As more frequent travelers depart to their final journeys, programs have been around for a quarter of the century. Many wonder what will happen to the miles and points of the deceased?
Some airlines and hotels won’t allow transferring the points after a member dies, but they expire or stay in the account in the case of programs with no expiry policy. Aeroplan, however, allows miles to be transferred out from the deceased’s account.
You can access Air Canada’s Aeroplan page for the final journey here.
Here’s what you need to do:
Although Aeroplan points cannot be willed, if you are a named beneficiary of the late member’s estate, you may request that the member’s points be transferred into your Aeroplan account. If you don’t have an account, we’ll open one for you using the information you provide.
To transfer points, please submit the following information for the late member:
Late member information
- First and last name
- Complete mailing address (including postal code)
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Aeroplan number (if available)
You must also provide:
- A scanned copy of the late member’s death certificate, along with
- A scanned copy of the portion of the will that names the beneficiaries
If there is a sole beneficiary, they will receive all the points. In the event of multiple beneficiaries, the points will be divided equally among all the beneficiaries, unless there is written, signed documentation stating that one or more beneficiaries do not want the points. In that case, they will be divided equally among the remaining beneficiaries.
Beneficiary information
Please provide the following information for each beneficiary:
- First and last name
- Complete mailing address (including postal code)
- Telephone number
- Email address
- Aeroplan number (if available)
Conclusion
One option is to leave the information on your frequent flier accounts with username, email addresses, and passwords to the person you wish to use the miles and points after you are gone. Even better, burn your mile sand points when you are still alive!
Hotels and airlines won’t get information when someone dies, and you can continue redeeming miles and points from these accounts until they are emptied.
It is probably an easier way than to go through the airlines or hotel, of which some don’t allow transferring miles out from deceased account (they take a financial gain when you die, as they can write off the miles/points in your account).
Some airlines, like Air Canada, have an official policy that is better if the number of miles is significant and there are several beneficiaries.
Here are the additional terms:
Regular expiry rules apply to the points of the late member.
If the points expired before the member passed away, the 18-month expiry policy applies. If the points expired after the member passed away, you can request they be transferred within 6 months of the expiry date.The executor may request the transfer of points.
The executor of an estate may request the transfer of points on behalf of the beneficiary/beneficiaries. They must provide the information outlined above for each beneficiary.Donations may not be made directly from the late member’s account.
Points may not be donated directly from the account of the member who has passed away. First, the points must be transferred to the beneficiary’s/beneficiaries’ Aeroplan account(s), at which point they can donate the points to a participating charity
