Do Amex points expire?
No — Membership Rewards points have no expiration date and no inactivity clock. The catch is the card: close your last Amex that earns them and they're gone. Here's how to keep them.
No. American Express states Membership Rewards points have no expiration date, and there is no inactivity rule. They are forfeited in two situations: closing your last Membership Rewards-earning Card loses unredeemed points immediately, and points can also be forfeited for an unpaid billing period.
- Membership Rewards points have no expiration date and no inactivity rule.
- Nothing needs resetting. You lose points by closing your last Membership Rewards-earning Card, which forfeits them immediately, or by leaving a billing period unpaid, which Amex will reinstate for a $35 fee within 12 months once the account is back in good standing.
- Before you cancel an Amex card, count how many of your cards still earn Membership Rewards.
No expiry date. Mind the card.
Membership Rewards points are safe while you hold an MR-earning card — but closing your last one forfeits them on the spot, and transferred points inherit a new deadline. Nanvero keeps your Amex balance in view next to the programs you move points to, so nothing is lost to a closed card or a forgotten transfer.
Your balances all in one view
On this page
No expiration date, two ways to forfeit
No — American Express Membership Rewards points do not have an expiration date, and there is no inactivity clock. The ways you lose them are about the account, not the calendar: if you cancel and hold no other Membership Rewards-earning Amex card, your unredeemed points are forfeited immediately, and points earned during a billing period can be forfeited if that statement goes unpaid (reinstatable for a $35 fee within 12 months). So Amex points rarely expire on their own — they're lost when the last MR card is closed without moving them first.
Card currencies against the airline and hotel clocks
The windows are not the same across programs, and several of the biggest have no window at all. Where a rule below differs from the one you remember, it is because the program changed it: Hilton doubled its window, and Alaska, Southwest and United each dropped theirs outright.
| Program | Expires after | Exceptions |
|---|---|---|
| Avios | 36 months of inactivity | — |
| Amex Membership Rewards | Never | points are forfeited if you close your last Membership Rewards-earning Card, or for an unpaid billing period |
| American AAdvantage | 24 months of inactivity | AAdvantage credit-card holders and members under 21 |
| Delta SkyMiles | Never | — |
| United MileagePlus | Never | — |
| Southwest Rapid Rewards | Never | points are only lost if you close your Rapid Rewards account |
| Alaska Atmos Rewards | Never | — |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 24 months of inactivity | — |
| Hilton Honors | 24 months of inactivity | — |
| World of Hyatt | 24 months of inactivity | — |
| IHG One Rewards | 12 months of inactivity | IHG Elite members, and IHG One Rewards Premier cardholders (who hold Platinum Elite) |
| Chase Ultimate Rewards | Never | points are forfeited if you close the Chase card they sit in |
| Nectar | 12 months of inactivity | — |
Before you cancel your last MR-earning Card
Membership Rewards points are safe while you hold an MR-earning card — but closing your last one forfeits them on the spot, and transferred points inherit a new deadline. Nanvero keeps your Amex balance in view next to the programs you move points to, so nothing is lost to a closed card or a forgotten transfer.
- Membership Rewards balance tracked automatically
- Shown beside the partners you transfer to, each with its own expiry
- No password, no logging in as you
Amex points expiry — common questions
No — Membership Rewards points do not have an expiration date and don't expire from inactivity. American Express states points have no expiration date, so they stay in your account indefinitely while the account is open and in good standing.
If you cancel and have no other Amex card that earns Membership Rewards, your unredeemed points are forfeited immediately. Before closing your last MR-earning card, transfer the points to an airline or hotel partner, or redeem them first.
Yes. If your account is past due, you can forfeit the points earned during that billing period. Amex lets you reinstate forfeited points for a $35 fee within 12 months once the account is brought back to good standing — but the cleanest approach is to keep the account current.
They can. Once you transfer Membership Rewards points to an airline or hotel program, that program's own expiry rules take over — some never expire, others lapse after a period of inactivity. Transferring removes the closed-card risk but hands the balance to a different set of rules worth tracking.
Nanvero keeps your Membership Rewards balance current automatically from the emails Amex already sends, with no password, and shows it beside every airline and hotel program you transfer to — each with its own expiry rules. So points aren't lost when a card closes, and transferred points don't lapse unnoticed. It's free to track up to five programs.
Every window on this page is read from the program’s own published terms, or from a source that quotes them, and recorded in one file with the date it was checked — so a figure here and a figure anywhere else on Nanvero are the same figure. Where a program has changed its rule the old value is not quietly overwritten, as with Hilton’s move from twelve months to twenty-four. The whole expiry cluster works from the same table.
Where these numbers come from: American Express “Membership Rewards points do not have expiration dates.” If you cancel and hold no other Amex Card, unredeemed points are forfeited immediately (September 2026). Programs change these rules, so we re-check them and date what we find. Confirm against your own account before relying on a deadline.
What can my points do?
Add your Amex Membership Rewards to your Avios, since they transfer to British Airways at 1:1, and compare the total with off-peak reward prices. A New York–London economy return is 55,000 Avios and business 176,000. The tool sorts trips into within reach now, one transfer away and not yet in reach.
Do Avios expire?
Yes. Avios lapse after 36 months with no activity on your British Airways Club account, not on a fixed calendar date. Any single earn or spend, however small, resets the clock on your entire balance. Other Avios programs, including Iberia, Aer Lingus and Qatar, set their own inactivity windows.
Do Marriott points expire?
Yes. Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 consecutive months of account inactivity. Any qualifying activity — a stay, a card purchase that earns points, or a points transfer — resets the 24-month clock on the whole balance. There is no fixed expiry date, so an active account never loses points to time.
Points kept, cards and all.
Nanvero keeps your Membership Rewards balance in view alongside every program you transfer to — so none are lost to a closed card or a forgotten deadline. Free to track up to five programs.
Track Amex MR automatically with Nanvero →
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