Do Credit Card Rewards, Points and Miles Expire?

Do Credit Card Rewards Expire?

Credit card rewards programs offer several ways to redeem your rewards. But you may fret over losing them if you don't use your card very often or you're trying to save up your cash back, points or miles.

In most cases, there's no expiration date on rewards you earn with a cash back credit card or through a points or miles program as long as your account remains open and in good standing. There are some exceptions, however.

If you have an airline credit card or a hotel credit card, your points may or may not expire, depending on the program. With other frequent-flier programs, as well as most hotel loyalty programs, your rewards may expire after 12 to 24 months, though the clock may be reset each time you earn or redeem points or miles.

Ways You Can Lose Your Credit Card Rewards

Whether or not your credit card rewards program has an expiration policy, there are other ways you can lose or forfeit your hard-earned rewards:

• You close your account. After you close your account, you may no longer have access to your rewards balance—though some card issuers may give you a grace period, during which you can use up any unredeemed rewards. Because airline and hotel rewards are held with an external rewards program, you can usually close those cards without worrying about losing your points or miles.
• You miss a payment. If you don't pay the minimum amount due on your card, your card issuer may not credit your rewards balance for any of the cash back, points or miles you earned for that billing cycle. In some cases, you can get those rewards back once you pay your bill and pay a reinstatement fee.
• Your card issuer closes your account. If you're delinquent on your account, you've violated your cardholder agreement or your account is inactive, your card issuer may close your account, causing you to forfeit any rewards you've earned. In some cases, this can happen without notice, giving you no chance to get in one last redemption.
• You make a return. If you return something you've bought with your card, the card issuer will typically claw back the reward you earned on the purchase.
• The card issuer cancels the rewards program. In rarer cases, a card issuer may decide to end its rewards program. In this event, however, it may give you a grace period to redeem the rewards you've earned leading up to the program closure.

How to Keep Your Credit Card Active

One of the ways you can lose rewards is if your card issuer closes your account due to inactivity. However, each issuer defines inactivity differently—it could range from a few consecutive months to several years with no purchases. In most cases, though, it's about 12 months.

In addition to forfeiting rewards, having your account closed due to inactivity could also negatively affect your credit score. Here are a couple of ways you can keep your account open:

• Make a purchase every few months. Set a reminder in your calendar to use the card for a small purchase every few months, then pay it off as soon as the transaction posts or at the end of the billing cycle.
• Put a small recurring charge on the card. Consider putting a small recurring charge, such as a streaming subscription, on the card. You can also set up automatic payments on the account, so you don't have to worry about remembering to log in to the account to pay it manually.

Note that some card issuers may allow you to reopen an account that was closed due to inactivity. However, you may not get your rewards back.

The Bottom Line

If you're worried about losing your credit card rewards, review the rewards program's terms and conditions to understand the different ways you can forfeit them. If the program does have an expiration policy, find out what you can do to extend it.

Because many credit card rewards don't expire unless your account gets closed or you become delinquent, make it a priority to keep your accounts active and in good standing to avoid missing out on the benefits of your cash back, points or miles.