Don't Let Your Credit Card Rewards Expire

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last updated 27 December 2023

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If you’ve been racking up points on your favorite rewards card, now may be the time to use them. Depending on your card’s policy, you may lose points you haven’t redeemed if you haven’t used your card in a while. For example, Citi Double Cash rewards expire if you don’t earn cash back for 12 months by using the card or making payments.

How to keep points and miles from expiring

If your miles or points are expiring sooner than you’d like, see whether you can reset the clock by transferring an amount to another loyalty program. For example, the Capital One Venture card allows cardholders to transfer miles to more than a dozen participating hotel and airline loyalty programs, including those of Air France, JetBlue and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

You can also:

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Use your co-branded credit card. Even if the card isn’t your go-to credit card, use it for a small purchase once a month
Donate miles. This option that will enable you to push out the expiration date for your points and miles is to donate them to charity. Most loyalty programs partner with nonprofits and allow customers to donate points and miles to help various causes
Shop through your loyalty programs’ online shopping portal. If you’re saving up points for a big trip but are at risk of losing them, use some for an item that has a low point value like a magazine subscription. Or use the shopping portal to purchase something you need, and earn some extra points for doing so

Can you reinstate expired points or miles?

In some cases you may be able to call the credit card or airline or hotel loyalty program’s customer service number and ask for your rewards to be reinstated. It never hurts to ask, especially if they recently expired.

Be polite when making your request — a little friendliness goes a long way.

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Rivan joined Kiplinger on Leap Day 2016 as a reporter for Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. A Michigan native, she graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 and from there freelanced as a local copy editor and proofreader, and served as a research assistant to a local Detroit journalist. Her work has been featured in the Ann Arbor Observer and Sage Business Researcher. She is currently assistant editor, personal finance at The Washington Post.

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