then asked for the person taking over the account's same information. In this case the person taking over the account was the spouse of the deceased so maybe they were able to match that up via public records or even just via verifying the same address for both the deceased account holder and the new person taking it over...

Stgermainparis

StartinSanDiego

Sorry for your loss, @Stgermainparis. I hope it worked out with the MRs.

I'm taking care of an estate right now, but there were no MR earning cards in the portfolio, only SPGs in an under 1000 points amount. They transfer to any household member, but in 1000 point increments only.
I may phone them and ask to keep a card active under the guidelines outlined above for Amex. It would be much easier for the eventual accounting for the estate.

The Points Guy had an interesting write up on the Miles topic: https://thepointsguy.com/guide/point...after-you-die/

Also a good write up at OMAAT https://onemileatatime.com/airline-miles-death/

MaxVO

Just came across this thread and realized that most of us will have to deal with death in the family at some point. Hope folks who had more recent experiences will likewise share their DPs.

SuchThrill

What's the best legal way to transfer AmEx points to a family member given the tight restrictions? Ideas I'm aware of:
1) adding authorized user, but that takes 90 days and I need this done sooner.
2) transferring to airline/hotel partner and then from that account to the family member's airline/hotel account, but the hotel points are notoriously low value and sometimes worse than just cashing out AmEx points as gift cards, right? And transfers between *airline* accounts charge a lot.
3) redeem for cash cards, but that's the worst value.
Advice? Other options? Best?

guv1976

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What is the end result you are trying to achieve? Many (not all) airline frequent-flyer programs permit members to book reward travel for anyone, as long as nothing of value is given to the member in return.

SuchThrill

Goal is to redeem most value to a family member's name, by any method, before the cardholder dies. Cardholder is in medical decline. Your airlines idea would be good but that assumes cardholder remains alive. Cardholder is somewhat incapacitated. Another thought is, family member can become Power of Attorney for cardholder's account. But would AmEx allow POA to transfer/redeem to POA's name somehow? Don't imagine so.

guv1976

Why does the transfer have to occur before the cardmember dies?

https://frequentmiler.com/amex-allow...ds%2C%20etc.).

("Amex allows free Membership Rewards point transfer from deceased cardholder.")
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I would be surprised if a POA survived the death of the person granting the POA. Typically, the estate's executor or the public administrator would have control of the deceased's assets after death.

SuchThrill

In answer to your first question, transfer ideally has to happen before the cardmember dies because the will situation is gonna be complicated, with multiple competing executors and beneficiaries. And you're right, Durable POA exists only until the death of the person who granted it. Long story short, POA for the cardholder wants to efficiently redeem/cash out now in the most valuable and legal way possible.

guv1976

Unfortunately, given the constraints of the cardholder's situation, I don't think that there's any risk-free way to get very good value out of the existing MR points.