Questions and Answers

A lot of airlines have a policy regarding expiration of miles due to lack of activity (e.g. United Mileage Plus earning/buying or redeeming miles within 18 months to keep miles from expiring).

Does the transfer of miles into the account from, for example, Chase Ultimate Rewards, count as a qualifying event for airlines or hotels that can forestall expiration?

RIA: I’m not a road warrior, so I have some monthly payments tied to various airline and hotel cards, which gives me points each month keeping the current point totals active. But by doing this, I’m missing out on the point bonuses I can get from my Sapphire Reserve and Freedom cards. I want to make sure I’m not missing out for nothing.

Yep, pretty much any activity will reset the clock on most programs (except, for example, Singapore KrisFlyer).

Another easy way to extend the expiration is to make a purchase through an online shopping portal. You could literally buy something as simple as toothpaste through a shopping portal, and reset the expiration clock.

Excellent, thank you, I’ll switch the payments to maximize the points and do the transfers to keep things active.