Housekeeping: Estate Planning & Your Miles

I am still managing, and using, the miles from several airline programs of a relative who passed away several years ago. I was granted access to their online accounts prior to death. There is no requirement I am aware of to notify airlines of a death. As long as tickets purchased with miles can be used by others I think this is the best way to manage the miles. In my estate papers I have a list of the accounts and passwords with instructions on how to access and use the miles.

The advice in this article blatantly goes against terms and conditions of many programs (e.g. letting others access or use your account without your knowledge, because you're dead).

This website went on a high horse about people breaking AAs terms and conditions duri g the when shutdown saga (even though they didn't technically, since all interactions were with Citi), so the advice here to skirt the official terms is hugely hypocritical.

Please everyone make a WILL of you 20 30 40 MAKE A WILL having to do probate court is horrendous. Even a simple 3 lines saying who gets what will save family time and headaches

when the bit about hilton still says hilton hhonors...

@Tiffany

Wow. I learn so much reading your articles. Stayed at the same Park Hyatt as you in Siem Reap — enjoyed the same welcome drink and breakfast spread.

This, however, takes the cake. You state: With a bit of advance planning (see more below), there’s no reason why your heirs can’t make some redemptions prior to notifying the airline.

I don’t understand how a person’s heirs can gain access to and perform a mileage redemption from someone else’s account without committing an act of fraud. Maybe you should just warn readers about this sort of situation and encourage elderly relatives to gift their excessive miles prior to passing to avoid the unpleasantness of mileage or points probate, as it were. The unscrupulous amongst us can always read between the lines.

Advocating for an eleventh hour pilfering of a recently deceased relative’s various assets and accounts seems...despicable? Sorry.

@Roger I'm assuming the person who has access to the deceased individuals miles would have had that person's blessing anyways. This beats having to pay another death tax to the programs for miles that they had accrued over their lifetime.

As for gifting the miles, sure if you know you're going to die. If you get hit by a truck you're not going to have that same foresight though. I for know if that happens I'd rather my SO or any other beneficiary enjoy the miles rather than have to deal with other bullshit.

I recently did this with my mother's MileagePlus account. I had to provide copies of the Death Certificate, Letter(s) of Testamentary and a notarized letter asking for the transfer of mileage. I was able to split the miles evenly between myself and my sisters. Took a bit of effort but wasn't really a big deal. I think United transferred the miles a week or two later. I treated this just like any other division of assets. I did offer to give my sisters money in lieu of miles (I think $1.7 cents/mile) but they both took the miles.

@Roger

This is most likely going to apply to spouses, who are obligated by law to share everything. So "pilfering" is way too strong a word in this case.

The better question is whether there is any history of airlines prosecuting or speaking out against the use of points by surviving spouses, and/or if using someone else's account in this way constitutes actual prosecutable or actionable fraud. I'm not a lawyer, I have no idea.

I'm usually one to encourage people to follow program rules and not be abusive, but I guess I'm having a hard time mentally grasping how in the case of spouses how the benefit should completely die with the person. Seems like an act of compassion in those cases to allow the survivor to make use of what was earned.

@wpr8e

Did that transfer require money or were you able to transfer your mother's miles to your (and your sisters) for free upon notifying UA? Thanks in advance.

Also, unfortunate that Hyatt, for example, requires transfers to be to people who live at the same address. What if a parent wants to transfer to a child who lives on their own? Nonsensical IMO.

@S
I have some sympathy for the airlines/hotels desire for points recipients to reside at the same address. If it's possible to transfer to anyone near or far, then it will inspire the growth of a marketplace for the dearly departed miles of dead dudes and dudettes. I think hotels and airlines want some kind of relationship with elites who will build their business, not just the emergence of an alternative currency.

It seems like a reasonable compromise is to allow free transfers to legal spouses, who often were direct participants in the miles and points earning.

This information is so useful...Thank you for updating your previous article which I [unfortunately] did have to reference once in the past...For anyone complaining about the ethics here, take a hard look in the mirror before commenting, most points "gamers" have all taken advantage of loop holes in the past...This is just another version of that...Just my opinion, FWIW...

@Kendor, fair points there actually.

I wish they would give an exception for children though, as they often travel just like spouses too and keep the points in the family. Just my 2 cents.

American Express Flying Blue card holders (at least in The Netherlands) have the option to transfer Flying Blue miles between card holders within the same account.

@ Roger -- I always appreciate feedback, but respectfully, I think the overall point may have been missed here. This is hardly about an "eleventh hour pilfering," but rather how to organize your affairs so as to avoid unnecessary stress and confusion as you would with your other estate planning. There are nuances to how things should be structured (like the bank programs that require someone to have been an authorized user for 90+ days before they can access the account, or programs that want to see address matches) to make the whole situation easier on everyone, should the need arise.

I can give another example from my family's experience. When my grandmother (on the other side of the family) passed away 12+ years ago, she had prepaid for her funeral and burial, but had made it known that she wanted any cash she had left on hand and whatever miles she had used to help her kids, grandkids, and siblings attend her funeral (the family cemetery is literally in the middle of nowhere, and both costly and complicated to get to), and then other assets divided up later. It was essentially impossible to facilitate that, as she passed suddenly and unexpectedly, and while my aunt was a joint user on some of her deposit accounts, all the airlines and bank programs wanted to wait for notarized death certificates, probate to settle, etc. She didn't know that simply stating your wishes for your miles and points wasn't sufficient, and if she'd been in hospice first or a more apparent decline I'm sure she would have booked tickets for everyone and had us organize the funeral accordingly, but that's just not how life works most of the time.

In general processes are better established now than they were a dozen years ago, but if a bit of preparation saves others some of that headache, it seems reasonable to do so.

This is something I have covered in a "in the event of my death" document I keep updated for my wife and kids outlining investments, assets, etc that I handle they may not be as familiar with. I have 6 to 7 figure balances with around 6 different programs (and smaller ones with a few others) plus both Membership Rewards and Ultimate Points.

One thing I got from my estate attorney when we updated our wills, trusts and powers of attorney a few years ago. Even though the programs typically state the miles/points are their property in practice many do allow them to be transferred in the event of death (as you noted). However, it helps if the will affirmatively states that miles and points are included with the assets to be included in the estate. This at least would provide documentation of clear intent which, along with proof of death, some programs require before taking any action.

BTW I also have my ID and PW for all my accounts listed with instructions to not notify those where you can make online reservations in someone else's name and just use the points after my death until they are gone. That is much easier (mainly for airline programs as you indicated) than actually transferring the account balance to someone else. Even for hotels you could make the reservation online in your name and then have someone call to add another person to the list of approved people staying there which should allow someone to take advantage of that reservation and check in. Yes I know this is not in compliance with the programs but the miles and points have been legitimately earned and I'll come back and haunt people if they can't be used.

When my husband died he has miles on Alaska and United. Alaska transferred them to my account with no fee with a copy of the death certificate. United did the same - with a death certificate and charged me $50.00 [1995]

I had a similar experience as Ann. When my father died 15+ years ago, American Airlines allowed my mom and I to transfer his miles to me for just $50. It was still worth it as I was in need to buy a RT from PHX to Lima, Peru for a vacation week to attend a Peruvian friend's wedding. His miles plus mine were enough for that redemption. It was fast and smooth.

@Greg and Roger

YAWN!!!! Now be quiet and drink your milk.

I am sure a lot of readers have logged into a spouse's or family member's account to make a redemption (or even called the airline/hotel program to make a redemption), with the permission of the account owner. I have done so numerous times with no issue, and would have no issue doing it again. I don't see what the difference is if that spouse has passed, if their will says they want me to have the use of their miles/points--particularly for those programs that don't expressly provide that the miles expire or the account terminates at death.

My husband and I were both platinum members of American when he died in 2002. I called the Platinum line and they moved 1.5 million miles to my account. I think I did have to send them a copy of the death certificate, but they didn't charge me.

Just a quick update re: Southwest Rapid Rewards: While Rapid Rewards Miles formerly expired after 24 months of inactivity, this has now changed, and current policy is that Southwest Rapid Rewards miles do not expire due to inactivity.

@S,

No money required. In fact they were very gracious about the whole process.

@Tiffany,

As the designated executor, it is your responsibility to begin the process of dividing the assets among the beneficiaries. This includes accumulated miles given that they are a form of currency. I do not agree that you should designate someone else to handle this process unless that is specifically desired by the deceased. That would be like giving someone the power to sell the house, car, financial assets, etc. It should be one person for everything.

Quite lucky that airlines allow this benefit.

@Roger - you can't take it with you. 😉

Excellent article and timely, given the global
situation. Thank for taking the time to put together such a worthwhile piece.

I’m sure it took a lot of time to put together the information on each airline, hotel chain plus include credit card info. It’s the kind of thing one needs to think about and deal with before they re forced to.

Death is not a morbid subject. It’s a taboo subject. Thanks for being brave!

This article would be even more useful if you mentioned foreign airlines too.

I would just add or emphasize the importance of keeping a emergency list of accounts, user names, and passwords. And bold on making sure the key people know where this is and what you want done. If there is sufficient time for such planning, it certainly helps to make sure the person charged with taking care of things is an authorized user or account manager. Just to add, it isn't fraud for someone to access your account and do the things you instructed them to do.

When my Mother passed away she had about 28,000 AA miles. Within the first year, I logged on as her and booked a round trip ticket in my name. AA never knew she had passed away.

If you are the executor and there's fighting, then using the miles or points using the Decedent's password is problematic. In such case, it's better not to accumulate too many points but to use them while alive

> As the designated executor, it is your responsibility to begin the process of dividing the assets among the beneficiaries. This includes accumulated miles given that they are a form of currency.

I am not a trusts and estates lawyer, but, the point is that miles and points _are not_ yours and _not_ a form of currency, and any action related to them is out of the good grace of the owner of the points: the programs. The executor has control over the decedent's estate, which does not include the miles and points.

Think of it like you borrowed a car and then died. The owner of the car can demand the car back - or could allow the car to continue to be borrowed by someone else that you designated or that they designate.

@Tiffany

In the interest of preparing, then, why not just recommend establishing a special power of attorney that specifically authorizes a named individual to access and make decisions on behalf of a very focused list of points and frequent flier accounts? It could be durable, but better if it is not. With this, there can certainly be no basis for being accused of fraud. When your relative’s situation starts turning for the worst...log in to all their accounts and start redeeming as you see fit. No need to skirt any ethical boundaries now, particularly if they’re in the process of passing, but haven’t yet passed.

Sorry, I meant better if it is a durable power of attorney. Remains in effect even while incapacitated.

@Tiffany

If AMEX states that
"Points are not your property." does that mean AMEX can't really issue you a 1099-MISC since you didn't earn anything from AMEX?

In Layman's terms of, it's like you seize Amex's property (with consent) to buy yourself a plane ticket.

For IRS, they might still expect you to self report this as income.

Thanks for a very good article. Before major surgery in March I updated my will to specify where my AA and Delta miles would go. I also gave one son all my account numbers and passwords so that he could move miles and points around. My wife is the Executor but I assumed she would be to involved with outer matters to be concerned about miles and points. I hope to live long enough to enjoy most of my miles and points but with the current situation we should all plan for different outcomes. PLANNING is key.

Thanks @Tiffany for raising this subject & providing great information, it is so critical for us all. I think @jojo is absolutely correct, if you haven't written a will it is absolutely essential and a great starting point but certainly isn't the end of the process & you don't want to have to go to probate courts unnecessarily. @TheBrain also has some important tips to help with the process.

I am not a lawyer, just a common garden idiot, so please take these words in that light. They are not all travel related but if you are having problems with miles then I imagine you have bigger issues as well. Let me assure you, that the problem's won't arise so much with our parents or grandparents death, their loyalty points & online lives were simple or non existent. They will arise with us - our deaths, our partners or children i.e. the tech savy generations as now there is just so much stuff & so many passwords & so many things that we just don't even think of. First thing I would say is make sure someone knows the password to your phone and your computer because if they can't access those then you can't access anything and literally NO.ONE is going to help you unlock them, not Apple, not Microsoft, not your phone company, no.one. They are the key to everything.

And if you use an automated password system, make sure they know the password for that. Maybe leave a one page old fashioned piece of paper with your passwords somewhere for your loved one or executor or whomever. And update that information regularly because if it is not updated, it too becomes useless!!!

I am sharing this information because Unfortunately I recently had this experience with my partner who ironically made his living in the tech world and had every security system and automated whatever is possible. I also had been given updated lists with passwords & instructions. But guess what, when he died very unexpectedly a large chunk of that information was not the latest version & it became difficult to access. If I had not been his Power of Attorney & Executor & known so much about his life & had just been relying on the will & the lawyer then almost nothing would have been resolved in the short term. Turns out the bank accounts are the easy part!

As others have said, most of the airlines and hotel companies were no problem and once a fee was paid to Amex, that was sorted as well. I had no problems with any of these regardless of the country in which they were based. And the same with the credit card companies. I do agree with @Tiffany though that if you can transfer miles to family easily then you should. We shared Netflix, Amazon, Costco etc but even if that is the case, it is important to access those quickly and ensure yours becomes the master email or contact & if you weren't listed on those & you just used the same codes then go into edit and add yourself immediately. Airlines can have credit vouchers, Amazon accounts can have gift cards etc so worth checking them all for balances. So much is now online & subscription based be it social media - insta, twitter, facebook etc - software, domains, it is really important you have a handle on it because many of these companies are impossible to speak with & just producing a death certificate doesn't always solve the problem but it sure does take a lot of your time especially in a time when you are emotionally fragile. As @Tiffany said, if you have authorised users on yr credit cards or all your heirs have accounts within the same travel programs as you, it does make a big difference in the ease of transferring miles.

Don't rush to cut off the phone or email until you absolutely need to because in these days of two factor identification or verifications etc, you will really need that access for a period of time. Plus, calling from that number sometimes pre identifies you with that company so it can be helpful. And even if you have produced the death certificate there are plenty of people who feel the need to call that number to check with the person to verify their death - true story!

I'm sure many of you know this but a Power of Attorney ends at the moment of someone's death. From that point, it is the Executor or Administrator that becomes the authority so choose wisely! And again, a point I am sure most are aware of, if a beneficiary has been named for financial accounts such as a Roth then that is what stands, not what is in the Will. But it is important to put that in the will also so the executor & the attorneys know who to notify as the financial company will not notify the beneficiary, so it is important preferably they themselves know.

As @Tiffany said, some preparation will help but in this day and age, that needs to be updated constantly and consistently. I also agree that its important to have everyone get rid of the paper statements, it becomes much easier & quicker to access, update or close any online accounts be they travel or non travel than waiting for the old paper to turn up in the mail or spending time on the phone. Everyone needs to: Make a Will, Make a list of Beneficiaries not covered in a Will, Appoint a Power of Attorney, Appoint an Executor, Go through EVERYTHING & list your accounts & passwords & then make sure two people know where those things are.

Unfortunately, watching the dreaded Covid assassinate travel, we should all probably have spent our miles and points well before this because sadly, I am not sure we are going to have the opportunity to use them in the forseeeable future regardless of whose account they came from!

AA - any experience or tips for American Airlines miles? No kids, no spouse - after my death, would consider transfer to a nephew for use by relatives. Any success stories? Thanks.

@ Eskimo -- Outside of refer-a-friend bonuses (which after the 2018 tax changes are possibly considered commissions and thus income), the stance of the IRS has been that points and miles are a rebate. A person with the enthusiasm to do so could potentially contest those 1099s, or at least the declared value.

@ wpr8e -- It's precisely because miles and points aren't considered assets that I recommend having a separate plan for them.

@ jane blogs -- Wonderful details and observations, thank you!!

@Tiffany - you wrote... "In practice, however, you can “take over” the account of a deceased relative, and then reinstate the rewards points. "

What do you mean by "reinstating" the points? If my husband could just take over my account, wouldn't the points still be there? Why would they have to be reinstated?

Do certain cards need to NOT be cancelled so that the points can still be used by him? I wouldn't want him to keep the Platinum open with the high fees! Blue Business Plus or Amex Everyday?

@Tiffany, sorry. Just to clarify, I am asking about your comment about the American Express Points!

@dixieboz - Reinstating points usually refers to getting expired points back and airlines and hotels that allow this have made big money on such related fees. Often times it's not worth the fee they charge.

Not really. Have you been an executor of a will? It’s more straightforward to have access to online accounts than try and do things after probate has been obtained. It’s just commonsense to do this not only for miles and points but also bank accounts etc. it took me over a year to liquidate some of my late mothers assets due to the bureaucracy around probate,