Having just returned from a conference on the West Coast, I had plenty of time and gave a lot of thought to all of my accumulated frequent flier miles. As an estate planning attorney, I decided to investigate airlines’ current policies as to what happens to those miles after someone dies. Can a spouse or other heirs inherit them, or do the miles simply evaporate like a vapor trail?
What I found out is that whether they can be inherited depends on the airline, and in most cases, airlines will point out in their terms and conditions that frequent flier miles are not, in fact, your property. Regardless, even if the airline’s official policy is “no,” with a little perseverance, there is always the chance that the answer could be “yes.”
Here’s a look at several major airlines’ current mileage transfer rules:
Alaska Airlines’ Memorial Miles
Alaska Airlines has a liberal policy for transferring miles upon death. You need to provide a copy of the death certificate and specify the Mileage Plan member to whom the miles should be transferred. Call 1-800-654-5669 to reach Alaska Airlines customer service.
Transferring Miles With American Airlines
While current AAdvantage members do have the ability to move their miles to another member’s account (with the payment of fees), American will not generally allow for accrued mileage credit to be “transferable by the member upon death.” That said, the airline’s regulations do seem to offer such transfers in certain cases: “American Airlines, in its sole discretion, may credit accrued mileage to persons specifically identified in … wills upon receipt of documentation satisfactory to American Airlines and upon payment of any applicable fees.”
JetBlue’s Points Pooling
Jet Blue’s Points Pooling program allows members to pool points with others. If a member of the pool passes away, their points can be used by the remaining members.
United Airlines: MileagePlus
United Airlines may allow the transfer of miles upon death at their discretion, provided they receive satisfactory documentation and payment of applicable fees. Similar to American, their website says: “In the event of the death … of a Member, United may, in its sole discretion, credit all or a portion of such Member’s accrued mileage to authorized persons upon receipt of documentation satisfactory to United and payment of applicable fees.”
Call United’s customer service line at 1-800-421-4655 for guidance on the airline’s Transfer Miles Program.
Delta SkyMiles
If you have the login details for their account, you may be able to make the transfer online via Delta’s website. Consider opening your own SkyMiles account first to simplify the process. Note that Delta charges 1¢ for each mile transferred, plus a $30 processing fee. Taxes may apply.
Even if you have only the name of the individual and their SkyMiles number, you may still consider calling Delta’s SkyMiles customer service number at 800-323-2323 to ask for help.
Southwest Airlines
The account of a Southwest Airlines’ Rapid Rewards member who dies will become inactive and the points will be unavailable.
Plan Ahead for Your Own Loved Ones
If you are part of an airline loyalty program and have accumulated a substantial number of miles, you may want to give your loved ones the details they need to access your frequent flier accounts so that they can log in directly in the event of your death.
Or, ask me about how to go about adding into your will your wishes for passing those miles and other assets along to someone you love.
