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Earning airline miles and hotel points is only half the battle. To realize that potential value, you have to redeem them — and according to Deloitte's 2025 Consumer Loyalty Program Survey, 40% of respondents sometimes forget to redeem their rewards.
Certain loyalty programs, such as Delta SkyMiles, Southwest Rapid Rewards and United MileagePlus, offer rewards that don't expire, but this isn't a universal policy. Hotel and airline rewards may expire after 12 to 36 months of inactivity. With that in mind, having the right travel credit card is one of the easiest ways to keep your rewards from going extinct because it gives you several ways to extend their validity.
It's also important to understand the policies for all of your rewards. For example, Japan Airlines JAL Mileage Bank miles expire after 36 months, and there's no way to extend the expiration date. Plus, some programs reset your expiration when you redeem miles, while others don't.
If you're worried about losing your miles, here's what you need to know.
4 ways to keep your rewards from expiring
Senior reporter Jason Stauffer can answer your questions about how to make the most of your credit cards in his weekly Points Pro column. Submit yours here.
Earn more rewards
One of the most common ways to reset your loyalty rewards' expiration date is to earn more of them. And you aren't limited to only earning rewards by paying for travel. The miles and points you receive through partner purchases (rideshare partners, etc.), a brand's shopping portal and even the purchase of miles or points typically count as qualifying activity. But earning rewards from a co-branded airline credit card or hotel credit card is perhaps the easiest way to extend expiration timelines.
For example, Hilton points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. You can reset that expiration clock with a single purchase made with your Hilton Honors American Express Card or Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
The Hilton Honors American Express Card has no annual fee and you can earn Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year when you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year.
- No annual fee
- Few valuable ongoing benefits such as statement credits
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 70,000 Bonus Points plus a Free Night Reward after you spend $2,000 in purchases on the card in the first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 01/13/2027.
- No Annual Fee.
- Earn 7X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases charged on your Card directly with a hotel or resort within the Hilton portfolio.
- Earn 5X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for each dollar of eligible purchases on your Card: at U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, at U.S. gas stations.
- Earn 3X Hilton Honors Bonus Points for all other eligible purchases on your Card.
- Enjoy complimentary Hilton Honors Silver Status with benefits like a 20% Bonus on Base Points earned on stays, fifth night free on standard room reward stays with 100% Points, and more.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees. Enjoy international travel without additional fees on purchases made abroad.
- Spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on your Card in a calendar year and you can earn Hilton Honors Gold status through the end of the next calendar year. With Gold status, you can enjoy: An 80% Bonus on Base Points you earn on every stay, Space-available room upgrades at select properties, A daily food & beverage credit at select brands in the U.S. and complimentary continental breakfast at select brands outside of the U.S., and Fifth night free when you book a standard room stay with 100% Points.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card grants you complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status and a Free Night Reward every year.
- Earn up to $889 in statement credits every year
- Complimentary Hilton Honors™ Diamond Status
- Free Night Reward every year
- High annual fee
- Additional Free Night Rewards have high spending requirements
- Some credits are only earned quarterly or semi-annually, which makes them more complicated to fully maximize
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Best Points Offer Yet! Earn 200,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card after you spend $6,000 in purchases on the Card within your first 6 months of Card Membership. Offer ends 01/13/2027.
- Enjoy complimentary Diamond status with your Card. Diamond status gives you a 100% Bonus on Base Points you earn on every stay, Premium Wi-Fi and space-available room upgrades at select properties, executive lounge access at select properties, and more.
- Earn 14X Hilton Honors Bonus Points when you make eligible purchases on your Card directly with hotels and resorts within the Hilton portfolio.
- Card Members can earn 7X Points on purchases of Flights booked directly with airlines or flights booked through American Express Travel, Car rentals purchased directly from select car rental companies, and purchases at U.S. Restaurants.
- Card Members can earn 3X Points on all other eligible purchases.
- $400 Hilton Resort Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits semi-annually for eligible purchases made directly with participating Hilton Resorts on your Hilton Honors Aspire Card. That's up to $400 back annually.
- $200 Flight Credit: Get up to $50 in statement credits each quarter, for a total of up to $200 back each year, on flight purchases made directly with an airline, through AmexTravel.com, or through the Amex Travel App™ using your Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card.
- CLEAR+ helps get you to your gate faster at 60+ airports nationwide. Receive up to $219 per calendar year in statement credits when you pay for your membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card.
- Earn up to 3 Free Night Rewards with the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: Receive one complimentary Free Night Reward each membership year. Earn a second Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend $30,000 or more on purchases on your Card in a calendar year. Earn a third Free Night Reward from Hilton after you spend an additional $30,000 in purchases on your Card in the same calendar year.
- $100 Property Credit: Receive up to a $100 credit for qualifying charges at Waldorf Astoria® Hotels & Resorts and Conrad® Hotels & Resorts properties when you book a 2 night minimum stay with your Card at HiltonHonorsAspireCard.com and select the Aspire Card Benefit rate option on the booking page, or call Hilton Honors at 855-292-5757 with the proper booking reference.
- Hilton Honors Aspire Card Members can enjoy complimentary National Car Rental® Emerald Club Executive® status, including perks like Executive Area Access (for full-size reservations and above) in the USA and Canada. Card Members must enroll in the National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status through their American Express online account using their Card. Terms apply.
- $550 annual fee.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Transfer credit card rewards
If you don't have and don't want a co-branded credit card, a general travel card that earns transferable rewards can still help keep your points and miles alive. This is because transfers into your loyalty account can restart the expiration clock. Just be sure to review the program terms before you make a transfer for this purpose, because it may not always reset your expiration clock.
Keep in mind that most travel programs typically have minimum transfer amounts of 1,000 or 2,000 points. This can be a bit awkward if you aren't able to redeem those points after you transfer them or if you don't have enough rewards to transfer. For example, let's say you have 60,000 points set aside for an award and you need to transfer 1,000 so they don't expire. After you book that award, you'll have 1,000 orphaned points, which generally isn't enough for a meaningful redemption.
Well Fargo Rewards is an excellent program to use when you need to transfer points for this purpose because it has a 1-point minimum transfer. So you're not risking leaving orphaned points in an airline or hotel account.
The Wells Fargo Autograph Journey® Card offers generous rewards on travel and dining purchases, along with flexible redemption options, all for a modest annual fee.
- Excellent tiered rewards rates on purchases with hotels, airlines and general travel
- Access to all of the Wells Fargo transfer partners, including Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Red
- Offers an easy-to-use $50 airline credit each year
- Up to $1,000 in cell phone protection against damage, theft, or unintended separation (subject to $25 deductible)
- Wells Fargo offers fewer transfer partners than comparable programs
- No intro APR offer on purchases or balance transfers
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Select Learn More to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months – that's $600 toward your next trip.
- Earn unlimited 5X points with hotels, 4X points with airlines, 3X points on restaurants and other travel, and 1X points on other purchases.
- $95 annual fee.
- Book your travel with the Autograph Journey Card and enjoy Travel Accident Insurance, Lost Baggage Reimbursement, Trip Cancellation and Interruption Protection and Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.
- Earn a $50 annual statement credit with $50 minimum airline purchase.
- Up to $1,000 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.
- Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
Balance Transfer Fee
3% intro for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%, min: $5
Foreign transaction fee
None
The Wells Fargo Autograph® Card offers generous bonus spending categories and lets you transfer points to airline and hotel partners, which is rare for a credit card with no annual fee.
- Excellent bonus rewards across travel and everyday categories
- Get access to all Wells Fargo transfer partners, including Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and Virgin Red
- Features an intro APR on purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Doesn't include travel credits or other valuable travel perks
- Lacks key travel protections, such as trip delay reimbursement and trip cancellation/interruption coverage
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Apply Now to take advantage of this offer and learn more about product features, terms and conditions.
- Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
- Earn unlimited 3X points on the things that really add up - like restaurants, travel, gas stations, transit, popular streaming services, and phone plans. Plus, earn 1X points on other purchases.
- $0 annual fee.
- 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases. 18.74%, 24.74%, or 28.74% variable APR thereafter.
- Up to $600 of cell phone protection against damage or theft. Subject to a $25 deductible.
- Redeem your rewards points for travel, gift cards, or statement credits. Or shop at millions of online stores and redeem your rewards when you check out with PayPal.
- Find tickets to top sports and entertainment events, book travel, make dinner reservations and more with your complimentary 24/7 Visa Signature® Concierge.
Balance transfer fee
3% intro for 120 days from account opening, then up to 5%, min: $5
Foreign transaction fee
None
Qualify for elite status
Certain programs waive rewards expiration as long as you maintain elite status with that program. Your points or miles won't expire when you have a certain level of elite status with certain loyalty programs, including Air Canada Aeroplan, IHG One Rewards and Flying Blue.
The right co-branded credit card can help you earn elite status more quickly, and several cards offer complimentary status just for having the card. The Air Canada Aeroplan® Credit Card comes with automatic 25K Elite status, and the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card grants you automatic Platinum status. So both cards keep your rewards alive without requiring you to even use the card. Terms apply.
Redeem rewards
The reason most people accumulate miles and points is to eventually use them, and using rewards usually resets your expiration date. But as with any of these tips, it's important to understand the fine print for your rewards.
Firstly, certain programs don't consider redemptions qualifying activity. If you have Avianca LifeMiles, redeeming them doesn't restart the 12-month expiration, but earning miles does.
Also, there can be subtle differences in how using points resets your expiration. The expiration date often restarts when you redeem the rewards, but that's not always the case. For certain programs, the expiration date doesn't change until you complete the travel.
Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 months of inactivity; you can reset this clock by using your points. However, redeeming points for a stay doesn't instantly change your points expiration. You have to complete the stay for the expiration date to change. So if you make a points reservation for a future date after your rewards expire, any unused points could expire without other qualifying activity; when you complete the points stay is what resets the expiration, not when you use the points.
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For rates and fees for the Hilton Honors Aspire card, click here.
For rates and fees for the Hilton Honors American Express Card, click here.
The New IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and Air Canada Aeroplan® Credit Card has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer prior to publication.
