Sorry for the loss.

The 70K SMs can be spent on anybody, so they can easily be used as they can be directly spent on a ticket for anybody (do not transfer them to your own account).

Alas the e-cert is probably worthless . If he cancelled a flight, the cert is just a marker for the the ability to change that flight to another flight. As such it would be completely non transferable. It is possible though that you miss-described it. So read the terms carefully,

Sorry for your loss. If you have his online DL SM password you can book flights for you or anyone from his SM account prior to DL being notified that he has passed away as they will close the account. In terms of the ecredit check the number of it. If it starts with 006054 then only he could travel on it. If it starts with 006064 then anyone traveling with him on the same itinerary may use it for say $400 each. So technically you could book a trip for him and you or him and anyone and the other traveler could still fly. Sorry once again.

Sorry for your loss. Per the Delta contract of carriage:

Likely you should exercise this option before the ticket expires but after you use any miles, if you choose to do so, as it’ll probably trigger the closure of their account.

As others have said, sorry for your loss. You should contact Delta directly regarding the left over e-certificate. With the proper documentation, you should
be able to get a refund of the original amount paid. I have assisted many people with this and it should not be a problem (with the appropriate documentation). Delta is by far
the easiest airline to worth with in this situation.

My condolences.

I am also a widow and send my most sincere condolences. I have great empathy for you. I wouldn’t be so quick to assume the miles are forfeited. The Wall Street Journal had an interesting article about this recently. I can’t link to it, but perhaps someone else can.

i simply used my husband’s miles to buy tickets for family members to attend a wedding. If you know the logins, you should be set.

Once again, I am truly sorry for your loss.

If you dont know his login, follow the steps to reset it. Whatever you do, dont call and say he passed away. If needed have a male relative call if they wish to speak with him.

That should be useful for the credit. Hopefully DL should just refund to the estate. If not, OP could always use the credit to buy a ticket in hubbie's name and refund that.

Wouldn’t that new ticket be non-refundable and issue back as another e-credit, not a refund? I think it would still carry the same terms as the original credit.

Thank you all for the kind words of sympathy and helpful suggestions. I do have his log-in information saved, so that part is not a problem. It looks as though I need to decide whether the e-credit (worth close to $1000 if they restore the fee deducted when we cancelled the trip) or the 70,000 miles would be worth more. I say that because Delta will certainly erase the miles if I call to process a refund, and it would not look good to spend the miles and then ask for a refund based on his death which took place before the miles were spent. Given the current value of SkyMiles, it looks like the refund would be better. Any thoughts? And thanks again for the responses.

No need to be so nice. DL won’t even blink that you used the 70,000 miles just prior to calling in about the death. It would be foolish not do so. You can either call in for the refund after the award tickets are either booked or flown. Up to you.

You mean other than they have a specific policy that says they are? It is one of the most pathetic policies they have.

Book award tickets, then ask for refund. You have one year from original date of purchase to request refund. It likely could be done later, but will require more work by DL than they're willing to do.

You said "it would not look good" to spend the miles, which points to a moral compass. And in the grand scheme of things 70,000 points ($700 dollars) is not a lot of money. Claim the e-credit but forgo the miles.

The odds of them blinking an eye about using miles prior to calling about the eCert are slim to none. If they do blink an eye, tell them you didn't know. It'd be awfully crass of them to dispute this with you