You’ve spent months collecting points — flying, swiping your credit card, booking hotels. Then life gets busy, travel plans change, and one day you log back in to find your balance has been wiped. It happens more often than you’d think, and it’s entirely avoidable once you understand how points expiry actually works.
The rules differ significantly between programmes. Some are generous, some are strict, and one major airline programme has abolished expiry altogether. This guide covers the six most important loyalty programmes for UK travellers — Avios, Virgin Points, Hilton Honors, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt — so you know exactly where you stand with each one.
Most loyalty points expire after 12–36 months of inactivity. The good news is that almost any small earn or spend activity resets the clock — you rarely need to take a full flight or stay to keep your balance alive.
Why do loyalty points expire at all?
Points sitting unused in millions of accounts represent a financial liability for airlines and hotel chains. When you earn points, the programme sets aside real value to honour future redemptions. Points that never get used tie up that liability indefinitely — which is why programmes use expiry rules to encourage activity and manage their books.
This isn’t a penalty aimed at customers. It’s a structural necessity. As a result, most programmes have designed their expiry rules to be reasonably easy to comply with — a single transaction once every year or two is usually enough to keep everything intact.
Avios (British Airways Club)
Avios are the currency of the British Airways Club, and they follow a rolling 36-month inactivity rule. Your Avios will not expire as long as there is at least one qualifying activity on your account within any three-year period. That activity can be an earn, a spend, a purchase, or a share — just one transaction is enough to reset the clock on your entire balance, no matter how many Avios you hold.
Qualifying activities that reset the expiry clock include:
- Flying with British Airways or a partner airline and earning Avios
- Spending on a BA Amex or Avios-earning credit card
- Shopping through the Avios Shopping portal
- Earning Avios via a partner such as Uber
- Transferring points in from a partner programme such as Amex Membership Rewards
- Spending Avios on a reward flight, upgrade or other redemption
If you hold an Amex Membership Rewards card, a single transfer of 1,000 Amex points into your BA Club account (yielding 1,000 Avios) is enough to reset the 36-month clock. You do not need to fly or stay anywhere.
The three-year window is relatively generous compared to many hotel programmes, but it is easy to breach if you open an account, earn a signup bonus and then do nothing for a few years. BA does not reliably send proactive expiry warnings to all members, so keeping a calendar reminder is worth doing.
Once Avios expire, they are removed from the account permanently. BA has been known to reinstate recently expired Avios as a goodwill gesture if you call customer service promptly, but this is not an official policy and cannot be relied upon.
Note that tier points — which determine your BA Club status level — are entirely separate from Avios. Tier points reset every year on 30 April regardless of activity.
Finnair Plus Avios: a stricter rule
If you collect Avios via a Finnair Plus account, the expiry window is shorter: 18 months of inactivity rather than 36. The same types of activity reset the clock, but you need to act twice as often. Transfers between Finnair and other Avios programmes do not count as qualifying activity for expiry purposes in Finnair’s system.
Virgin Points (Virgin Atlantic Flying Club)
Virgin Points are the only major UK travel loyalty currency that never expires. Virgin Atlantic removed its 36-month inactivity rule in September 2020 when it rebranded its Flying Club miles as Virgin Points, and the no-expiry policy has been in place ever since.
Virgin Atlantic confirms this on their website — your points are there whenever you are ready to use them, with no expiry date attached. This applies to your entire Virgin Points balance regardless of how long it has been since you last earned or spent anything.
The no-expiry policy is one of Virgin’s most underrated benefits. It means you can build a balance over several years without any pressure to use it on a specific timeline — particularly useful if you are saving for a long-haul Upper Class redemption.
The one thing to be aware of is that Virgin Points and Virgin Atlantic Tier Points are different things. Your Tier Points — which determine your Flying Club status level (Red, Silver or Gold) — do expire annually. If you do not re-earn the required tier points within your membership year, your status will drop. But your redeemable Virgin Points balance is completely unaffected by this.
Hilton Honors
Hilton Honors points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. If your account has no qualifying activity for two years, your entire points balance is forfeited. Unlike some programmes, Hilton does not offer a reinstatement path once points are gone — they cannot be recovered.
The following actions count as qualifying activity and reset the 24-month clock:
- Completing a paid stay at any Hilton portfolio hotel
- Earning points via a Hilton Honors credit card or debit card
- Earning or redeeming points with any Hilton partner (including car rentals, dining and shopping)
- Buying Hilton Honors points
- Transferring points in from American Express Membership Rewards (minimum 200 Amex points = 400 Hilton points)
- Donating points to charity
One of the easiest ways to keep Hilton points alive without travelling is to transfer a small amount of Amex Membership Rewards points into your Hilton account. The minimum transfer is just 200 Amex points, which converts to 400 Hilton points at the standard 1:2 ratio. This takes a matter of days and resets your clock for another two years.
Hilton sends email warnings before points expire, though these can end up in spam folders. Checking your Hilton Honors account activity section is the most reliable way to see your current expiry date.
IHG One Rewards
IHG One Rewards has the strictest expiry policy of any major hotel programme covered here. For members without elite status, points expire after just 12 months of inactivity. One year is a short window, particularly for occasional travellers who may not stay at an IHG property every year.
To keep IHG points active, you must post at least one earn or redeem transaction to your account in any 12-month period. Qualifying activities include:
- Completing a paid stay at any IHG property
- Earning points through an IHG partner (car rental, dining, retail)
- Redeeming points for a reward night
- Buying IHG points
- Transferring Virgin Points into IHG One Rewards (minimum 10,000 Virgin Points)
- Transferring HSBC Premier credit card points into IHG (minimum just 2 points)
The exception to the 12-month rule is elite status. IHG One Rewards elite members’ points never expire for as long as their status is maintained. If status lapses and the account reverts to Club level, the 12-month inactivity clock begins from that point.
Using the free annual night certificate that comes with some IHG credit cards does not count as qualifying activity for expiry purposes. You must post an actual earn or redeem transaction to reset the clock.
IHG points cannot be reinstated once expired. Given the short 12-month window, IHG is a programme worth monitoring closely if you are not a regular IHG guest.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. If your account goes two years without a qualifying earn or redeem transaction, your entire points balance is forfeited. Points also cannot be reinstated once they have expired.
Qualifying activities that reset the 24-month clock include:
- Completing and checking out from a paid stay at a participating Marriott property
- Earning points via a Marriott Bonvoy co-branded credit card
- Linking your account to Uber and earning points on rides
- Converting Marriott points to airline miles with a partner programme
- Purchasing Marriott points
- Transferring Nectar points into Marriott Bonvoy (minimum 500 Nectar points = 250 Marriott points)
There are two activities that are commonly assumed to count but do not. Transferring or gifting your Marriott points to another member’s account does not reset your expiry clock. And booking a redemption stay and then cancelling it also does not count — the stay must be completed.
Converting a small number of Marriott Bonvoy points to airline miles is one of the simplest ways to keep your account active without travelling. The minimum transfer is 3,000 Marriott points. This resets the 24-month clock and leaves you with airline miles as a bonus.
One exception to the standard 24-month rule: members with Marriott Lifetime Elite status are currently exempt from the inactivity expiry policy, though Marriott reserves the right to change this in future.
If your account has been inactive for five consecutive years, Marriott can deactivate the account entirely — separate from the points expiry rule.
World of Hyatt
World of Hyatt points expire after 24 consecutive months of inactivity. Like Marriott and Hilton, the entire points balance is forfeited if the account goes two years without qualifying activity. Hyatt is explicit that expired points cannot be reinstated under any circumstances.
Activities that reset the expiry clock include:
- Completing a paid or award stay at a Hyatt property
- Earning points via an Avis car rental credited to Hyatt
- Purchasing World of Hyatt points via the Hyatt website
- Gifting or sharing points with another World of Hyatt member (once every 30 days)
- Converting points to partner airline miles
Booking a redemption and then cancelling does not count as activity. The reservation must be completed.
For UK collectors, the simplest way to keep Hyatt points alive without a stay is to gift a small number of points to another World of Hyatt member — even a partner or family member. This counts as qualifying activity for both accounts and can be done from the Hyatt website once every 30 days.
Unlike IHG, Hyatt does not distinguish between elite and non-elite members for expiry purposes — the same 24-month rule applies at all status levels.
Points expiry at a glance
| Programme | Expiry rule | Reinstatable? | Easiest keep-alive action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avios (BA Club) | 36 months inactivity | Unofficial goodwill only | Transfer 1,000 Amex MR points |
| Virgin Points | Never expires | N/A | No action needed |
| Hilton Honors | 24 months inactivity | No | Transfer 200 Amex MR points |
| IHG One Rewards | 12 months inactivity* | No | Transfer HSBC Premier points |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 24 months inactivity | No | Convert 3,000 pts to airline miles |
| World of Hyatt | 24 months inactivity | No | Gift points to a member |
*IHG elite members’ points do not expire while status is maintained.
How to keep your points alive without travelling
The good news is that keeping points active rarely requires an actual trip. For most programmes, a small transaction once a year or two is all it takes. Here are the simplest options for each situation.
If you hold an Amex Membership Rewards card, you can reset expiry on both Avios (transfer 1,000 MR points at 1:1) and Hilton Honors (transfer 200 MR points at 1:2) in a matter of minutes. The Amex Preferred Rewards Gold and Platinum cards both earn MR points and support these transfers.
For IHG points, HSBC Premier cardholders can transfer as few as two HSBC points into IHG to trigger activity. Alternatively, buying a small quantity of IHG points directly through the IHG website resets the clock and requires no travel at all.
For Marriott points, converting a few thousand points to any partner airline miles counts as a qualifying redeem and pushes the expiry date back by 24 months.
For Hyatt points, sharing a small number of points with a family member or friend resets both accounts’ clocks — a useful option if you have someone else in the household with a Hyatt account.
The most reliable habit is to set a calendar reminder once a year to check each account’s activity date. Most programmes show the expiry date clearly when you log in.
Points expiry is almost always avoidable with minimal effort. The riskiest programme for casual collectors is IHG One Rewards, where points lapse after just 12 months without activity. Virgin Points is the only major UK travel currency that never expires. For everything else, a small annual transaction — often achievable without travelling at all — is enough to protect your balance indefinitely.
