Definitive List of US Carriers' Mileage Expiration Policies?
Aug 22, 2006, 6:49 pm
#16
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
Originally Posted by choster
jetBlue TrueBlue
http://www.jetblue.com/trueblue/FF_T...onditions.aspx
http://www.jetblue.com/trueblue/FF_T...onditions.aspx
POINTS EXPIRE ONE YEAR AFTER THEY ARE EARNED AND TRUEBLUE AWARDS EXPIRE ONE YEAR AFTER THEY ARE ISSUED. THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS. Award Travel must be booked for travel available at or before the time of Award Travel expiration.
The new JetBlue Amex card can be used to avoid expiration (which is now reflected by a different working in the T&Cs you linked to than what you quoted).
From the website about the card:
https://www201.americanexpress.com/c...=82/14635/b/10
TrueBlue points don't expire. Use your Card or fly JetBlue and we extend the life of your points for a full year
[...]
The expiration date of all TrueBlue Points in your TrueBlue Membership Account will be extended to be 1 year from any date you have a TrueBlue point credited to your TrueBlue Membership Account from one of the following activities: (1) Using your JetBlue Card Account for the eligible purchase or (2) The primary Account holder flying a JetBlue flight segment that is paid for with your JetBlue Card Account. Eligibility and timing are based upon the date the TrueBlue point is credited to your TrueBlue Membership Account from one of the above qualifying activities.
[...]
The expiration date of all TrueBlue Points in your TrueBlue Membership Account will be extended to be 1 year from any date you have a TrueBlue point credited to your TrueBlue Membership Account from one of the following activities: (1) Using your JetBlue Card Account for the eligible purchase or (2) The primary Account holder flying a JetBlue flight segment that is paid for with your JetBlue Card Account. Eligibility and timing are based upon the date the TrueBlue point is credited to your TrueBlue Membership Account from one of the above qualifying activities.
Aug 22, 2006, 8:24 pm
#17
Moderator, Hilton Honors
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: on a short leash
Programs: some
Posts: 71,419
Aug 25, 2006, 11:20 pm
#18
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,554
Originally Posted by choster
It was just a cut-and-paste job from the FFP T&Cs, probably took about 15 minutes total as for the most part they were within a couple clicks of the home page. I'll go back through and paste the URLs, but today is not as slow a day at work. 
A plurality of that time was spent trying to find the trueBlue T&C, which are buried behind microfont links in a section whose navigation is inconsistent with the rest of their website. Next worse was Alaska, which requires you to download a half-megabyte PDF for program details.
A plurality of that time was spent trying to find the trueBlue T&C, which are buried behind microfont links in a section whose navigation is inconsistent with the rest of their website. Next worse was Alaska, which requires you to download a half-megabyte PDF for program details.
Thanks again
Aug 26, 2006, 8:13 pm
#21
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: DTW
Programs: DL 0.22 MM, AA 0.34 MM, PC Plat Amb, Hertz #1 GC 5*
Posts: 7,511
Considering that most airline programs say any milage event will keep the account active, it's amazing that any account (with accumulate milage) would go dormant. For instance, on DL, I kept it in the back of my mind that $30 would buy you 1000 miles... which if needed, was a very inexpensive way to keep an account active. NW has Amenity Packs, AA has Cinemark and Dannon promotions. You could subscribe to a magazine. There's tons of ways to acquire/use as little as 500 miles.
Steve B.
Steve B.
Aug 27, 2006, 9:49 am
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: home = LAX
Posts: 25,932
Originally Posted by sbagdon
Considering that most airline programs say any milage event will keep the account active, it's amazing that any account (with accumulate milage) would go dormant. For instance, on DL, I kept it in the back of my mind that $30 would buy you 1000 miles... which if needed, was a very inexpensive way to keep an account active. NW has Amenity Packs, AA has Cinemark and Dannon promotions. You could subscribe to a magazine. There's tons of ways to acquire/use as little as 500 miles.
For most of the major US airlines (including all that you mentioned) and at least one non-US airline (BA), if you either live near or visit sizeable cities in the US/Canada, join the no-cost iDine/Reward Network dining program for that airline, and sign up all the credit/debit cards you're likely to use when eating at a restaurant. Then occasionally eat at one of the particpating restaurants (and "eat" can include just having a coffee in many of them), and there you go, you've just extended your expiration. (If you do it rarer than 12 times a year, you won't get a whole lot of miles for it, but if you do it that little, you're presumably only concerned about the expiration, and in that case, who cares if that one cup of coffee a year only got you a few miles?)
As for $30 buying you 1000 miles, apparently at this time DL has no transaction fee, but many other airlines do, making it not so good a value (given that the transaction fee typically about the same as the cost of 1000 miles, meaning it effectively doubles the cost of such a small purchase).
Dec 18, 2006, 4:40 pm
#23
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: SJC
Programs: Does it matter any more?
Posts: 2,149
Jan 20, 2007, 11:08 am
#27
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Austin
Programs: AA P4L, WN, BA, DL, UA, HHonors, IHG
Posts: 3,485
Jan 20, 2007, 12:02 pm
#28
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,613
In practice, Continental is more lenient about miles expiry than they say they are. While the T&C say "If no mileage is deposited in your account for 18 consecutive months, commencing after June 1, 2001, your membership will be cancelled, and your miles may be forfeited.", my account was dormant between January 2001 and November 2004; the (9000-odd) miles were still there when I status-matched to CO and started flying them seriously in November 2004.
YMMV.
YMMV.
Jan 30, 2007, 10:53 am
#29
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 1,658
Here's what USA Today wrote on January 30, 2007.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztra...les-usat_x.htm
FREQUENT-FLIER MILES EXPIRATION POLICIES
Airline Frequent-flier program Expiration policy
AirTran A+ Rewards Credits expire after 12 months.
Alaska Mileage Plan Miles expire after 3 years of inactivity.
Aloha AlohaPass Miles don't expire.
America West Dividend Miles Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.
American AAdvantage Miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
ATA Travel Awards Points expire after 24 months.
Continental OnePass Miles don't expire.*
Delta SkyMiles Miles expire after 2 calendar years of inactivity.
Frontier EarlyReturns Miles expire after 2 calendar years of inactivity.
Hawaiian HawaiianMiles Miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
JetBlue TrueBlue Miles expire 1 year after the date they are earned.
Midwest Midwest Miles Miles expire if none are earned in 36 months.
Northwest WorldPerks Miles expire if none are earned for 3 calendar years.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Credits expire after 24 months.
United Mileage Plus Starting Dec. 31, miles expire after 18 months of inactivity, vs. 36 months now.
US Airways Dividend Miles Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.
* Written policy permits cancellation, but airline doesn't enforce it. Sources: Airlines, USA TODAY research.
More airlines' frequent-flier miles expire faster
Updated 1/30/2007 7:12 AM ET
By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY
Travelers who infrequently use their frequent-flier accounts may have to kiss their miles goodbye.
A growing number of airlines are establishing stricter policies that eliminate miles in inactive accounts.
Many travelers who hoped to some day parlay the miles into free flights or use them for a seat upgrade are furious.
The changes:
•US Airways. The carrier begins a new policy Wednesday that will delete all the miles of frequent-flier club members who haven't earned or redeemed Dividend Miles in 18 months, down from the current 36 months. It means accounts inactive since mid-2005 will be nullified.
•United Airlines. Beginning next Dec. 31, United will make the same change as US Airways.
•Delta Air Lines. Last month, Delta began erasing all miles in SkyMiles accounts that had been dormant for two calendar years. Its policy had been to permit 36 months of inactivity before miles would disappear.
"Frequent-flier miles are a liability on the company books," says Barbara Beyer, president of airline consultant Avmark. "The airlines really want to get rid of them as they clean up their balance sheets."
But the carriers may also be alienating potential customers.
"I hate the concept of expiring miles," says Josh Perlstein, president of a marketing and advertising company in Atlanta whose credits expired in AirTran's frequent-flier program.
Perlstein says he still flies on AirTran, but avoids the airline when competitors offer the same price and convenience.
Strict, or not
Of 16 U.S. airlines contacted by USA TODAY, only Continental and Aloha said miles do not expire in their frequent-flier members' accounts. Continental has a written policy stating that miles can expire if none are earned in 18 months, but the airline doesn't act on it, says spokesman David Messing.
AirTran and JetBlue have the strictest expiration policies, with credits or miles expiring one year after they are earned.
Airlines' expiration policies have nuances. For example, some carriers require miles be added to keep accounts alive. For others, adding or redeeming miles will keep the account alive.
Members of many airlines' frequent-flier clubs can prevent their miles from expiring by cashing some in for a magazine subscription. Or they can make an online purchase from a retail store that's affiliated with an airline and provides bonus miles.
The moves by airlines to tighten mileage expiration policies may not stick, says Andrew Watterson, of Mercer Management Consulting.
"Like airline prices, mileage expiration policies seem to go up and down based on the strength of the travel market," the airline consultant says. "It wasn't long ago when airlines were competing to lengthen the expiration period."
But that doesn't console frequent fliers such as Jerry Quintiliani, of Peoria, Ill., who isn't happy about the new policies. "I think it stinks, but what choice is there?" says the sales manager for a chemical company.
Quintiliani, who says about 20,000 of his American Airlines AAdvantage miles expired, says miles "have become nearly useless" anyway, because airlines have so few free seats available to vacation destinations.
Notification issues
Frequent fliers complain that airlines aren't giving them enough, or any, notice before they eliminate miles from dormant accounts. Some US Airways fliers, for example, say they received no notice before their miles expired.
Philip Gee, spokesman for US Airways, says "millions of customers" were notified with mailings or e-mail. The policy change was also posted on the airline's website, he says.
Midwest Airlines mails a notice to its frequent-flier club members who haven't earned miles for at least 30 months. The members are reminded about the airline's 36-month expiration policy and are offered a bargain fare to any city it flies to, says marketing director Steve Mathwig.
"We don't want to expire their miles, and would rather have them fly with us again and stay active in the program," he says.
Many airlines are letting fliers whose miles have expired buy them back for a fee. US Airways charges a $50 "processing fee" and a "reactivation fee" of 1 cent per mile.
"This is inane," John Rainey, a software consultant in Marietta, S.C., says of airlines' buyback policies. "I have already paid for the miles once. … Why would I choose to pay for it again rather than choose a more customer-friendly airline?"
http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztra...les-usat_x.htm
FREQUENT-FLIER MILES EXPIRATION POLICIES
Airline Frequent-flier program Expiration policy
AirTran A+ Rewards Credits expire after 12 months.
Alaska Mileage Plan Miles expire after 3 years of inactivity.
Aloha AlohaPass Miles don't expire.
America West Dividend Miles Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.
American AAdvantage Miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
ATA Travel Awards Points expire after 24 months.
Continental OnePass Miles don't expire.*
Delta SkyMiles Miles expire after 2 calendar years of inactivity.
Frontier EarlyReturns Miles expire after 2 calendar years of inactivity.
Hawaiian HawaiianMiles Miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.
JetBlue TrueBlue Miles expire 1 year after the date they are earned.
Midwest Midwest Miles Miles expire if none are earned in 36 months.
Northwest WorldPerks Miles expire if none are earned for 3 calendar years.
Southwest Rapid Rewards Credits expire after 24 months.
United Mileage Plus Starting Dec. 31, miles expire after 18 months of inactivity, vs. 36 months now.
US Airways Dividend Miles Miles expire after 18 months of inactivity.
* Written policy permits cancellation, but airline doesn't enforce it. Sources: Airlines, USA TODAY research.
More airlines' frequent-flier miles expire faster
Updated 1/30/2007 7:12 AM ET
By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY
Travelers who infrequently use their frequent-flier accounts may have to kiss their miles goodbye.
A growing number of airlines are establishing stricter policies that eliminate miles in inactive accounts.
Many travelers who hoped to some day parlay the miles into free flights or use them for a seat upgrade are furious.
The changes:
•US Airways. The carrier begins a new policy Wednesday that will delete all the miles of frequent-flier club members who haven't earned or redeemed Dividend Miles in 18 months, down from the current 36 months. It means accounts inactive since mid-2005 will be nullified.
•United Airlines. Beginning next Dec. 31, United will make the same change as US Airways.
•Delta Air Lines. Last month, Delta began erasing all miles in SkyMiles accounts that had been dormant for two calendar years. Its policy had been to permit 36 months of inactivity before miles would disappear.
"Frequent-flier miles are a liability on the company books," says Barbara Beyer, president of airline consultant Avmark. "The airlines really want to get rid of them as they clean up their balance sheets."
But the carriers may also be alienating potential customers.
"I hate the concept of expiring miles," says Josh Perlstein, president of a marketing and advertising company in Atlanta whose credits expired in AirTran's frequent-flier program.
Perlstein says he still flies on AirTran, but avoids the airline when competitors offer the same price and convenience.
Strict, or not
Of 16 U.S. airlines contacted by USA TODAY, only Continental and Aloha said miles do not expire in their frequent-flier members' accounts. Continental has a written policy stating that miles can expire if none are earned in 18 months, but the airline doesn't act on it, says spokesman David Messing.
AirTran and JetBlue have the strictest expiration policies, with credits or miles expiring one year after they are earned.
Airlines' expiration policies have nuances. For example, some carriers require miles be added to keep accounts alive. For others, adding or redeeming miles will keep the account alive.
Members of many airlines' frequent-flier clubs can prevent their miles from expiring by cashing some in for a magazine subscription. Or they can make an online purchase from a retail store that's affiliated with an airline and provides bonus miles.
The moves by airlines to tighten mileage expiration policies may not stick, says Andrew Watterson, of Mercer Management Consulting.
"Like airline prices, mileage expiration policies seem to go up and down based on the strength of the travel market," the airline consultant says. "It wasn't long ago when airlines were competing to lengthen the expiration period."
But that doesn't console frequent fliers such as Jerry Quintiliani, of Peoria, Ill., who isn't happy about the new policies. "I think it stinks, but what choice is there?" says the sales manager for a chemical company.
Quintiliani, who says about 20,000 of his American Airlines AAdvantage miles expired, says miles "have become nearly useless" anyway, because airlines have so few free seats available to vacation destinations.
Notification issues
Frequent fliers complain that airlines aren't giving them enough, or any, notice before they eliminate miles from dormant accounts. Some US Airways fliers, for example, say they received no notice before their miles expired.
Philip Gee, spokesman for US Airways, says "millions of customers" were notified with mailings or e-mail. The policy change was also posted on the airline's website, he says.
Midwest Airlines mails a notice to its frequent-flier club members who haven't earned miles for at least 30 months. The members are reminded about the airline's 36-month expiration policy and are offered a bargain fare to any city it flies to, says marketing director Steve Mathwig.
"We don't want to expire their miles, and would rather have them fly with us again and stay active in the program," he says.
Many airlines are letting fliers whose miles have expired buy them back for a fee. US Airways charges a $50 "processing fee" and a "reactivation fee" of 1 cent per mile.
"This is inane," John Rainey, a software consultant in Marietta, S.C., says of airlines' buyback policies. "I have already paid for the miles once. … Why would I choose to pay for it again rather than choose a more customer-friendly airline?"
