Do United miles expire?
No — United MileagePlus miles 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. United MileagePlus miles do not expire; United dropped its 18-month inactivity rule in August 2019 and has not reinstated it. A balance survives an idle account indefinitely. What it does not survive is devaluation — United prices awards dynamically, so miles held for years tend to buy less.
- MileagePlus miles don't expire. United dropped its 18-month inactivity rule in August 2019.
- What can still slip is value. United prices awards dynamically with no fixed chart, so the same flight can cost more miles later, and travel credits or certificates carry deadlines of their own even though the miles never lapse.
- Look in your United account for travel credits or certificates 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 MileagePlus miles 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
United miles since the 2019 change
No — United MileagePlus miles do not expire. United dropped its old 18-month inactivity rule in August 2019, so there is no expiration date and no inactivity deadline; the miles stay in your account, as long as it is open and in good standing, until you spend them. The catch isn't expiry: United prices awards dynamically with no fixed chart, so the miles a flight costs can climb over time, and any travel credits or certificates you hold carry their own deadlines. A balance that never lapses can still lose value — and be forgotten entirely.
The programs that kept their deadlines
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 | — |
Dynamic pricing is the real risk to your miles
Miles that never expire are the easiest to forget — and a forgotten balance is a wasted one. Nanvero keeps your MileagePlus miles 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.
- MileagePlus balance tracked automatically
- Sat next to programs that do expire, so nothing slips
- No password, no logging in as you
United miles expiry — common questions
No. United MileagePlus miles do not expire — United removed mileage expiration entirely, so there is no expiration date and no inactivity deadline. Miles stay in your account until you spend them.
No. Because MileagePlus has no inactivity clock, you don't need a flight, a purchase or any activity to hold onto your miles. It's genuinely convenient — and it also makes a balance easy to forget.
The miles never expire, but United uses dynamic award pricing with no fixed chart, so the number of miles a flight costs can rise over time. A balance you leave untouched can quietly buy less later, even though it never lapses — and travel credits or certificates you hold carry their own deadlines.
Because a forgotten balance is a wasted one. Miles that never expire still lose to award inflation and to the trip you never booked. Keeping them in view — beside your other programs, some of which do expire — is what turns miles into an actual flight.
Nanvero keeps your MileagePlus balance current automatically from the emails United 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 used, 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: AwardWallet no expiry; the 18-month rule was dropped in August 2019 (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.
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.
Do AAdvantage miles expire?
Yes. American AAdvantage miles expire after 24 months with no earning or redemption activity, and any qualifying activity resets the clock on the full balance. AAdvantage credit-card holders and members under 21 are exempt, so their miles stay alive however long the account sits idle.
Miles that last, finally used.
Nanvero keeps your MileagePlus miles 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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