How to prevent your points and miles from expiring

Points and miles are valuable, but once they expire, they’re usually gone. So no matter which airline or hotel program you use, it’s important to know a few simple steps you can take to keep your account active.

Whether you have a large balance or are just starting to collect rewards, these quick actions can prevent expiration and protect every bit of your hard-earned points.

Use a joint credit card

One of the easiest ways to prevent your rewards from expiring is to have a co-branded airline or hotel credit card. Some programs automatically keep your points active as long as you’re a cardholder.

For example, IHG One Rewards points expire after 12 months of inactivity. However, if you are IHG One Rewards Premium Business Credit Card (see rates and fees), you will automatically receive IHG Platinum Elite membership as a credit card benefit. Per IHG policy, if you have elite status in the program, your points will not expire.

Note that not every co-branded card offers this protection, so be sure to check the fine print.

RELATED: The Best Credit Cards to Achieve Elite Status

Earn income with meal plans

Many major airlines and several hotel chains have dining rewards programs. To keep your loyalty account active by earning points or miles at participating restaurants, all you need to do is link your credit card to the dining plan of your choice and use the card at one of thousands of participating restaurants nationwide.

When you dine in, order takeout or pay at the counter, you can usually earn points or miles on that transaction – as long as the card is charged directly by the restaurant. (Third-party delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Grubhub are generally not eligible because the merchant code does not pass as a participating restaurant.)

In most cases, rewards are distributed within a week; however, some programs may take up to 10 to 14 days.

An important rule to consider: You can be a member of more than one dining plan, but you can’t sign up for the same credit card in more than one plan at the same time. The Dining Rewards Network automatically assigns a card to the most recently added program, so there’s no chance of a card being double or triple dipped.

What are you able All you have to do is register different cards in different programs. For example, you can link your Chase Sapphire Reserve® (See Rates & Fees) Alaska’s Atmos Rewards Dining Plan (formerly Mileage Plan Dining), then your American Express® Gold Card American Airlines AAdvantage dining plan.

If a participating restaurant is willing to split your check between two cards, you’ll trigger earning activity for both loyalty programs, thus resetting the expiration clock.

Related: Best Dining Credit Cards

Shop through the program’s shopping portal

For many travelers, this is the easiest way to keep points and miles active: Make a purchase through an airline or hotel loyalty program’s online shopping portal.

Most major airline programs (and some hotel programs) work with hundreds of retailers. When you start shopping through the portal and click through to participating merchants before checkout, you’ll earn rewards on qualifying purchases.

Any earning activity posted through the portal will typically reset your expiration clock, depending on the program’s rules.

Using a shopping portal for your daily online shopping can help you earn rewards quickly. To maximize your returns, use a shopping portal aggregator such as Cashback Monitor to compare which program offers the highest yield before shopping.

RELATED: Beginner’s Guide to Airline Shopping Portals: How to Earn Reward Points and Miles

Transfer points from a credit card or hotel program

Another easy way to keep many loyalty accounts active is to use a transferable credit card to transfer rewards to a partner airline or hotel program.

Programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards allow you to transfer points to a variety of airline and hotel partners. In most cases, any amount of points transferred to your loyalty account will reset the expiration clock. Since partners typically require transfers in 1,000 point increments, you should only transfer the minimum amount required.

However, there are exceptions. For example, taking an Air France-KLM Flying Blue flight with a connecting flight Do Resets the expiration timer, but only for the rewards you just transferred. Miles previously earned will retain their original two-year validity unless you have elite status or hold an eligible co-branded card.

If you don’t currently have a transferable points card, it might be worth adding one. These programs offer valuable flexibility because you can transfer points to multiple travel partners, book the rewards you want and keep your loyalty account active.

You can also transfer points from select hotel loyalty programs to airline partners. Programs such as Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors and Wyndham Rewards all offer air transfers. Keep in mind that many hotel programs don’t have great exchange rates, and transfers can take weeks to process.

Related: Current Credit Card Transfer Bonuses

Donate to charity

If you’re pressed for time and need something quick to do, donating miles to charity is an easy way to keep your account active.

Many programs, including American Airlines and British Airways, among others, allow you to donate points or miles to various non-profit partners. Minimum donation amounts usually start around 1,000 miles, and those miles are usually deducted from your account as soon as your transaction is confirmed.

Because debits are posted immediately, this activity typically resets the expiration clock for your remaining balance. If your miles are expiring in the next few days or weeks, this is a quick and reliable option.

RELATED: How to Donate Points and Miles to Charity

Take a flight or complete your stay

If you’re not sure what counts as qualifying activity, taking a paid flight or completing a hotel stay is one of the surest ways to keep your points or miles from expiring.

Most major airline and hotel programs consider earning and redeeming rewards as qualifying activity. This means that flying with an airline (or eligible partner) or staying with a hotel chain will typically reset your expiration clock after the points or miles for that activity are posted to your account (usually a few days after your flight or checkout).

Keep in mind that not every program recognizes all forms of activity in the same way, and points from some programs never expire. But overall, actual travel activity is one of the most commonly accepted ways to keep your account active.

Related: The best ways to earn airline miles: From online shopping to credit cards

How to restore expired points and miles

All of the above is meant to keep your points and miles active, but what if they’ve expired?

While this may feel like “so bad, so sad,” you still have options. Some airline and hotel programs allow members to reinstate expired points or miles, usually for a fee. Whether it’s worth paying depends on the value of the number of points you lose and their value to your future travel plans.

If you’re unsure about a program’s expiration policy, it’s always worth talking to a customer service representative. Agents may sometimes reinstate recently expired Points at their sole discretion, especially if they have recently expired or if you are a loyal member. While there are no guarantees, a polite request can go a long way.

For the best chance of success, try calling during off-peak hours when phone agents aren’t overwhelmed with rebookings or cancellations.

Related: How to Contact Airline Customer Service Quickly

bottom line

There are plenty of easy ways to keep your points and miles active – from earning points through dining or shopping portals to transferring small amounts of points. Most programs only require a few qualifying activities to keep you balanced, and staying proactive can prevent you from losing your hard-earned rewards.

Take one small action now to reserve your points and miles for the redemptions you really want.