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What Happens to Credit Card Rewards Upon Death?

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Rewards offered by credit card companies are often the motivators for people to sign up for a particular credit card over another. People spend years accumulating rewards, such as points, miles, and cash rewards. After years of earning these rewards, people often wonder if rewards can be passed along to their heirs. Whether or not a person’s heirs can receive these rewards will depend on the credit card issuer.

When there is a joint account or cardholder and someone passes away, the co-owner will still have access to the accumulated rewards and can use them without interruption. However, when there is a sole card holder who passes away, generally, rewards belong to the program rather than the card holder’s estate. As a result, rewards are often lost.

Occasionally, rewards will not be lost because some credit card issuers will automatically convert those that are unused to statement credits upon notification of a cardholder’s death. Additionally, certain programs will permit rewards to be left to a cardholder’s estate within a certain time following the cardholder’s death. For select credit issuers to allow rewards to be passed on for the benefit of heirs, the deceased cardholder must have beneficiaries named in the cardholder’s estate planning documents who are entitled to receive the cardholder’s estate.

Although, ultimately whether these benefits can be passed on after death does depend on the policy of the issuer; having an effective estate plan in place with beneficiaries named in a last will and testament or revocable living trust, may prevent the loss of these hard-earned rewards.

If you are considering opening a new credit card with rewards or currently have built up your rewards, we recommend reviewing the rewards policy to see what their company policies state.

Credit card rewards may be an easily overlooked aspect of estate planning. It is critical to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who is familiar with the intricacies of estates and assets. Contact us today to get started on your estate planning journey.

Sinclair Prosser Gasior
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