When Do My Airmiles and Points Expire? A Guide

Few things in the world of travel loyalty are as frustrating as discovering your hard-earned miles or points have quietly expired. This often happens with smaller balances left over from promotions or one-off flights that you forget about, only to realise too late when you finally want to use them.

When points expire, it's devastating

To help you keep on top of your balances, here’s a guide for when do your airmiles and points expire for some of the most popular airline loyalty programmes that we talk about here on Points Well Made.

Avios

Avios points remain valid for 36 months, provided there is at least some account activity.

The good news is, this does not need to be a flight, any earning or spending transaction will reset the clock.

Simple ways to keep your Avios active include:

• Buying a small bundle of Avios online

• Transferring points from American Express Membership Rewards or hotel programmes

• Making a purchase through the Avios e-store

• Taking an Uber ride (after linking your accounts)

Note: Moving Avios between British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways, Finnair or Loganair does not prevent expiry. You still need to spend or earn some Avios to keep everything going.

Another important thing to note is that Avios earned with Loganair will expire after 12 months and will be deleted from your Loganair account. As soon as Avios appear in your Loganair account move these over to your British Airways account to keep them safe.

Household Account protection: If your British Airways Household Account includes at least one Bronze, Silver or Gold member who has earned or redeemed Avios in the last 36 months, all household members’ balances are safeguarded, even if they would otherwise have expired. A rather nifty trick from British Airways there.

Virgin Points

Virgin Points are one of the most flexible currencies they never expire. This policy was introduced in September 2020 when Virgin Flying Club miles were rebranded as Virgin Points.

Personally we love the fact they don't expire and really think this should be the industry norm.

Lufthansa Miles & More

Miles in Lufthansa’s Miles & More programme expire 36 months after they are earned, at the end of the relevant quarter, regardless of ongoing activity.

Ways to avoid expiry:

• Hold Miles & More elite status

• Use a Miles & More credit card (although this option isn’t currently available in the UK)

Otherwise, your miles will vanish on schedule, which can be particularly limiting if you only fly Star Alliance occasionally.

Flying Blue (Air France / KLM)

Flying Blue has one of the more complicated expiry systems:

• To keep all of your miles alive, you must take a revenue flight with Air France, KLM, or another SkyTeam partner every 24 months (unless you hold elite status).

• Non-flight activity, such as hotel stays or car rentals, will keep partner-earned miles active, but not flight-earned miles.

For Air France and KLM you must book a revenue flight every 24 months.

If your balance is at risk of expiring and you can’t redeem quickly, you can transfer Flying Blue miles into the Accor Live Limitless hotel programme.

American Airlines AAdvantage

AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months of no activity, making it one of the stricter major loyalty schemes.

To keep your account active:

• Credit a flight on British Airways or another partner to American Airlines

• Transfer hotel points into AAdvantage

• Make a small redemption

Interestingly, members under 21 are exempt from the expiry rule.

Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest miles have a hard expiry of 18 months from the date they are earned. Unlike some programmes, activity does not reset the clock.

• Miles expire on schedule and cannot be extended, so planning is crucial.

• Etihad Guest Gold and Platinum members get longer validity (up to 3 years) for their balances.

Emirates Skywards

Skywards Miles expire 36 months after being earned, at the end of the month in which they were added.

• Expiry cannot be extended by activity.

• However, Emirates allows you to pay a fee to extend or reinstate expired miles, typically for another 12 months.

Skywards Miles expire 36 months after being earned

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Delta SkyMiles

Delta offers one of the most generous policies: SkyMiles never expire.

This makes it one of the safest programmes if you’re not a frequent flyer but still want to accumulate miles over time.

United MileagePlus

United removed its mileage expiry rule in August 2019. Like Delta, MileagePlus miles never expire.

This change makes United one of the most flexible Star Alliance options for infrequent travellers.

When Do Airmiles and Points Expire - A Handy Table

Because sometimes a table just sums it all up better right?

Programme	Expiry Rule	How to Prevent Expiry	Exceptions / Notes
Avios (BA, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Qatar, Finnair, Loganair)	Expire after 36 months of inactivity	Any earn or spend activity (buy Avios, credit card transfer, hotel transfer, e-store purchase, Uber ride etc.)	Household Accounts with a Bronze/Silver/Gold member protect all balances
Virgin Points	Never expire	N/A	Safe currency for long-term holding
Lufthansa Miles & More	Expire 36 months after earning, at the end of the quarter	Hold elite status or a Miles & More credit card	No UK Miles & More credit card available
Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)	Expire after 24 months	A qualifying flight with AF/KLM/SkyTeam resets all balances; non-flight activity only protects non-flying miles	Miles can be transferred to Accor Live Limitless if close to expiry
American Airlines AAdvantage	Expire after 24 months of inactivity	Credit flights, transfer hotel points, make a small redemption	Miles never expire if member is under 21
Etihad Guest	Expire 18 months after earning	Cannot be reset by activity	Gold/Platinum members: miles valid for up to 3 years
Emirates Skywards	Expire 36 months after earning, at the end of the month	No reset by activity	Can pay to extend or reinstate expired miles
Delta SkyMiles	Never expire	N/A	Very safe programme for infrequent flyers
United MileagePlus	Never expire	N/A	Policy changed in 2019 to permanent validity

Tips for Avoiding Expiry

• Track expiry dates: Tools like AwardWallet can help monitor balances and alert you when points are due to lapse. The free version tracks a limited number of programmes, while the paid option provides full coverage.

• Plan activity ahead of time: Even a small transaction can reset the clock in most schemes.

• Use orphan balances: If you have small amounts of points you can’t grow into a redemption, consider donating them, using them for magazines, or transferring to a partner programme before they expire.

Knowing the rules for each programme ensures your miles and points are ready to use when you need them most.

Expiring Points: A Summary

Don’t let your hard-earned rewards slip away.

While some programmes, like Virgin Points, Delta SkyMiles and United MileagePlus, offer peace of mind by never expiring, many others impose strict deadlines. Knowing the rules for each programme ensures your miles and points are ready to use when you need them most.

We get it, it is a tad complicated if you aren't airline loyal and keeping a track of it all can be a nightmare. But making a note of the points you have earned, with whom and when, will help you in the long run so you never miss out on a points redemption!

Helena

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