What happens to Amex Rewards points when the owner dies

No. The Terms state that points "don't belong to you and are not your property" and that you "can't pass them on as part of a legal action, such as a divorce, an inheritance or bankruptcy." The executor or personal representative may be able to make a one-time redemption after the cardholder's death by calling 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276) — a redemption of the points, not an inheritance of them, and one American Express describes as depending on the Product.

American Express publishes no fixed deadline. The operative constraint is account cancellation: the Terms provide that if Amex cancels any Product for any reason, including death, all points in the Rewards Account are lost, so the one-time redemption is requested before the account is closed. One published window exists — a footnote to that forfeiture clause states that New York Card Members, meaning a Card Member with a New York billing address on a linked Card Account, can continue to use points in that scenario for 90 days by calling the number on the back of the Card. No comparable window is published for other states.

American Express publishes an account-takeover path on its Guidance for Managing Deceased Accounts page. A person appointed by a will or court order, or handling the decedent's affairs, may request that the account be cancelled or, if eligible, apply to become the new Basic Card Member. Eligibility requires that the Card be eligible for transfer, the account not be closed for more than 1 year, the account not be 30 days or more past due, and the applicant pass a credit review. The person taking over the account becomes responsible for any existing balance and for future charges. No person is obligated to take it over — Amex states the Estate or the Business of the deceased Card Member bears ultimate responsibility for the account — and where more than one person is eligible, requests are handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

American Express states that a family member or third party handling the affairs of the decedent is not personally responsible to pay the debt, and that the Estate or the Business of the deceased Card Member bears ultimate responsibility for the account. On the deceased-cardmember call, Amex states it can provide instructions for interest-free monthly payments for up to 24 months on most Personal and Small Business accounts. For Corporate Cards, it directs the caller to the company's Program Administrator.

American Express states that Membership Rewards points do not have expiration dates, but that points can be lost in the circumstances described in the Lose Points section of the Terms. Those include cancellation of a Product for any reason (which the Terms name as including death), and cancelling or unenrolling the last linked Product, which causes the immediate loss of all points — except that a last linked Corporate Card allows redemption for up to 30 days. If Amex cancels the Card Account due to inactivity, there are 90 days to use the points. Points generally cannot be used while a Product is in restricted status, cancelled, or past due, or while a returned payment is outstanding.

The Terms describe the post-death exception as a "one-time points redemption ... depending on your Product" and do not itemize which redemption types are available, so partner transfer is not confirmed as an option after death. The executor can ask which options apply to the Product when calling the Membership Rewards line, 1-800-AXP-EARN (297-3276) — the line the Terms name for the redemption, as distinct from 1-800-266-7064, which is the line for reporting the death. Transfers made to partner programs during the cardholder's lifetime are governed by the partner program's rules rather than by the Membership Rewards Terms.

The Terms provide that Additional Card Members on Consumer Card Accounts and Business Card Accounts do not have their own Rewards Accounts, so all points sit in the Basic Card Member's Rewards Account. Additional Card Members have no separate points balance to claim. The executor's one-time redemption, where it is available for the Product, covers the points in that Rewards Account regardless of which card earned them.