When you think about your estate, you probably think about your home, bank accounts, investments, business interests, vehicles, and other property you’ve worked hard to build.
But what about the assets you don’t necessarily think of as assets?
- Airline miles
- Hotel points
- Credit card rewards
- Cash-back balances
- Travel credits
- Gift cards
Over the years, these accounts can quietly accumulate significant value. Yet they are also some of the easiest things for families to overlook when someone dies.
At Faithful Stewardship Law Firm, we often talk about estate planning as the intentional stewardship of everything God has entrusted to you.
Sometimes, that means looking beyond the obvious.
Because if something you’ve earned has value, it deserves to at least be considered as part of the bigger picture.
You May Have More Value Sitting in Digital Accounts Than You Realize
A few thousand airline miles may not seem particularly important. Neither does a small hotel rewards balance or the points sitting on a credit card.
But over years of travel and everyday spending, those balances can grow.
The original source of this article underscores just how substantial the rewards economy has become. U.S. consumers earned approximately $47.5 billion in credit card rewards in 2024, while billions of dollars in value remain tied to major hotel and airline loyalty programs.
On an individual level, the amount may be relatively modest, or it may represent thousands of dollars in potential travel, purchases, or other benefits.
The problem is that these rewards do not necessarily work like the other assets in your estate.
Your Points Aren’t the Same as Money in the Bank
When you open your banking app and see a balance, that money belongs to you.
When you open an airline, hotel, or credit card app and see 150,000 points, the situation is different.
Rewards programs are generally governed by the terms and conditions established by the company offering them.
Those terms may state that points have no cash value, belong to the issuing company, cannot be transferred, or can be redeemed only under certain circumstances.
That distinction becomes particularly important after death.
A will generally cannot give your family rights to loyalty points that the program itself does not allow you to transfer.
In other words:
Your estate plan and the company’s rules have to work together.
And those rules can vary significantly from one program to another.
What Happens to Rewards When Someone Dies?
There is no single answer.
One program may allow a transfer. Another may consider it only under certain circumstances. Another may convert rewards into another form. And another may simply close the account and forfeit the remaining balance.
Some programs may also require an executor or other authorized person to provide documentation before they will even discuss the account.
That could include a death certificate, proof of authority, account information, or other records.
This creates an important estate planning reality:
Having value in an account does not necessarily mean your family will automatically receive it.
Your loved ones first have to know the account exists. Then they need to know whom to contact. And finally, they need to understand what the particular program allows.
Your Executor Cannot Protect What They Don’t Know Exists
This is where a little preparation can make a meaningful difference.
Imagine someone carefully preparing a will, trust, powers of attorney, beneficiary designations, and instructions for their major financial accounts.
Everything appears to be organized.
But over the years, they also accumulated:
- 200,000 airline miles
- Hotel rewards from frequent travel
- Credit card points
- Cash-back rewards
- Travel credits
- Several unused gift cards
Nobody knows about them.
After death, accounts are closed, emails become inaccessible, cards are canceled, and eventually some of that value disappears.
It isn’t necessarily because the estate plan was poorly prepared. The assets were simply invisible.
Create an Inventory of Your Digital Rewards
You do not need to include every small rewards account you’ve ever opened. But if you have meaningful balances, consider keeping an inventory.
That inventory might include:
- Airline loyalty programs
- Hotel rewards programs
- Credit card rewards
- Cash-back balances
- Travel credits
- Retail rewards
- Gift cards or store credits
For significant accounts, record the program name, account information, approximate balance, and where additional information can be found.
Review the list periodically.
Rewards programs change. Accounts are opened and closed. Balances grow. Program rules can change too.
Your inventory should evolve with them.
Keep Access Information Secure
Documenting an account does not mean putting your passwords in your will.
In fact, sensitive login information should be handled carefully, particularly because certain estate planning documents can eventually become part of a public record.
Instead, consider secure methods for storing account credentials and recovery information.
That may include an encrypted password manager, protected digital vault, or another secure system.
Most importantly, the appropriate person should know that the information exists and how to locate it when needed.
This principle extends far beyond rewards accounts.
Good estate planning isn’t only about creating documents. It’s also about making sure the people responsible for carrying out your plan can find the information they will need.
Make Your Executor Aware of Significant Accounts
If you have a substantial rewards balance, your executor should know about it.
They do not necessarily need every login credential today. But they should know which programs deserve attention and where the information is stored.
You may also want to document what you’ve learned about a particular program:
- Does it allow transfers after death?
- Can an executor request an exception?
- Will the rewards automatically expire?
- Does the program require certain documentation?
- Are there deadlines?
A little research today could save your family considerable frustration later.
Digital Assets Belong in the Estate Planning Conversation
Our financial lives look very different today than they did a generation ago.
Much of what we own, access, earn, and manage now exists digitally.
Estate planning has to account for that reality.
Depending on your circumstances, your estate plan may include provisions allowing the appropriate person to access and manage certain digital accounts and electronic records.
That authority cannot compel a company to transfer rewards when its program rules prohibit doing so. But it can help give your executor the authority needed to identify accounts, request information, and pursue any available options.
Stewardship Includes the Things That Are Easy to Overlook
Estate planning often focuses on the largest pieces of our financial lives.
And rightly so.
Your home, investments, retirement accounts, business interests, and other significant assets deserve careful planning.
But faithful stewardship also encourages us to pay attention to the smaller things we’ve been entrusted to manage.
Sometimes those smaller things add up.
A rewards balance may never be the most important part of your estate. But if you’ve spent years earning it, there is little reason to allow that value to disappear simply because no one knew it existed.
Make Your Invisible Estate Visible
You don’t need to build your estate plan around airline miles or hotel points.
You simply shouldn’t forget about them.
Take inventory. Understand the rules of your most valuable programs. Store important information securely. Make sure the person responsible for administering your estate knows where to look.
And consider your digital accounts as part of the broader estate-planning conversation.
Because thoughtful estate planning isn’t only about protecting the assets everyone can see. It’s about faithfully stewarding everything God has entrusted to you, including the things that are easy to overlook.
John 6:12 NIV: “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
At Faithful Stewardship Law Firm, we help individuals and families throughout Fate and Rockwall County create personalized estate plans designed around their lives, their responsibilities, and what matters most to them.