Miles & Points enthusiasts earn transferable points on several different credit cards and transfer them to airline miles as needed for award redemptions. Credit card points never expire as long as you have a valid credit card associated with the account.
However, miles that are accumulated in airline programs have different expiration dates and it is important to be aware of them (see table below).
Airline Mileage Program Policies
| Mileage Program | Expiration Policy | Ticket Change Fee | Cancellation & Redeposit Fee | Award Hold Policy | Award Space Release (days ahead) | How long it takes to reach representatives? |
| Emirates Skywards | 36 months regardless of activity (except for US credit card holders) | $25 | $75 | 1 day | 328 | (800) 777-3999 <15 minutes |
| ANA | 36 months regardless of activity | Free Date change (up to 24 hrs before departure); Must keep the same routing and type of award. | 3,000 miles per person | 2 days | 355 | (800) 235-9262 Several hours |
| Singapore SQ | 36 months regardless of activity | $25 for Singapore; $50 for partner airlines | $75 | 3-5 days (only for Singapore airlines). | 355 | (833) 727-0118 <15 minutes |
| Turkish Miles & Smiles | 36 months regardless of activity | $25 | $25 | 2 days | 355 | (404) 841-8849 Several hours |
| Aeroplan | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 18 months | Date change & Destination change $100 CAD (up to 2 hours before departure) | $150 CAD per direction, per ticket (e.g., round trip cancellation $300 CAD). | None | 355 | (800) 361-5373 Several hours (unless you have status) |
| Avianca Lifemiles | Must earn 1 mile every 12 months (redeeming alone is not enough) | Date change & Destination change $150-200 | $50-200 depending on itinerary. | None | 360 | (800) 722-8222 <15 minutes |
| United | No expiration | Free | Free; $125 to redeposit after a no show. | None | 337 | (800) 421-4655 <15 minutes |
| Alaska | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 24 months | Free | Free (forfeit partner booking fee) | None | 330 | (800) 252-7522 <15 minutes |
| American Airlines | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 18 months | Free | Free | Up to 5 days (can be done online) | 331 | (800) 433-7300 <15 minutes |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 18 months | Date change ($50/7500 miles per flight sector & Destination change ($100 or 10,000 miles). | $120 USD or 12,000 Asia Miles | 3 days (must have 70% total miles in the account). | 360 | (833) 933-2244 <15 minutes |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 18 months | 5,000 Qantas points | 6,000 Qantas points | None | 353 | (855) 477 9316 30-60 minutes |
| Qatar Avios | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 36 months | $25 | $25 (24h+ From Departure) $100 (3-24h From Departure) | None | 360 | (877) 777-2827 15-30 minutes |
| British Avios | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 36 months | £35 or forfeit lesser amount in taxes | £35 (must cancel 24 hours prior to departure) | None | 355 | 15-30 minutes |
| Iberia Avios | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 36 months | €25 only for Iberia/British/Aer Lingus. No changes allowed for partner bookings. | None | 360 | (800) 452-1201 15-30 minutes | |
| Finnair Avios | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 18 months | €50 | €50 | None | 361 | (877) 757-7143 15-30 minutes |
| Aer Lingus Avios | Must redeem or earn 1 mile every 36 months | £35 | £35 | None | 355 | (888) 750-0868 15-30 minutes |
| KLM/ Flying Blue | Must earn 1 mile every 24 months (redeeming alone won’t help); credit card points transfers will extend miles. | €70 | €70 | 3 days | 359 | (800) 375-8723 <15 minutes |
| Virgin Atlantic | No expiration | $100 | $100 or forfeit lesser amount in taxes | 3 days | 331 | (800) 365-9500 Several hours |
| Delta | No expiration | Free | Free | None | 331 | (800) 221-1212 <15 minutes |
There are several other programs (e.g., JAL, Thai and South African) with similar hard expiration policies, but I did not mention them here since very few US based travelers have them.
Notorious airline programs with hard expiration dates for miles
As you can see from the table above, ANA Mileage Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, Turkish Miles & Smiles and Emirates Skywards have a strict 36-month miles expiration policy. In some cases you may be able to extend the miles by paying an additional fee.
Hotel points expiration policies
For most major hotel chains (e.g., Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt) you must redeem or earn points every 24 months to extend the validity of your points. IHG requires you to redeem or earn points every 12 months or you must be a holder of the IHG premier credit card.
Conclusion
I usually set up calendar reminders for all my expiring points (360 days ahead) in the programs with strict policies. I am not a fan of giving all my log-in details (for all my airline programs) to websites that monitor them for you.