12 Easy (And Cheap) Ways to Keep Your Miles and Points from Expiring

Like perishable foods and summer romances, airline miles expire eventually. If you haven’t flown a particular airline in a while, you might log into your account one day to find that the thousands of miles you thought you had have simply vanished overnight.

Making things even more complicated, expiration policies vary from carrier to carrier. American Airlines AAdvantage, for example, requires account activity (earning or redeeming miles) at least once every eighteen months. Alaska Airlines, on the other hand, requires you to earn or spend at least one mile every two years, while Southwest Rapid Rewards members must earn at least one point every two years. Some international carriers, like Emirates and Singapore Airlines, have miles that expire three years after you earn them whether your account is active or not.

The first thing you should do is familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of your main mileage programs and determine where to focus your energy. After that, it is relatively easy to prevent your miles from disappearing. Even occasional travelers can take advantage of a few straightforward strategies to ensure their miles remain intact and ready to redeem for future travel plans.

Whatever you do, don’t fall prey to those annoying emails airlines blast out warning you your miles are about to expire. They urge you to “redeem now” for low-value rewards like merchandise or gift cards. Likewise, saving your account by buying more miles at a hefty premium is usually a bad deal. Instead, keep the following tips and tricks in mind, and you’ll be able to extend your mileage expiration indefinitely, all with minimal expense and effort.

1. Prioritize no-expiration programs

Of course, the easiest way to make sure you don’t lose your miles is to participate in a frequent flier program with no expiration rules. In the U.S., there are two such programs: Delta SkyMiles and JetBlue TrueBlue. The miles you earn with either stay parked in your account for as long as you like with no activity requirements to keep them active.

2. Use a tracking program

Don’t feel like constantly checking on all your accounts and reading a bunch of small print? Keep all your data in one place instead by using an app or site like AwardWallet, which monitors both your mileage balances and expiration dates.

3. Get the right credit card

Not only do airline credit cards confer perks like free checked bags and priority boarding, but using them to earn miles on everyday purchases also counts as qualifying activity. Each monthly statement will reset the expiration date on your mileage account.

4. Book a cheap flight

Airfares are as low as we’ve seen them in years, so you might also consider just hopping on an inexpensive flight for a quick trip. Doing so is a fast and simple way to refresh your account clock.

5. Consider transferring points

Another type of qualifying activity? Transferring points to your frequent-flier account from a partner, including credit card programs like American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, or hotel ones like Marriott Bonvoy.

6. Look into partner potential

Airlines partner with other companies to offer bonus miles on all kinds of everyday purchases and activities ranging from reserving hotel stays, renting cars, and booking cruises to signing up for new cable service or opening a checking account. (For example, you can earn Delta SkyMiles points on Lyft rides.) You can find a list of participating companies on your airline’s mileage partner web page.

7. Shop till you drop

Most U.S. airlines, including American, Delta, Southwest, and United host online shopping portals. These are basically websites that link to major retailers such as Target, Macy’s, and Walmart. Log in using your email address and frequent flier number. Then peruse the list of merchants and click on the one where you’d like to shop. That should redirect you to the retailer’s site where you can browse as normal and earn miles automatically on anything you buy. This is an extremely convenient way to earn miles on everyday purchases you would be making anyway and to keep your frequent-flier account active. (While you can double dip your points earn by using an airline credit card to make these purchases, you can use any credit card to cash in.)

8. Go out for dinner

The major U.S. airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United, partner with an association of restaurants known as the Rewards Network. You can sign up for Rewards Network through your airline’s mileage partner page and you’ll need to register a credit or debit card. When you eat at any of the thousands of participating establishments and pay the bill using your linked card, you can earn between three and five bonus miles per dollar on the purchase and also rack up some qualifying account activity to stave off expiration.

9. Buy or transfer miles

Buying miles from an airline or transferring them between frequent flier accounts is probably the fastest and easiest way to update your account expiration date. Miles generally cost around $35 per 1,000 to purchase or transfer, plus processing fees, so it’s not cheap. However, the cost might well be worth it as a one-time quick fix in order to save tens or hundreds of thousands of miles from disappearing.

10. Book an award ticket

Redeeming miles also counts as account activity and should reset the clock on your account. You’ll probably get the best value from your miles by redeeming them for an award ticket. However, in a pinch, you can also use them to purchase a magazine subscription or for a retail gift card, among other possibilities. These are usually not the best uses of miles, but if it means keeping the rest of yours active for the long run, these options are worth considering.

11. Donate to charity

Consider donating your miles to a charity of choice. For example, United MileagePlus members can donate miles to organizations like Transplant Recipients International, the American Red Cross, the U.S. Olympic Team, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, among many others. This can be a unique and rewarding use of airline miles to help others even as you are benefitting by extending the lifetime of your own frequent flier account.

12. Call and ask

If your miles have already expired, all might not be lost. Some airlines will let reactivate your miles…for a fee. This can range up to the hundreds or thousands of dollars, which might or might not be worth it, depending on how many miles you have to retain. However, if we’re only talking about a few miles and they have only recently expired, some airline agents might be willing to reinstate your account for free. To see what might be possible, call your airline’s frequent flier desk, be polite and concise, and your account might be given a new lease on life.