Many people spend years earning airline miles through travel, credit card spending, and loyalty programs, yet few stop to consider what happens to those rewards after they pass away. While frequent flyer miles may not seem like a major estate planning issue, some travelers accumulate hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of points worth thousands of dollars in free flights.
Whether those rewards can be transferred to loved ones depends entirely on the airline’s policies, and the rules vary considerably. In some cases, family members can inherit or use the miles with little difficulty, while other programs reserve the right to close the account and cancel all unused rewards. If airline miles are part of your financial life, here’s what you need to know about what happens to them when you die.
