Worried about keeping all your airline miles and hotel points active? Another trick to keep in your toolbox is that many loyalty programs have a partner survey company that can be a relatively easy way to earn a few miles and extend any impending expiration dates. I don’t enjoy doing them otherwise, and they can send way too many e-mails (set up a filter), but I am happy they exist. Even if you don’t qualify for the full survey, they’ll give you something like 5 miles for trying, and that’s all I really need. This is often expressly mentioned as a perk:
You can also use them in a pinch if you only need a few miles to reach a specific award amount. They all seem to be run by the same backend company, but while some post the points nearly instantly, while others can take a few weeks at times. I usually only sign up for a specific program when I need to generate activity, but many do offer a small bonus on your first survey. I recently just did a couple of surveys to extend the expiration of my Alaska and Hilton points.
Here’s a quick list of programs expiration policies and their companion survey sites.
Alaska Airlines –
- 400 miles for first survey.
- Alaska miles accounts get locked after 24 months of inactivity, permanently lost after 36 months of inactivity.
American Airlines –
- 250 miles for first survey.
- American miles expire after 24 months of inactivity.
British Airways –
- 100 + 500 Avios for first survey.
- Avios expire after 36 months of inactivity.
Hawaiian Airlines –
- 350 miles for first survey.
- As of April 2021, Hawaiian miles no longer expire (used to be 18 months).
Hilton Honors –
- Hilton points expire after 24 months of inactivity.
JetBlue –
- 400 points for first survey.
- JetBlue points do not expire.
Southwest Airlines –
- 500 miles for first survey.
- Southwest points do not expire.
Spirit Airlines –
- 400 points for first survey.
- Spirit miles expire after 12 months.
United Airlines –
- As of 2019, United miles no longer expire (used to be 18 months).
Wyndham Rewards –
- 500 points for first survey.
- Wyndham Rewards points expire after 18 months of inactivity, OR after four years after being earned regardless of account activity.
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