In the mainstream media, you’ll occasionally read of disgruntled people complaining that their Qantas Points or Velocity Points have ‘magically’ vanished.
Generally, it boils down to those individuals not reading about point expiry policies, and also not actually being active in that particular program for an extended period of time, which shows a general lack of interest and loyalty.
While the expiry policy for points is quite lenient in Australia, it can be much stricter abroad, with programs such as Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Emirates Skywards, where a hard expiry of three years might apply regardless of activity.
Frequent flyer program expiry policies
The following table shows the usual expiration policies for each program’s frequent flyer points. You should consult the program’s website for more information if you need.
| Rewards program | Do points expire? | After how long? | Tip |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Yes - with inactivity | 18 months of inactivity | A great way to extend is to download the Qantas Wellbeing app and earn points for exercising or even just sleeping Transferring points between family members will not prevent your points from expiring (transferred points take on the expiry date of existing points in the account) |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | Yes - with inactivity | 24 months of inactivity | Transferring points between family members or receiving points via Family Pooling will only extend your points balance by 1 month if they are expiring imminently. Earn points from flying or any other partner to reset the timer for 24 months. |
| Flybuys | Yes - with inactivity | 12 months of inactivity | Scan your Flybuys at partner stores to continue earning points, and stop them from expiring |
| Everyday Rewards | Yes - with inactivity | 18 months of inactivity | Scan your Everyday Rewards card at partner stores to continue earning points and stop them from expiring |
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | Yes - time from earned | Minimum of 4 years validity | On anniversary of program join date, points from over 4 years prior will expire Oldest points are used first No expiry for Gold or Elite or eligible credit card holders |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Yes - with inactivity | 18 months of inactivity | Points expiry has been paused until 30 Nov 2026 |
| Atmos Rewards | No | ||
| American Airlines AAdvantage | Yes - with inactivity | 24 months of inactivity | |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Yes - with inactivity | 12 months of inactivity | Very strict policy Spending miles does not extend expiry Easiest way to extend is to buy 1000 LifeMiles or transfer Marriott Bonvoy points over |
| British Airways Executive Club | Yes - with inactivity | 36 months of inactivity | |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Yes - with inactivity | 18 months of inactivity | Renewal for another three years or transfer to another member with payment of fee |
| Delta SkyMiles | No | ||
| Emirates Skywards | Yes - time from earned | 36 months from accrual | Here are some ideas on what do with your expiring miles |
| Etihad Guest | Yes - with inactivity | 18 months of inactivity | Need to credit a flight (either EY or partner) to extend. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | Yes - with inactivity | 24 months of inactivity | Extend expiry by transferring minimum 3,000 Marriott points to 1,000 frequent flyer points; buy points; donate minimum 2,500 points to charity |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Yes - time from earned | 36 months from accrual | Oldest miles are used first 6- to 12-month extension depending on status available with payment of fee Transfer to Velocity if at risk of expiry |
| THAI Royal Orchid Plus | Yes - time from earned | 36 months from accrual | Miles expire on a quarterly basis and may vary slightly depending on the timing of when the miles were credited into the account |
| United MileagePlus | No |
Bank reward program expiry policies
The major credit card points programs out there don’t let your points expire, but you’ll need to remain a cardholder to keep access to them. If you’re planning on dropping a rewards card, be sure to spend all the associated rewards points first.
The exception to this rule is with ANZ Rewards. Those points must be used to claim a reward three years after the end of the year in which they were earned, or they will be cancelled. NAB Rewards points also have a three year hard expiry.
What are the best ways to stop frequent flyer points from expiring?
Thankfully, it’s never that hard to keep some activity in your account to keep your balances active in programs that don’t have hard expiry limits. Here are some ideas (note that they might not work for all programs, but they should work for most):
- Earn some points from a program partner. Credit a car rental, hotel stay or online purchase to your account
- Redeem some points if you have enough. Often small charitable donation of a few thousand points might reset the expiry counter
- Transfer some points over from a credit card program
- Earn some points from a linked credit card
- Buy points directly, e.g. from Qantas or Velocity
- Buy wine from Qantas Wine or Virgin Wines to get bonus points
- Ask for an extension or a points challenge
Summing up
Even though many of us will know the rules, there are still some cases where life just gets in the way, and your reward points are put on the back burner.
For programs like Qantas and Velocity Frequent Flyer, it’s virtually impossible to have points expire, as there are so many ways to keep your balance active. For example, the Qantas Wellbeing App is an excellent ‘set and forget’ option. With Velocity, a quick shop at 7-Eleven will earn you points in a day or so.
If your points expire unexpectedly, it’s worth following up with the frequent flyer program to see whether they will reinstate your balance for a fee or after completing a challenge.
Hi
I have booked flights for August 2020 which will not be happening and some of those points will expire in June 2020. I understand those expiring points will be extended for six months until December. Can I then extend them for another six months with a fee as per normal or is SIA giving me only one extension.
SQ may give you your points back for a cxldflight but expect to wait 4 months for the points and the fees/fuel surcharges Doesn’t this sound very Lufthansa Gruppe-ish aka LH LX SN
BTW Etihad already gave me my points and fees/surchargesbackfor a MEL-ADL flight and even though the miles had expired in Fen 20 they reinstated them to Feb 2021
AA gave me my points and taxes back for an ADL-PER-DOH-AMM-TLV award in QR F this April
UA gave me my points and cahs back for a ZRH-BKK-SIN-MEL award
Hilton Tel Avi gave me my US$2600 back for a non-refundable stay in May So what gives with SQ???? I know its a airline with interests outside of Singapore aka Kina
Oh and Hotels.com gave me back my 2 free nights and US$673 for a 4 night stay in Zuerich already
So whats with SQ and LX/LH As if LX is flying from MXP-ZRH on May 5! Still not cancelled LX/LH Gruppe!!!
Yes, you can extend further for a fee:
Just a tip for refreshing Advantage American airlines miles the cheapest possible way. If you make a comment on the Award Wallet Blog they will credit your AA account 5 miles. Easy to do & stops AA miles expiring.
Great, thanks for the tip Peter!
hi there
just to confirm, if i use my linked CC to say QFF points and use $1 per year that still counts as activity and hence it will never expire?
thanks
Correct.
Hi,
I noted this comment and your reply:
“For Qantas- would booking a reward seat with a partner airline count as activity? And if so is it when the flight was booked (and points withdrawn from account) or when the flight is actually taken? Thanks
Matt Moffitt
February 6, 2018 at 9:19 am • Reply
Yes, booking a reward seat with Qantas or a partner airline counts as activity. It will be based on the date the booking is made, not when the travel is for.”
If this were true, then it would be possible to make award bookings, and then cancel them, just to keep the account active. Can you please clarify?
Hi David
As long as you earn or use Qantas Points through your account at least once every 18 months, then your account will remain active.
Now you can make an award booking prior to your points expiring, however if you do cancel the booking at a later date, there is a cost of 6,000 Qantas points. There are cheaper ways to keep your account active, such as purchasing an iTunes from Qantas Shopping for example.
I transferred QF points to my partner, both our accounts are active so does that means the points I transferred will not expire (as long as we keep both active)????
Correct. As long as you keep your account active (with activity today extending the expiry by 18 months), all the points will stay in your account.
I have United Mileage Plus points which expire in August. Does buying miles extend the expiry for existing points?
Yes, buying miles works. You could also consider buying something (like a gift card) through the MileagePlus shopping portal or app; taking an online survey; or donating minimum 500 miles.
For Qantas- would booking a reward seat with a partner airline count as activity? And if so is it when the flight was booked (and points withdrawn from account) or when the flight is actually taken? Thanks
Yes, booking a reward seat with Qantas or a partner airline counts as activity. It will be based on the date the booking is made, not when the travel is for.
With Krisflyer points, can you book your flight before expiry date but travel after the expiry date?
Yep!
Etihad miles – I wonder if there is a way to extend their life?
Do these FF programs give you notice/warning when your points will expire?
For example when you login to their website
Some make it clear but others don’t. AwardWallet is really good value for this.
Keith, For Velocity Frequent Flyer, I think it would be more accurate to say that transferring points between family members does not count as Account Activity, but there may be a benefit in that the transferred points would then expire after the second family member has 24 months of (non-transfer) activity.
Hi there,
Would you please advise, if there is a program that shows how and which airlines rate their different flying classes. EG if qantas economy is an E class, if Cathy Pacific economy is a L class etc etc
So when I use the program you suggested I could put in a flight to find out the details without actually booking the flight first?
Hope this makes sense.
Thanking you
ITA Matrix and an Online Travel Agent (OTA) like Expedia shows you that info.
I have lost QFF points although i make regular flights using part points and use my ANZ CC to make purchases transferred to Q- how did this happen?
I would suggest giving Qantas a call.
No mention of Avianca Lifemiles, 2 years expiry, but if you gift even one mile to a charity, extended for another year.
Thanks! Added into the table.
koru and some credit cards mean your airpoint dollars don’t expire either
If I transfer Velocity miles to KrisFlyer can this bump me up to KrisFlyer Gold? Theoretically I could become Gold without flying SQ??? Or do I need to earn the miles on SQ?
You have to earn the miles through flying, you can’t earn status with transfers.
If I have Krisflyer miles that are due to expire in March 2016 (already extended) does this mean they are valid till 31st March or expire as of the 1st March?
Great question Dan – I don’t know! Check with Singapore Airlines and let me know what you find out?
What about Etihad?
Etihad’s expiry is two years after points were earned.
Since SQ introduced transfer to Velocity, I do have SQ miles from personal Star Alliance flights while on vacation where there isn’t Oneworld in that region e.g. Air Canada or parts of Europe which doesn’t require a loop back into UK or Germany. I don’t usually fly SQ and miles do expire after 3 years.
If I notice the SQ miles expiry, I would transfer the miles to Velocity. Yes, the conversion rate would devalue the mile when transferred over. But it’s better to save some than to lose all.
Great point – I’ll update the post with that tip as well.
My 2c would be, adopt an earn and burn strategy. No point (no pun intended) accumulate a whole pile of points and not use them. Believe it or not, as you get older, the time goes faster, and before you know it, your mile expires. I have a friend who had a hard earned 80000 QF miles, which he simply forgot to keep activity and it expired. 80000 miles!!! He could simply do a quick shopping in WW, gas up in WW/Caltex, or even just do one online search using Qantas search tool then he could extend the expiry date by another 18 months. He said he was going to do it but got busy and before he knew it, 18 months has gone.
For programs like KF or AM which miles will expire regardless of activity, you just gotta burn it regularly. If you don’t fly enough paid ticket like me, then make sure you have a CC that can transfer points to these programs (eg. Amex, Westpac altitude and Citi) so you can make good use if these orphan points.
Thanks for that, I have lost some points along the way for not keeping a close eye on them. I find the airlines are pretty clear about their policies but the hotel programs totally confuse me. Can you do a run down of their expiry as well?
Will do – generally they don’t expire but with some exceptions. Will update in due course!