Frequent flyer mileage expiry

Those who are addicted to frequent flyer miles should make sure any valuable miles don't expire unused. In some (most) frequent flyer programs (FFPs) miles do expire eventually (or in some cases the program may close your account for inactivity).

I find it helpful to review all my FFPs each year in November to make sure I have enough time to stop anything of value going to waste by expiring. Putting it in my diary means I know I'll check it every year.

Expiry policies vary widely - with loss of miles after 3 years of inactivity being a common policy. Some programs are much more restrictive, and indeed the trend lately is to reduce the validity period of those hard-earned miles. Check out this thread on Flyertalk (and this one for non-US frequent flyer programs), or your FFP website for the rules for your miles.

For those too lazy to diarise a FFP expiry check, some (paid for) services will do it for you - such as Mileage Manager.