Hotel loyalty points are easier to earn through stays, credit cards, transfer partners, and promotions. But the unused points in the account do not last forever. Most hotel programs have expiry rules based on inactivity or fixed timelines, and once these timelines pass, you could lose your points balance entirely. This guide explains when hotel points expire across major programs and what actions keep them active.
How Hotel Points Expiry Works
The hotel points earned through various channels don’t have indefinite lifetimes. They do not have indefinite validity and are subject to expiry. Some hotels follow soft expiry rules, while others have hard expiry rules. It is better to know when hotel points expire.
The validity of Hotel points with soft expiry rules can usually be extended by following:
- Earning points through stays
- Earning points through co-branded cards
- Earning points through transfer partners
- Redemptions for stay awards
- Other qualifying redemptions, such as eligible airline transfers or donations, depending on program rules.
- Elite members generally have different expiry rules.
However, in most programs, transferring points between members does not reset the expiry clock.
Pro Tip: If you earn or redeem at least once every year with a single hotel loyalty program, your hotel points are safe. If you earn points and forget about them, expiry becomes a real risk.
Marriott Bonvoy Points Expiry
Marriott Bonvoy points expire if a member account remains inactive for 24 consecutive months. Inactivity refers to the absence of any qualifying earnings or redemption activity during these 24 months. Any earning or redemption activity resets the expiry of Marriott Bonvoy Points. As long as there is qualifying activity within the last 24 months, Marriott Bonvoy points remain valid.
However, specific actions do not count as a qualifying activity, including:
- Transferring points between members
- Receiving points from another account.
These actions alone do not extend the validity of your points.
Pro Tip: If you hold Marriott Bonvoy Lifetime Elite status, your points never expire, even if you have no qualifying activity for 24 consecutive months.
Also, if there is no activity for 5 years, a Marriott Bonvoy account is deactivated.
Hilton Honors Points Expiry
Hilton Honors points expire after 24 months of inactivity. Inactivity refers to the absence of any qualifying earning or redemption activity during this period. Hilton offers multiple ways to keep your points active, including:
- Earning Hilton Honors points through stays
- Earning Hilton Honors points with Hilton Credit Cards
- Transferring points via Partners such as American Express.
- Buying Hilton Honors Points
- Donating points
- Registering for a Hilton Honors promotion
Any of these activities will reset the 24-month expiry rules.
While points expire after 24 months of inactivity, Hilton Honors accounts themselves may remain open for an extended period. In practice, accounts are often kept active for up to five years, even without activity, though this remains at Hilton’s discretion.
Source: Hilton Honors about points.
IHG One Rewards Points Expiry
IHG One Rewards points expire if no points are earned or redeemed for 12 consecutive months. However, IHG One Rewards elite members points do not expire as long as elite status is maintained.
To keep your points active, you only need to complete one qualifying points transaction within 12 months. This can be a small earning or redemption activity. Even a single-point transaction is sufficient to reset the expiry clock and keep your entire balance active.
World of Hyatt Points Expiry
World of Hyatt points expire if a member account remains inactive for 24 consecutive months. Inactivity refers to the absence of any qualifying earning or redemption activity during this period. While points may expire, the membership account remains open unless closed by Hyatt or the member. Once points have expired, they cannot be reinstated.
Any qualifying points-related transaction in your World of Hyatt account will reset the 24-month expiry clock and keep your entire balance active. This includes earning or redeeming points through stays, partners, or eligible transfers.
Although World of Hyatt does not offer a co-branded credit card in many Asia Pacific countries, such as India, Australia, and Singapore, members who hold an eligible Hyatt co-branded credit card in other markets keep their points active, as ongoing card activity counts as qualifying activity when the card remains active and linked to their account.
Wyndham Rewards Points Expiry
Wyndham Rewards points follow a different expiry structure compared to most hotel loyalty programs. Points expire after 18 consecutive months of inactivity if there is no qualifying points earning or redemption activity in the member account.
However, even if there is an activity, Wyndham Rewards points have a hard expiry policy. Points expire four years from the date they are credited, regardless of ongoing activity.
As a result, Wyndham Rewards operates with two expiry timelines:
- Soft expiry: 18 months of inactivity
- Hard expiry: 4 years from the date points are earned
Any qualifying activity resets the 18-month inactivity clock, but it does not extend the four-year hard expiry period.
Accor Live Limitless Points Expiry
The Accor Live Limitless points have a 12-month rolling validity, calculated from the date points are credited to your account. Any qualifying points-earning transaction extends the validity of your entire points balance by another 365 days.
You do not need to complete a hotel stay to keep your points active. Earning points through eligible partners, including a small transfer from a credit card, is sufficient to reset the 12-month validity period.
If an Accor Live Limitless account remains inactive for six consecutive years, the membership account itself may be closed.
Radisson Rewards Points Expiry
Radisson Rewards points expire if there is no qualifying earning or redemption activity in a member’s account for 24 consecutive months.
Club ITC Green Points Expiry
Club ITC Green points expire if there is no qualifying earning or redemption activity in a member account for 24 consecutive months. Any qualifying activity within these 24 months will keep both the points balance and the membership account active.
This expiry period was extended to 24 months after a policy update this year. Previously, Club ITC Green points had an expiry period of 12 months of inactivity.
Taj NeuCoins Expiry
The Taj members earn NeuCoins, each valued at ₹1. Taj NeuCoins now follow a hard expiry policy, based on the member’s tier at the time the points are earned.
NeuCoins earned as a Copper or Silver member are valid for one year from the date of earning. NeuCoins earned as a Gold or Platinum member are valid for three years from the date of earning.
Until 1 August 2025, Taj NeuCoins followed a rolling expiry model, where qualifying activity could extend their validity. Under the current structure, NeuCoins expire strictly based on their earn date and membership tier.
Source: Taj NeuCoins FAQ’s.
Important Things to Know About Hotel Points Expiry
Avoid making speculative award reservations and cancelling them solely to keep points active. Most hotel loyalty programs can identify such activity, and cancelled reservations are excluded from qualifying activity for points expiry calculations. For example, some programs, including World of Hyatt, explicitly state that cancelled transactions will not reset the expiry clock.
Staying loyal to a single hotel brand can also reduce the risk of points expiry. Specific programs offer additional benefits for elite members: their points remain active as long as they are an elite member.
| Loyalty Program | Points Expiry | What to do? |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 24 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| Hilton Honor | 24 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| IHG One Rewards | 12 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| World of Hyatt | 24 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| Wyndham Rewards | 18 Months or 4 Years | Earn or Redeem (Extended till 4 Years) |
| Accor | 12 Months | Earn |
| Radisson Rewards | 24 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| Club ITC | 24 Months | Earn or Redeem |
| Taj Innercricle | 1 Year or 3 Years | Hard Expiry (Nothing can be done) |
Most hotel loyalty programs follow an inactivity-based expiry model, where points expire if there is no qualifying earning or redemption activity within a defined period. Some actions, such as transferring or receiving points between members, may not count as a qualifying activity, as seen in programs like Marriott Bonvoy.
Wyndham Rewards is an exception, as it applies both inactivity-based expiry and a hard expiry, where points expire after a fixed period from the date they are earned, regardless of account activity.
Bottomline
Hotel points expiry is real. Most hotel loyalty programs expire points after 24 months of inactivity, while some apply a shorter 12-month window. In most cases, a simple earning or redemption activity is enough to keep points active. Wyndham Rewards is an exception, as it applies a hard expiry: points expire after four years, regardless of activity.
Focusing on one or two hotel loyalty programs makes it easier to stay active, avoid expiry, and extract the most value from your points.
