Do Airline Miles Expire?

You work hard for your miles, but are they actually yours forever? Or, do airline miles expire if you aren't careful? The answer is yes, and no. Most airlines have miles expiration policies where members lose their miles after a number of months of inactivity. Generally, some sort of earning or redeeming activity is enough to reset that expiration for most airlines. However, a few programs have hard deadlines with no possibility of extending. In this post, we cover expiration policies for the major airline programs and what you can do to extend your miles to keep them from expiring.

When Do Airline Miles Expire: The Expiration Policy For Each Major Airline

Below we will answer the question, do airline miles expire, for each major airline. We will also discuss what you can do to keep your frequent flyer miles active, if that is an option. Some airline programs are more generous than others and you should be aware of these policies before you start earning any airline miles.

Quick Guide Chart

First up is our quick guide chart for the expiration policy for each major airline / frequent flyer program. I will go into more detail for each airline below the chart too. Some of these require a bit more nuance, so be sure you read through the expiration policies for some of these.

Remember to check the details below for more information on if your airline miles can be extended or not. We also give some tips on what will work if you are not flying etc., plus all of the nuances of every program's rules.

Air Canada Aeroplan Points Expiration Policy

Aeroplan points expire after 18 months of inactivity. You can extend your points with any earning or redemption activity. This includes earning points through flying or spending a co-branded Air Canada Aeroplan credit card; redeeming points for flights, hotels, or other travel; donating your points; transferring to another Aeroplan member, or converting points from another loyalty program. More info here.

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue airline miles do expire after 24 months of inactivity in your account. Only certain types of activity can reset the expiration of your miles. You can extend your miles by flying on Air France/KLM or one of its partners (you have to credit the flight to your Flying Blue account), earning miles with a co-branded Air France/KLM credit card, earning miles through Flying Blue's store, donating your miles, or booking a hotel through Flying Blue's portal. More info here.

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan Mileage Expiration Policy

Alaska Airlines miles do not expire. *However, for security purposes, Alaska may lock accounts that have been inactive for more than 2 years. If your account has been locked due to inactivity, you will have to call the airline to verify your identify and reactive the account for you. All miles in the account will remain available to you.

American Airlines AAdvantage

American AAdvantage airline miles do expire after 24 months of inactivity, but any mileage earning or redemption activity resets the expiration clock. This includes transferring points from American's few transfer partners, such as Marriott Bonvoy. AAdvantage miles do not expire for primary cardholders of co-branded American Airlines credit cards from Citi or Barclays, regardless of account activity. The same goes for AAdvantage members under the age of 21.

All Nippon Airways Mileage Club Mileage Expiration Policy

ANA mileage expiration policy is quite complicated, but the rule of thumb is that ANA miles expire after 36 months. ANA actually distinguishes miles based on how they are earned, categorizing them into 4 different groups. Group 1 miles (which expire after 36 months) cover miles not earned through a promotion or campaign. Top-tier Mileage Club Diamond members are exempt from mileage expiration.

Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca LifeMiles airline miles do expire after 12 months of inactivity (24 months for elite members). Keep in mind that the expiration date is based on accrual and not on activity, which means that making a redemption does not extend the expiration date of your miles. You can extend your LifeMiles by transferring in points from a credit card partner, purchasing LifeMiles, or transferring LifeMiles from one member to another.

British Airways Executive Club Mileage Expiration Policy

British Airways Avios airline miles do expire after 36 months of inactivity. Any redemption or earning activity resets the expiration of your Avios by an additional 36 months. Transferring points from a credit card partner or buying a small amount of Avios both work to extend your Avios expiration. Other Avios programs follow similar miles expiration policies, with the exception of Finnair Plus, below.

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles airline miles do expire after 18 months of inactivity. Expiration resets with any mileage earning or redemption activity.

Delta SkyMiles Expiration Policy

Delta SkyMiles is a program where airline miles do not expire. That is regardless of whether or not you have any account activity.

Emirates Skywards

Emirates Skywards miles expire at the end of your birthday month three years after they were earned. For example, if you earned miles from a flight in February 2023 and your birthday is in July, your miles would expire on July 31, 2026. You cannot extend your miles' validity through account activity, but you can pay a fee to extend them by an additional 12 months. Skywards Platinum members are not subject to mileage expiration policies as long as they maintain the status.

Etihad Guest Frequent Flyer Program Expiration Rules

Etihad Guest airline miles do expire after 18 months of inactivity. Expiration resets by a further 18 months with any mileage earning or redemption activity. However, as of June 2024, Etihad Guest is modifying its mileage expiration policy, after which the only way to extend the expiration will be to fly with Etihad or a partner airline.

Finnair Plus Avios

Finland's flag carrier stands out from the other Avios programs when it comes to miles expiration deadline. Finnair Plus Avios expire at the end of the 18th consecutive month for which the member has not collected or used Avios. Any Avios earning or redemption activity resets the expiration of your Avios by a further 18 months. Transferring points from Capital One counts as an earning activity.

Iberia Plus Mileage Expiration Policy

Similar to other Avios miles expiration policies, Iberia Plus Avios airline miles do expire after 36 months of inactivity. Any Avios earning or redemption activity resets the expiration of your Avios by a further 36 months. Transferring points from a credit card partner count as an earning activity to extend the expiration.

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue TrueBlue points do not expire, regardless of whether you have any account activity.

Qantas Frequent Flyer Program Rules

Qantas Frequent Flyer points expire after 18 months of inactivity. Any points earning or redemption activity resets the expiration of your points by a further 18 months. Transferring points from a credit card partner can extend the expiration.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Qatar Airways Privilege Club Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity. Any Avios earning or redemption activity resets the expiration of your Avios by a further 36 months. Transferring points from a credit card partner count as an earning activity to extend the expiration. Also, you can extend the validity of all or part of the Avios for 12 months by paying a fee of $0.015 USD per Avios.

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Mileage Expiration Policy

Singapore KrisFlyer airline miles do expire 36 months after they’re earned. Unfortunately, there is no way to extend your miles. You can pay $12 or 1,200 miles per 10,000 miles to extend expiration for 6 months (12 months if you have KrisFlyer Elite Silver and Gold elite status). Meanwhile, miles do not expire for PPS Club and Solitaire PPS Club members.

Southwest Rapid Rewards

Do airline miles expire in the Southwest Rapid Rewards program? They do not! And, that is regardless of whether you have any account activity.

Turkish Miles&Smiles Frequent Flyer Program Rules

Turkish Miles&Smiles airline miles do expire 36 months after they’re earned. There is no way to extend Turkish miles other than paying a fee of $10 for every 1,000 miles to extend them for another three years.

United MileagePlus

United MileagePlus is another program where airline miles do not expire. Just like Southwest Rapid Rewards, United miles do not expire regardless of whether you have any account activity.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Mileage Expiration Policy

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is another program where airline miles do not expire. That is true regardless of whether or not you have any account activity.

Frequent Flyer Program Expiration Policies: ToP Thoughts

Understanding points expiration policies across different airline programs is crucial so you don't lose your hard-earned miles unnecessarily. Most programs have reasonable ways to extend miles, while many don't even have an expiration policy at all.

How do you keep your miles from expiring? Come share, over in the ToP Facebook Group.