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A summary of what happens with your miles after death?
This thread on AA forum got me wondering about the various ways programs treat or allow miles to be used after death. I think it will be useful to have a summary in one place.
Please provide information on your programs. Miles expire upon death Note that in some circumstances the miles can be used if the program is unaware of the death.
Miles may be transferred as part of estate upon death Please advise if there are program restrictions on who the beneficiary(s) are (eg can only be transferred to a single person, can only be transferred to immediate family).
Other Please advise the treatment.
Updated to post #15. zzz |
According to UA's MP Program Rules:
Accrued mileage and certificates do not constitute property of the member. Neither accrued mileage nor certificates are transferable (i) upon death, (ii) as part of a domestic relations matter, or (iii) otherwise by operation of law. |
NZ Airpoints:
8.6 Accumulated Airpoints Dollars and any other benefits related to the Programme are not your property. Accumulated Airpoints Dollars are not transferable except: • in accordance with clause 1.4.5; or • if required by law 8.9.2 Your Membership will terminate on your death. Airpoints Dollars and any other benefits earned but not redeemed at the time of your death will be cancelled for no consideration, unless a transfer is permitted in accordance with clause 8.6. We'll terminate your Account when we receive notification of your death. |
This reminds me! I need to make a list of all my memberships, acct. #s, passwords, & usernames for my Executors & Trustees!
Some airlines will transfer to a person named as a primary heir in the deceased person's will or to anyone specified in a letter signed by the executor, submitted with proof of executor status. If not, just issue awards from the decedent's acct. in whoever's name. Of course, this won't help with odd amounts. |
Inside Flyer ran a piece on this a few years ago:
http://www.insideflyer.com/articles/...e.php?key=1641 American AAdvantage: Mileage does not need to be specified in the will but American does require a copy of the pages, which identify the decedent's name, the executor's or personal representative's name, and a page showing the date of execution and signature of the maker. If the AAdvantage account is specifically mentioned, a copy of that page must be included as well. If the AAdvantage account has less than 10,000 miles, only proof of death is required; if more than 10,000 miles -- a transfer fee of $50 will be charged. Continental OnePass: Transfer to a surviving spouse or a named beneficiary may be done provided the inheritor is also a OnePass program member at the time of the account member's death. The account does not need to be mentioned in the will, but Continental does require a copy of the death certificate and a testimentary letter appointing the executor who authorizes the transfer of miles to the inheriting member. Continental charges no fee for the transfer. Delta SkyMiles: Mileage does not need to be specified in the will but Delta does require a copy of the will if the beneficiary is not the spouse. If there is more than one heir, and the account is not specifically assigned to any one heir, a letter from all the heirs is needed to assign the account to any one of them. Delta charges no fee for the transfer. |
Delta has a special form to fill out in order to request the transfer: http://images.delta.com/delta/pdfs/affidavit.pdf
Note: I just realized this form still has the "old" blue/red widget. I don't know if DL hasn't updated the form or if it is no longer valid. But as you can see, it is still on the site. |
Qantas Frequent Flyer:
8.3 Membership will terminate automatically on the death of a Member. Points earned but not yet redeemed or transferred prior to the death of the Member will be cancelled. Qantas will close the Member's account on notification of the Member's death. Qantas will not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever suffered by any person as a result of such cancellation. Virgin Blue Velocity: If you die, VRPL will give the executors or administrators of your estate an opportunity to notify VRPL within 12 months after your death with their wishes regarding Points allocated to you at the time of your death. |
Northwest's policy
Except as otherwise explained below, mileage credit is not transferable and may not be combined among WorldPerks members or conveyed by any means to anyone, including through a member’s estate, and may not pass to members’ successors and assigns. Accrued mileage credit and award certificates and award tickets do not constitute property of the member. Neither accrued mileage, award certificates nor tickets are transferable by the member (i) upon death, (ii) as part of a domestic relations matter or (iii) otherwise. Mileage earned from another frequent flyer program cannot be transferred to the WorldPerks program. |
Aeroplan's policy
Aeroplan Terms and Conditions state that Aeroplan Miles or Rewards are personal and cannot be assigned, traded, willed or otherwise transferred. However, reflecting its desire to express compassion, Aeroplan's practice is to allow the transfer of miles. The legal beneficiary or beneficiaries may request that miles be transferred to their account(s) for an administration fee of C$30 plus C$0.01 per mile transferred (plus taxes where applicable). |
Here is what Asia Miles (CX) states with regards to death of a member:
Upon the death of a member the membership account will be closed and all outstanding Mileage Credits will be cancelled. |
Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
(Post 9143892)
Miles expire upon death. Note that in some circumstances the miles can be used if the program is unaware of the death,
CX Asia Miles NW WorldPerks NZ Airpoints QF Frequent Flyer UA Mileage Plus |
From the United Forum FAQ:
Mileage Plus - Transferring Miles Upon Death of Member? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=343634 |
Emirates:
(A bit each way really!) 1.5 Membership is automatically terminated on the death or bankruptcy of a Member. Miles accumulated prior to termination in these circumstances will be immediately cancelled. However, Skywards may, at its own discretion, reinstate Miles in favour of the heirs of the deceased Member upon the application of his or her personal representative. |
Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
(Post 9143892)
Miles expire upon death
Note that in some circumstances the miles can be used if the program is unaware of the death. [*]HA |
From USAIR Dividend Miles Guide online:
http://www.usairways.com/awa/content...aspx#memrights (USAir) Mileage transferability All outstanding mileage may be transferred to the estate of a member upon a member’s death, after production of appropriate documentation such as a death certificate and proof of beneficiary within 6 months of the member's passing. Miles cannot be transferred if the deceased member's account has been inactive for more than 36 months at the time of the member's passing. Mileage may not be transferred to any other person except pursuant to these rules. DIVIDEND MILES SERVICE CENTER US AIRWAYS P.O. Box 025458 • Miami, FL 33102 1-800-428-4322 or better # 1-800-949-0427 per the USAir Gold line (I got 10 or so points last year added by creating a Points.com link for a relative's USAir account, to keep the miles still active, anticipating their non-use or passing.) *** There is always the means to transfer miles to a charity, such as ARC / make-a-wish / children's miracle network for emergency travel, etc. **** |
Does anyone have info to add/amend to the opening post?
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How would an airline know if anybody was dead if nobody notifies the airline?
I once chased down a refund on my mother-in-law's CO ticket because she died before the departure day. If I didn't send in a copy of the death certificate, CO would never have known. I help manage my relatives' ff accounts because they're not exactly on top of things as the average FT forum participant is. |
Originally Posted by Long Zhiren
(Post 12328367)
How would an airline know if anybody was dead if nobody notifies the airline?
I once chased down a refund on my mother-in-law's CO ticket because she died before the departure day. If I didn't send in a copy of the death certificate, CO would never have known. I help manage my relatives' ff accounts because they're not exactly on top of things as the average FT forum participant is. |
Originally Posted by glocklt4
(Post 16330573)
That's exactly what I was about to ask - course it has been nearly 2 years and no one has answered this yet... I don't see how they will know either. I just signed my 91 year old grandmother up for a BA card and plan to manage everything myself. BA miles expire when you... expire. Since my wife and I are doing a month long One World Award next month we may not get to do too much more traveling the rest of the year to burn those 100k BA miles, but since she's older it obviously makes sense to use those miles first. The credit card company will find out somehow through SSN and credit reports, but BA can't check any of that. Maybe close the BA Chase card pretty quickly so that BA couldn't get a living status from Chase somehow.
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Originally Posted by juggler451
(Post 16330779)
Problem is need two CC's of account holder when making booking on BA w/ miles--at least on the phone. Maybe need to get grandma on as authorized user on two of your accounts and put her FF account at your address.
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Thank you! I didn't even think about this before but taking into account that so far I have applied to pretty awesome programs within the last few months, I have accrued good mileage so far.
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BAEC also allows you to add third parties to be able make bookings. Just did this so don't know how varies items needed for redemptions when FF account holder not one of passengers.
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When my father died five years ago (PMNW) he did not have an online NW account so I just set one up under his Worldperks # & then my mother, brother & I just booked tickets from his account using his miles, no problem.
This issue is also why everyone who has any type of online account should also have their user names & passwords written down & kept somewhere safe along with some way for the executor or survivors to know where the list is kept. |
Originally Posted by juggler451
(Post 16330779)
Problem is need two CC's of account holder when making booking on BA w/ miles--at least on the phone.
By the way, this requirement for a second card must be new, since it didn't exist a couple years ago when last I redeemed BA miles. |
My brother just died and I have taken charge of his FF accounts with a view to transferring miles to his spouse, if possible. Although he was not an FTer, he became an avid mileage collector over the last few years, applying for credit cards and jumping on fare mistakes.
This thread is quite helpful however I will endeavor to update the info here as appropriate, given the top post is 3+ years old! |
Originally Posted by Kiwi Flyer
(Post 9143892)
This thread on AA forum got me wondering about the various ways programs treat or allow miles to be used after death.
*]AA AAdvantage (fee $50 if >10,000 miles) |
Miles after death (slightly different from existing threads)
I've read a few existing threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-ff-miles.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-2010-a-6.html but have a slightly different question. If say a parent or spouse has deceased and the family wanted to make use of remaining miles, it seems the options are: 1. Use the miles in the deceased's account as though they were still alive and had booked it themselves for a family member. 2. Transfer the miles to family member's account by notifying the airline of the person's passing (and in some cases pay a fee, other cases not) 3. Transfer the miles "normally" Essentially my question is the viability of option 3 (with option 1 as well). Given the year end transfer bonuses running (up to 100% back in some cases), would it be better to just keep the account alive and transfer the miles (getting some back which would then be used as described in 1 above)? |
If the airlines miles or points are held by a credit card company like Amex I would be careful since most credit card companies get a copy of the social security death master index and some cancel accounts for protection.
Ironic as it is this index is designed to prevent fraud but some stupid news agency is claiming it is creating fraud. All I am going to say is has been very useful for people researching family history and some dumb news network or reporter is just plain out of control on the issue. I have no information if airlines use this system but information on people is becoming cheaper to obtain every year and far more vast amounts of information seem to be available. |
I had a family member pass away earlier this year. He had a ton of miles stashed away (apparently he had an airline credit card that he used for years but never redeemed the points) We were able to fly in all of the out-of-towners (myself included) with his miles on short notice for his funeral. It was an appropriate use of the miles, and since last minute trips like that can get very expensive, it made sense.
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Originally Posted by keloutwest
(Post 17629918)
I've read a few existing threads:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/miles...-ff-miles.html http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...-2010-a-6.html but have a slightly different question. If say a parent or spouse has deceased and the family wanted to make use of remaining miles, it seems the options are: 1. Use the miles in the deceased's account as though they were still alive and had booked it themselves for a family member. 2. Transfer the miles to family member's account by notifying the airline of the person's passing (and in some cases pay a fee, other cases not) 3. Transfer the miles "normally" Essentially my question is the viability of option 3 (with option 1 as well). Given the year end transfer bonuses running (up to 100% back in some cases), would it be better to just keep the account alive and transfer the miles (getting some back which would then be used as described in 1 above)? |
Don't mess with 2 or 3. Just use the miles as if the person was still alive. My .02
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And remember, just because a person is no longer living doesn't mean they can't continue to earn miles (or vote in Texas).:p
Originally Posted by philemer
(Post 17632986)
Don't mess with 2 or 3. Just use the miles as if the person was still alive. My .02
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when my father died (too young) I definitely booked some flights with one of his AAirline accounts - as his password was noted on an old statement.
I also used option #2 to transfer about 45,000 UA miles into my account, by paying UA a $75 fee, with the estate designee (my mom) signing some form for UA. Of course, UA states publicly that they are not obligated to do this. YMMV, but after calling the 1P line, we received a nice email from UA recognizing the loss and offering the transfer. As for breaking the law -or rather not breaking the law - I bet your deceased loved one authorized you to use the account before he/she died.;) |
Originally Posted by NightTripper
(Post 17635902)
I bet your deceased loved one authorized you to use the account before he/she died.;)
Thinking about this a bit, the only account where quick action may need to be taken on is Amex MR, as they would be best placed to track deaths due to having SSNs. Regardless, I wouldnt linger on any of the carriers if possible. Taking advantage of transfer bonuses like DL offers from time to time would be prudent as well. |
hotel points
this is a very good section.
Thanks to all for all their posts. Is there also a section on this for hotel points? If so, could someone please let me know where I can find it? Thanks so much. |
So this thread comments of course on which programs handle which way, but I am wondering if anyone knows how quickly credit card companies (and your credit report) show someone as deceased. We use my grandmother's SSN to sign up for a lot of cards and I am curious how the CC companies will find out eventually that she has passed when she does. Not necessarily so that we can keep signing up for cards under her name (because I imagine that will get shut down quick), but because companies will be automatically notified when they do the monthly credit report read/write stuff (where they update your balance, history, etc). I imagine they would get notification from that when someone passes. They would probably shut down the accounts immediately and lockup/expire all of your credit card points (non-air miles).
Edit: just noticed i asked a similar question a couple years ago in this thread, ha. Slightly different but still don't think I have a real answer. |
Originally Posted by AlohaDaveKennedy
(Post 17635316)
And remember, just because a person is no longer living doesn't mean they can't continue to earn miles (or vote in Texas).:p
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Pretty quickly once it posts to the SS death index. Days-weeks.
If not, you'll just call in and cancel them anyways. As most programs transfer out of the CC program and into an airline/hotel program, it doesn't matter much.
Originally Posted by glocklt4
(Post 20556232)
So this thread comments of course on which programs handle which way, but I am wondering if anyone knows how quickly credit card companies (and your credit report) show someone as deceased. We use my grandmother's SSN to sign up for a lot of cards and I am curious how the CC companies will find out eventually that she has passed when she does. Not necessarily so that we can keep signing up for cards under her name (because I imagine that will get shut down quick), but because companies will be automatically notified when they do the monthly credit report read/write stuff (where they update your balance, history, etc). I imagine they would get notification from that when someone passes. They would probably shut down the accounts immediately and lockup/expire all of your credit card points (non-air miles).
Edit: just noticed i asked a similar question a couple years ago in this thread, ha. Slightly different but still don't think I have a real answer. |
Originally Posted by johndoe123
(Post 20558698)
Pretty quickly once it posts to the SS death index. Days-weeks.
If not, you'll just call in and cancel them anyways. As most programs transfer out of the CC program and into an airline/hotel program, it doesn't matter much. |
Folks should be aware that DL recently changed their policy on what happens to SkyMiles after death of the account holder. There's a long thread discussing and criticizing this in the DL forum. The short version is that your miles now expire when you do.
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