Thomas Barone squirreled away his rewards points for years so he could take his entire family on a luxurious Italian vacation in 2024 using Capital One miles earned with his Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Sadly, he unexpectedly died before he could fulfill that dream, leaving behind 878,000 Capital One miles.
His wife, Linda Barone, hoped to redeem the points and take the family on that trip in his memory. However, after informing Capital One of her husband’s death, she got an unpleasant surprise. The credit card issuer closed his account and explained to Linda that the points were no longer available to her.
When she pursued trying to transfer the points to herself instead, Capital One pointed her to the terms and conditions of its rewards program. That policy states that a member’s account will be locked and precluded from any further transactions once the bank is informed of their death.
Multiple attempts to get access to her husband’s miles left Linda frustrated and empty-handed, so she gave up.
That is, until she read about another widow’s struggle to reclaim lost airline miles left behind by her spouse. TPG came to the rescue in that situation, and Linda hoped we could do the same for her.
But what actually happened to those Capital One miles after Thomas died? That’s what TPG aimed to find out.
Saving Capital One miles for a dream vacation
For years, Linda and Thomas Barone fantasized about the vacation to Italy they wanted to take with their two children.
“We had enough points and the pandemic was over,” Barone explained to TPG, saying that 2024 was when the couple had their eye on traveling. “So I think this would have been the time to take that adventure we’d talked about for so long.”
In reality, the Barones had long ago accrued enough miles many times over to take that dream vacation. But other things got in the way, and suddenly, without warning, time ran out. Before the couple could begin their planning in earnest, Thomas passed away.
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“We thought we had time,” Linda sadly told TPG. “It [her husband’s death] was so unexpected.”
Asking Capital One to transfer the miles
After the initial shock wore off, Barone began the difficult process of getting her husband’s estate in order. Within three months of Thomas’ death, Linda asked Capital One to make her the primary holder of his Venture X Rewards Credit Card. She had previously been an authorized user on the account.
Much to her surprise, Capital One customer service estate specialists told her the card would need to be canceled. It could not be transferred into Linda’s name. Not only that, but the 878,000 reward miles in the account were not hers to claim.
Linda refused to believe that all the miles she and Thomas had so proudly accrued could just evaporate. So, for the next year, she continued to call and email anyone at Capital One who might be able to help.
“Everyone at Capital One was very sympathetic, and [the team] escalated my request. But they all told me the same thing: Even though I was listed as a user with my own card attached to my husband’s account, I was not the owner. The points were unavailable to me because I wasn’t the primary cardholder.”
Faced with no other choice, Linda says she finally gave up the battle — and the dream of taking her children to Italy with her husband’s Capital One miles.
Asking TPG for assistance and clarity about the lost miles
A year and a half after Thomas died, Linda still felt disgruntled about the 878,000 lost miles. But then, one day while scrolling through TPG’s daily newsletter, she saw an article that caught her eye.
She decided to write an email asking for help.
“I read the story you wrote about the widow who had all her husband’s American Airlines miles stolen before she could use them. I haven’t had any points stolen, but [we lost] 878,000 Capital One Venture X points when he died. The credit card company wouldn’t allow me to transfer them.
“After reading your article, I would like to know if you could pursue my case. Capital One closed the card when I reported [my husband’s] passing.
“If you can do anything, it would be greatly appreciated.”
When I read through Linda’s request for help, I thought something must have gone wrong. According to the Capital One estate guide for credit cards, Linda could not take over Thomas’ account, but she should have received compensation for the mileage balance left in the account when it was closed.
But Linda was convinced she hadn’t received anything and that her husband’s Capital One miles had just vanished.
Asking Capital One what happened to the 878,000 miles
To find out what happened to all those miles, I contacted our executive contact at Capital One. This is not a customer-facing person, but someone I can escalate customer problems to as a consumer reporter and ombudsman.
After a short investigation, Capital One confirmed to me that it had compensated Linda for those rewards miles — albeit at a value that she considered much lower than what she and her husband had expected to redeem them for.
According to the TPG’s December 2024 valuations, each Capital One mile is worth about 1.85 cents, so the Barones were looking at over $16,000 in value based on TPG’s estimates. Of course, that value can fluctuate widely based on how the miles are redeemed.
Similar to the protocols of many credit card programs, however, when Capital One is alerted to the death of a cardholder, the account is immediately closed. If there are any miles left in the member’s account, they are converted to a cash-back redemption at the rate of 0.5 cents per mile. Any balance owed on the account is paid off by the value of the miles in it, and then the remaining cash portion is sent to the estate in the form of a check.
Capital One had converted the 878,000 miles to a cash payout of just under $5,000 several months before Barone had contacted TPG about the missing miles. In her grief, she had not recalled the transaction, though.
A bereaved widow and a confusing time
When I relayed that sequence of events to Barone, she wrote me back, saying, “I’m so sorry. It was a very troubling time, and I was settling many accounts. I went through my records, and I see now that I cashed the check. But I really wanted the miles. The rewards miles would have been worth so much more than that check.”
That was probably true, but, unfortunately, it was not possible.
To get more clarity about what happened in Linda’s case and if there was anything more that could be done, I continued to chat with our executive contacts at Capital One.
A Capital One gesture of goodwill
The executive team at Capital One had great sympathy for Linda’s situation. They reviewed her case again to ensure she had been given proper guidance and that Thomas’ account had been settled correctly.
Ultimately, the Capital One team determined that Linda’s request had been handled correctly.
The moment Linda called Capital One and alerted the company that her husband, the primary cardholder, had died, she sealed the fate of those 878,000 miles. There was no other possible outcome except the cash conversion after closing the account.
The sad fact was that, like many points and miles enthusiasts, the Barones had held onto their Capital One miles for far too long. Certainly, they had held onto them well after they had more than enough to take that dream vacation.
It had been a devastating mistake on many levels. However, Capital One decided to extend a one-time goodwill gesture to Linda to help her efforts in making that trip come true.
In a final statement on this case, a Capital One spokesperson explained:
“We know handling a loved one’s affairs after they have passed is a challenging and emotional experience. Our hearts go out to the Barone family. As the primary account holder, Mr. Barone was the only person authorized to make decisions about redeeming rewards. When we learn of an account holder’s passing, our policy is to apply any remaining rewards balance as a credit to the account at the account’s cash redemption rate.
“In light of Ms. Barone’s circumstances, we are providing a one-time goodwill gesture and are reaching out to her directly. We would encourage any customer who has lost a loved one, and needs help managing their Capital One accounts, to reach out to us for support.”
We are not sharing the specifics of the goodwill gesture since it was wholly at the discretion of Capital One and not something the issuer was compelled to do. Nor do we want to encourage a flood of requests for similar compensation since Capital One is not likely to take this action again (nor is there any obligation for it to do so).
How to protect your points and miles in the case of death
There are some fundamental lessons in Linda Barone’s experience that all points and miles collectors should take note of.
Understanding the rules and constraints of the programs you participate in is critical, especially if the unexpected occurs. If you don’t, you could inadvertently do something to lose your points or miles … or their value.
Had Linda and her husband understood the massive pot of miles they were accruing was not joint property, they could have taken proactive steps, such as the following, to protect its value:
- If you and your spouse or partner share a credit card account, ensure you both have access to the online portal. If you are the primary cardholder, share your log in credentials with your spouse or partner. This will allow them to redeem points or miles should you be unable to do so.
- If you are the additional cardholder and the primary account holder dies, it’s best to redeem or transfer the points or miles before alerting the credit card company of the death. This is the only way to ensure you will be able to use them as you like.
- Remember, as soon as you alert the bank that the primary cardholder has died, the account will be closed and you won’t be able to make any further transactions with the rewards points.
Major credit card issuers’ estate policies
Here are the four major credit card issuers with transferable points or miles programs in the U.S. and their policies about what happens to those rewards points or miles in the case of the primary account holder’s death.
Capital One
If you have a card that earns Capital One miles and the primary account holder dies, Capital One will use the rewards miles at a value of 0.5 cents apiece to pay off any balances and then cash out the rest of them at the same rate and issue a check.
Chase
When you alert Chase that the account holder of a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points has died, the bank automatically converts the points at a rate of 1 cent a piece into a cash disbursement, according to the program’s terms and conditions.
Citi
According to Citi’s policy, if a Citi ThankYou Rewards account holder dies, the executor or administrator of the deceased’s estate can make a formal request for the points to be converted to cash within one year of the death. If that request, along with any corroborating documentation, isn’t received within a year of the death, the Citi ThankYou Rewards points will be forfeited.
American Express
Upon the cardholder’s death, the executor of that person’s estate or “Personal Representative” can make a one-time points redemption or transfer if the account is in good standing, according to the terms and conditions of the American Express Membership Rewards program. There is no cash redemption option for the Membership Rewards points balance.
Bottom line
If your spouse dies, one of the last things on your mind will be what to do with their credit card points or miles. But as soon as you start settling the estate, you will want to make a plan for those points or miles before officially closing their accounts. If you don’t, the credit card company will decide how to handle those leftover points or miles, and, in all cases, the value of what is left will significantly diminish.
In some scenarios, as in Linda’s case, you could potentially lose thousands of dollars in travel rewards. And in others, you could even end up with nothing.
Before that happens, make sure that you understand how to best handle the account closure and any outstanding points or miles balances.
Better yet, don’t hoard your points or miles past when you have enough for that trip you have been dreaming about. Life is short; redeem the points and miles, take that vacation and make memories with your family before it’s too late.
I know Linda and her family wish they had done just that.
Need help with a credit card company, cruise line, airline, hotel, vacation rental agency or car rental company? Send your request for assistance to ombudsman@thepointsguy.com, and I’ll be happy to investigate and try to help you, too.
