Expiration Watch – Part 1

by Randy Petersen

Expiration Watch – Part 1

There’s nothing more frustrating than going to redeem your miles and finding out that they have all expired. To help you avoid this fate, we’ve compiled the following list detailing when and why miles expire in many of the most popular programs so that you can avoid losing yours:

Air Tran
Credits are valid for 12 months after the date on which they were posted to the members’ account.

Alaska
If no mileage is credited to an account during the first nine months after it’s opened, or if an account is inactive for longer than three years, the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan reserves the right to delete an account and reassign the number.

American
Effective August 4, 1999, your AAdvantage miles will no longer expire as long as you have qualifying account activity at least once every 36 months. Qualifying account activity is defined as any AAdvantage mileage accrual or AAdvantage award redemption.

ATA
ATA Travel Awards Points earned from qualifying purchases of ATA scheduled flights flown on or after September 1, 2004 or for use of an ATA Visa Card may be redeemed for Awards for a period of twelve (12) months from the date posted in the member’s account.

Continental
Miles currently have no expiry date; however, Continental Airlines reserves the right to impose expiry limits or terminate the OnePass program, thus terminating your ability to claim rewards.

Delta
Currently, miles will not expire as long as you participate in one of the following activities at least once every three years:

  • Earn miles for travel on a qualifying Delta, Delta Shuttle, SkyTeam, or other SkyMiles airline partner flights.
  • Earn or redeem miles with one of the SkyMiles program partners including hotels, car rentals, Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express, international credit card partners, Everyday Miles by Rewards Network, MilePoint.com, mortgage lenders, CAP magazine subscriptions, real estate, or telecommunications partners.
  • Buy Miles at delta.com or by calling the number on the back of your SkyMiles card.
  • Redeem miles on Delta, Delta Shuttle, a SkyTeam partner, or another SkyMiles airline partner. Redemption of previous program awards does not extend the mileage expiration date.

    Starting December 31, 2006, Delta SkyMiles is modifying the above policy and miles will expire after two years of account inactivity. Mileage balances of members who have had no SkyMiles activity within the last two calendar years (2005 and 2006) will expire on Dec. 31, 2006.

    Frontier
    Mileage in a member’s account will not expire so long as the member generates accrual or redemption activity in the account. Unredeemed mileage accumulated in a member’s account will expire at the end of the second calendar year after the last accrual or redemption activity date. For example, mileage earned during the year 2006 is valid until December 31, 2008 unless the member has accrual or redemption activity in the interim.

    JetBlue
    You have one year to earn 100 TrueBlue points and one year to use a TrueBlue Award.

    Midwest
    Mileage in a member’s account will not expire and will be available for award redemption and other benefits as long as the member has qualifying activity in his or her account during any consecutive 36-month period. Qualifying activity is defined as any of the following transactions: Midwest Airlines, Midwest Connect or codeshare flight taken by the member for which a ticket was purchased and mileage accrued in his or her account; the posting of mileage to an account through the Buy, Gift or Business Miles program; or any qualifying Program Partner or Midwest Airlines MasterCard activity that results in miles being earned and accrued. in the member’s account.

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