We are an independent publisher. Our reporters create honest, accurate, and objective content to help you make decisions. To support our work, we are paid for providing advertising services. Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Next” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. The compensation we receive and other factors, such as your location, may impact what ads and links appear on our site, and how, where, and in what order ads and links appear. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, our site does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We strive to keep our information accurate and up-to-date, but some information may not be current. So, your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms on this site. And the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.

This page may include: credit card ads that we may be paid for (“advertiser listing”); and general information about credit card products (“editorial content”). Many, but not all, of the offers and clickable hyperlinks (such as a “Apply Now” button or “Learn More” button) that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. When you click on that hyperlink or button, you may be directed to the credit card issuer’s website where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer. Each advertiser is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its ad offer details, but we attempt to verify those offer details. We have partnerships with advertisers such as Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo and Discover. We also include editorial content to educate consumers about financial products and services. Some of that content may also contain ads, including links to advertisers’ sites, and we may be paid on those ads or links.

For more information, please see How we make money.

Does This Trick Reset the Expiration Date for Your Hotel Points?

  • Million Mile Secrets

    • Signing up for credit cards through partner links earns us a commission. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Here’s our full advertising policy: How we make money.

    Million Mile Secrets reader, Kris, commented:

    My hotel points expire in April 2017.  If I use them to book an award stay for February 2018, can I cancel the stay in January 2018 and get the points back?

    Points in most hotel loyalty programs expire after 12 to 24 months of no earning or redemption activity.  Although there are a few exceptions.

    But reader Kris suggested a way to keep hotel points from expiring that works with some hotel chains.  But I’d caution folks to read the cancellation policy before using this trick.  Because you don’t want to risk losing your points!

    The Best Way to Keep Points From Expiring Is by Booking Award Stays at Hotels Like the Hyatt Centric Chicago!

    I’ll explain which chains work to use the book and cancel trick.  And remind y’all some easy ways you can generate activity in your hotel loyalty account to keep points alive!

    Keep Hotel Points From Expiring

    Link:   How to Keep your Hotel Points from Expiring Without Staying in a Hotel!

    Certain hotel chains consider booking a future award stay as redemption activity.  This means it can reset your points expiration clock.  So even if you cancel the stay and get the points back, you’ll still have a new expiration date for your points.

    Thanks to data points from Million Mile Secrets readers and folks on FlyerTalk, we know the book and cancel trick works to reset your points expiration date at these hotel chains:

    But it will NOT work at:

    Note:   With Wyndham, points expire after 4 years and you can’t do anything to extend them.  And they expire sooner (in 18 months) if you don’t earn or spend points.
    Be Careful With the Book and Cancel Trick at Certain Chains Because This Might NOT Reset Your Points Expiration Date.  This Means Your Points Can Disappear!

    For chains where this trick does work, I would only use it as a last resort.  Because most hotel programs give you several ways to keep points alive, including:

    Of course you can avoid having your points expire by redeeming them for award stays at fantastic hotels throughout the world.  Depending on which hotel points you collect, here are some ideas for inspiration:

    But if you do plan to use the book and cancel trick, I’d recommend checking for strict cancellation policies.  For example, sometimes award bookings are non-refundable if you’re booking a stay during peak travel times.

    Be Careful When Using Points for an Award Stay You Might Have to Cancel.  Because You Could End Up Paying a Cancellation Fee!

    Team member Keith once booked an award stay at the Sheraton Omaha.  And the cancellation policy required ~30 days notice to cancel or a $329 cancellation fee would be required!

    Bottom Line

    It’s possible to book and cancel an award stay to extend the expiration date of your hotel points at these chains:

    But I’d only recommend using this trick as a last resort.  Because there are several ways to extend the life of your hotel points at most chains, including buying or transferring hotel points or earning points with a hotel credit card.

    The best way to avoid losing your points by a certain expiration date is by redeeming them for award stays!

    Thanks for the question, Kris!

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)