Hotel loyalty points expire quietly after 12 to 24 months of inactivity. The program email usually lands in spam or the day points are already gone. Set an email reminder weeks ahead, while you still have time to book a stay or move your balance.
Done in seconds. No sign-up required.
The points are already yours. Losing them costs you nothing extra to prevent.
IHG One Rewards points expire after only 12 months of inactivity, the shortest window of any major hotel program
IHG One Rewards terms
Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and World of Hyatt all expire points after 24 months without qualifying activity
Program terms (2025)
approximate value of 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy points at the average redemption rate
The Points Guy valuations, 2024
Hotel points sit in an account you only think about when you book a trip. The expiration clock runs in the background, measured in months, with no daily feedback. You earn points on a stay, then life moves on. Twelve, eighteen, twenty-four months later, the balance is about to zero out and you have no idea.
The systems most travelers rely on don\'t close the gap. The program\'s warning email may be sent to an address you stopped checking, or land in spam, or fire on the same day points expire. The mobile app rarely surfaces an expiration date unless you go looking for it. And calendar reminders dismissed at the wrong moment never come back.
Points expire silently. The first time most people notice is when they log in to book a free night and find a balance of zero.
A working reminder fires before you have to scramble. Aim for 30 days before your expiration date. That gives you time to book a low-cost paid stay, run a small portal purchase, or transfer points from a partner program to reset the clock without paying a rush premium.
Log into your loyalty account and check the points summary. Most programs show the next expiration date alongside the balance.
Enter the date and your email. You\'ll get pre-reminders, a same-day email, and follow-ups if you don\'t mark it done.
Earn or redeem even one point and the clock resets. The reminder gets you to act before "any point" turns into "no points".
No grace period, no second chance, no automatic refund.
IHG runs on a 12-month clock. Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt give you 24 months. Choice resets at 18. Confusing them costs free nights.
See the full policy by brand →Phishing texts and emails copy the urgency of real expiration warnings. The FTC has flagged a wave of fake "your points expire today" messages.
Spot the fakes →Some programs reinstate points if you contact them quickly and politely. The success rate drops sharply after a few weeks.
How to ask for reinstatement →Everything else about keeping your balance alive.
You enter the date you think your points will expire and an email address. You'll get reminders 7, 3, and 1 day before the date, an email on the day, and follow-ups after if you don't mark it done. No account, no app. Just an email when it matters.
Programs like Marriott, Hilton, and IHG do send warning emails, but they often land in spam, the address on file is years old, or the email arrives the day points expire. Reddit threads are full of people who saw the email too late. A separate reminder you control gives you weeks of lead time, not hours.
Aim for at least 30 days before your expiration date. That gives you time to book a stay, transfer points, or run a quick portal purchase to reset the clock. Booking a paid stay or finding a partner transfer in 24 hours is stressful and usually costs more.
Log into the program's app or website and check the points balance page, which usually shows the next expiration date. Marriott shows it under "Points Activity", Hilton under "My Account", IHG under "Points Summary". Once you have the date, set a reminder for 30 days before.
Usually not. Most programs zero out the balance on the expiration day with no automatic recovery. Some programs (notably Marriott and IHG) will reinstate expired points if you ask quickly and politely, but the success rate drops sharply after a few weeks.
Yes. Create one reminder per program (Marriott, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt, Choice, etc.) with each program's actual expiration date. Each reminder is independent and you can manage or delete any of them from the link in every email.
Yes if you mark it as recurring. Set it once and it fires every year on the same date. That works well because activity-based programs reset their clock with each qualifying transaction, so the next expiration usually lands roughly the same time of year.
Free. No account. Takes 30 seconds. Get an email weeks before your points zero out, with follow-ups if you don't act.
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