Programs that do not allow miles/points to be inherited
 

Sorry for morbid topic, but I was in the process of updating the frequent flier section of a file for my wife that tells her what to do in the event of my passing (I seem to do this after every birthday). I know that there have been a number of threads on inherited miles and points, but I’m wondering if there’s a list out there of FFPs that do not allow miles or points to be inherited. The only one I know of off the top of my head is HA. Anyone know of any others? There was an old thread that referenced a story in a 1998 edition of WebFlyer, but that link is bad.

This isn’t something I dwell on regularly and I don’t plan on going anywhere in the near future - I just want things to make things as easy as possible for her in the event… I have some decent miles and points balances, and I’d hate for her to lose them. And if I had a little notice of the inevitable, I’d try to use or transfer those points I couldn’t pass on to her.

the last time we updated our wills, we included a general statement re mi, pt etc. i wouldn't avoid an attractive plan which didn't allow xfer to a heir for just not being able to put the benes in my estate....

however, i don't know of any who prohibit xfer at death....

I know this isn't what you asked, but I'd note that the simplest and safest strategy is simply to make sure that you document your account numbers and passwords.

Every program I know of lets people "gift" awards to other people, and none of them know that a member has died unless a survivor chooses to notify them. So in the event that you pass away, your wife can simply log into your account and redeem awards that way.

Qantas. Their terms and conditions state that the account expires (and all points are forfeited) on the death of the member.

Of course that requires QF to know that the member has died. Like many others, my wife and I know each other's account numbers and passwords.

Air Canada Aeroplan: when my mother died last year, my dad couldn't access the relatively small (100,000 point) balance that my mother had.

BA

Our kids already know how to use our miles, so I don't imagine that anything will change when we die.

Of course, our real goal is to use every last mile and point while we are still healthy enough to enjoy trapsing around the world together.

IIRC NWA told me that their miles could not transfer after death.

Flying Blue says the same thing (not transferable on death).I know some say this but nonetheless permit transfer (or use by another) after death, but I have never heard of Flying Blue allowing it.

However, some (e.g., AA) charge a fee per mile that makes this not very cost-effective except to top up an account for an award, and have annual limits on the number of miles that can be gifted from one account to another that makes this impractical in any case if someone passes away with a substantial balance.

I said gift "awards", not "miles".

Your BA Miles die with you with BA Executive Club as well.

It is therefore best to take out a Household Account so that any of up to seven named relatives could use the balance once you have gone on that last great flight:rolleyes:


See paragraph 16 of this web page: https://www.britishairways.com/trave...club/_gf/en_gb

Sorry about that, I misread your post.

Program outside USA mostly do not allow miles to be inherited.

Good advice. She could do that with my accounts for AA and DL. I don't believe Hilton lets you book an award online in someone else's name, so she'd have to have our son or brother-in-law call it in; I think Starwood's the same. God only knows about TripRewards (which I have ~200K in from crews working out of town).

I would rather have her to transfer the AA miles to her account, simply because it would her get closer to, if not over, the threshold for lifetime gold.

singlemalt , she could always book a room for 2, you and her. Then when she checks in she could just say something vague, like, "I am not sure when my husband will show up". :o

Hunki and I are grandfathered in as co-owners of our HHonors account, but he is the sole name on our SPG account. Nevertheless, I still am the only one that communicates with SPG or Hilton on-line or on the phone and they never ask any questions, and our daughter frequently calls UA to get award tickets using my account and never has a problem. She is, of course, very good about requesting permission before booking a ticket and she always seems to find saver awards, even in the busiest of times.