Do Delta miles expire?
No — Delta SkyMiles don't expire, with no inactivity clock at all. Here's the catch worth knowing, and why a balance that never lapses can still be quietly wasted.
No. Delta SkyMiles do not expire and there is no inactivity clock — Delta's own program rules state miles never expire. The catch is value rather than time: SkyMiles are priced dynamically against cash fares, so a balance held for years quietly buys less as fares and award prices rise.
- SkyMiles never expire, and there is no inactivity deadline.
- You don't need a flight, a purchase or any activity to hold them. The travel credits, certificates and status benefits you earn alongside them are different: those carry their own deadlines.
- Pull up any Delta credits or certificates you hold and write down their dates.
No expiry. Still spend them.
Miles that never expire are the easiest to forget — and a forgotten balance is a wasted one. Nanvero keeps your SkyMiles in view next to your other programs, including the ones that do expire, so the miles that never lapse still turn into a trip and the ones with a deadline never catch you out.
Your balances all in one view
On this page
No clock, and no award chart either
No — Delta SkyMiles do not expire. There is no expiration date and no inactivity deadline, so the miles stay in your account, for as long as that account is open and in good standing, until you choose to spend them. The catch isn't expiry: SkyMiles have no published award chart, so their value can drift, and travel credits or certificates you earn alongside them carry their own deadlines. A balance that never lapses can still lose value — and be forgotten entirely.
The programs that still run an inactivity clock
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 | — |
Spend SkyMiles before their value drifts
Miles that never expire are the easiest to forget — and a forgotten balance is a wasted one. Nanvero keeps your SkyMiles in view next to your other programs, including the ones that do expire, so the miles that never lapse still turn into a trip and the ones with a deadline never catch you out.
- SkyMiles balance tracked automatically
- Sat next to programs that do expire, so nothing slips
- No password, no logging in as you
Delta miles expiry — common questions
No. Delta SkyMiles do not expire — there is no expiration date and no inactivity deadline, so miles you earn stay in your account until you spend them, however long that takes.
The miles themselves never expire, but the things you buy with them can — travel credits, some certificates and status benefits carry their own deadlines. And SkyMiles have no fixed award chart, so their value can shift; a balance that sits untouched can quietly buy less over time even though it never lapses.
No. Because there is no inactivity clock, you don't need a flight, a purchase or any activity to hold onto SkyMiles. That is genuinely convenient — but it also makes it easy to forget a balance entirely.
Because a forgotten balance is a wasted one. Miles that never expire still lose to inflation and to the trip you never got around to booking. Keeping the balance in view — next to your other programs, some of which do expire — is what turns miles into an actual trip.
Nanvero keeps your SkyMiles balance current automatically from the emails Delta already sends, with no password, and shows it alongside every other airline, hotel and card balance — including the ones that do expire. So the miles that never lapse still get spent, and the ones that do never catch you out. 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: Delta miles do not expire (SkyMiles Program Rules) (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 Virgin Points do?
Virgin Points book partner flights on fixed charts: Delta One between New York and London is 47,500 points one-way off-peak, Delta flights within the US start at 7,500, and ANA business from Los Angeles to Tokyo is 52,500. Amex, Chase, Bilt and Citi points transfer in at 1:1, and the tool sorts trips by what your balance reaches.
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.
Miles that last, finally used.
Nanvero keeps your SkyMiles in view alongside every other balance — including the ones that do expire — so none go to waste. Free to track up to five programs.
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