Can miles be inherited or willed to someone?
 

As mileage addicts and frequent flier, we are all guilty of flying too much and often go for the mileage runs for no reason at all except for the miles and status.

I was reminded by my partner that this increases the odds that we could die in an air-crash.

What will happen to the miles? Seeing that we have so many of them.

Check out the Inside Flyer back issues (archived and accessible through www.webflyer.com ). There was a very good and detailed article on this topic.

Even if the airlines won't let you legally give the miles to someone, they have no way of knowing if you are dead unless your death was caused by an accident on one of their planes. Therefore, you could just leave your PIN code to someone, and they can redeem your miles without a problem.

I haven't read the archive to see what the earlier conclusion was, but I can tell you from first hand experience that when my father passed away, one call to AA and they transferred all his miles into my mother's account. This was about three years ago.

They did not ask for any documentation at all.

Check out the cover story in the Sept. '98 issue of InsideFlyer: http://www.webflyer.com/@flyer/arcdom/sep98/issutoc.htm

This is truly bizarre...

I was in Hawaii a few days ago. I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing...I don't know what made me think of this very question, perhaps because of recent events. I thought in passing that perhaps I could post the question on the board. I'd since forgotten about it, and here it is again.

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If don't go, you'll never know.

[This message has been edited by wanderlust (edited 02-06-2000).]

I know that Swissair's Qualiflyer programme will transfer the miles of the deceased to spouse or next-of-kin upon presentation of a death certificate.

AC and CP's miles can be willed to anyone. But I think prior arrangements must be made with the airline.

We all have a large to very large interest in having legislation to force the airlines to allow for willing of points (beneficiary statments) after a member dies.

Seems like a letter writing program to the airlines with copies to Congress, the Senate and the FAA would be in order.

Perhaps this could be organized? Maybe repeated annually on a day of significance, until something is done.