According to a new report released by Bankrate.com, in a survey of 2,558 U.S. adults, almost half (46 percent) of all enrollees in airline or hotel rewards programs have let their points or miles expire somewhere along the line. And, among credit card rewards program members, 29 percent admit to having allowed their accumulated points or miles expire.
It turns out that most loyalty program participants aren't even aware of the points/miles balances. 25 percent were able to cite how many hotel points they've accrued, 29 percent knew their total frequent flyer miles and 33 percent could point to their credit card rewards balance.
There also appears to be confusion among American adults as to the actual value of their rewards points or "miles". 53 percent of U.S. participants admit that they don't have a clue as to how much 10,000 rewards points/miles are actually worth.
Typically, the correct answer is one or two cents apiece (so, around $100 to $200 in real-world cash), but only eighteen percent of respondents were aware of that fact. Around sixteen percent overestimated the value and fourteen percent estimated too low, including eight percent of participants who thought those points would be worth $1,000 or more, and fourteen percent estimated underestimated their value.
The study revealed that, generally, younger adults are more likely to join rewards programs, but have lower balances than older generations. Millennials seemed to be most likely to lose their rewards points to expiration policies, with 57 percent shown to have lost hotel points, 50 percent forfeited airline miles and 44 percent missing out on their credit card rewards points. Older adults demonstrated percentages of only 41 percent, 46 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
The study found that 56 percent of Americans collect frequent flyer miles, 57 percent are signed up for hotel rewards and 66 percent accrue credit card points. Individual averages calculated out to 34,065 airline miles, 22,893 hotel points and 15,941 credit card points.
Even valued at the low end of the range (1 cent per point/mile), that means that the average frequent flyer account balance is worth $341, the average hotel points approximately $229 and an average credit card rewards balance represents about $159.
"A lot of people are sitting on airline, hotel and credit card rewards that are worth a significant amount of money," said Bankrate.com credit card analyst, Ted Rossman. "That's why it's so important to take advantage of them before they expire. If you need more time to save up for your desired redemption and your rewards are about to expire, reset the clock by demonstrating new account activity. This can involve a small purchase or redeeming a minimal number of points or miles."
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