What happens to Best Buy points when the owner dies
Best Buy Co., Inc. points are forfeited under the program's terms when the account is closed
Best Buy Customer Service
My Best Buy Program, P.O. Box 949, Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
Best Buy Customer Service
My Best Buy Program, P.O. Box 949, Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
Best Buy publishes no timeline for a deceased member's account, because there is no dedicated bereavement process. Three published deadlines do apply to value in the account. Reward certificates expire at 11:59 p.m. CT on the date shown, typically 60 days from issuance, and used or expired certificates cannot be replaced. After a membership is cancelled by the member or by Best Buy, points may be redeemed for 90 days, after which unused points are forfeited. Paid Plus and Total memberships renew automatically until cancelled, so cancelling promptly both stops further charges and starts the pro-rated refund the paid terms provide.
(General customer service)
When a Best Buy account holder dies, points are forfeited under Best Buy Co., Inc.'s terms. The account balance has no transferable value, and there is no formal process for heirs to claim points.
Families have occasionally received goodwill accommodations from Best Buy Co., Inc., but these are not part of the published terms and cannot be relied upon.
What to do
When a Best Buy account holder dies, these are the steps to take:
- •The points balance (250 points converts to a $5 reward certificate)
- •Any unredeemed reward certificates and their printed expiration dates
- •Any paid My Best Buy Plus ($29.99/year) or My Best Buy Total ($199.99/year) membership, including its renewal date and the card on file
Required Documents
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Documentation of your authority to act for the estate, such as Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration
- The member ID or the account email associated with the My Best Buy membership
- The paid membership details, if any (Plus or Total, renewal date, card on file), so the term can be cancelled and any pro-rated refund requested
Timeline
Best Buy publishes no timeline for a deceased member's account, because there is no dedicated bereavement process. Three published deadlines do apply to value in the account. Reward certificates expire at 11:59 p.m. CT on the date shown, typically 60 days from issuance, and used or expired certificates cannot be replaced. After a membership is cancelled by the member or by Best Buy, points may be redeemed for 90 days, after which unused points are forfeited. Paid Plus and Total memberships renew automatically until cancelled, so cancelling promptly both stops further charges and starts the pro-rated refund the paid terms provide.
Frequently asked questions
Best Buy publishes no process to transfer My Best Buy points or reward certificates to a survivor or to an estate, and the Program Rules contain no death or estate provision at all. Section 5 provides that a member may not transfer or assign the membership or any Program benefits, Section 2.A.2 provides that reward certificates are not transferable and may be used only by the member to whom they are issued, and Section 6 provides that once a membership is cancelled the member has 90 days to redeem points before any unused points are forfeited. A survivor can still write to Best Buy and ask it to issue certificates for the balance as a courtesy, but the Rules give Best Buy every right to decline.
No. Best Buy publishes no dedicated bereavement or estate channel for My Best Buy. Member correspondence goes to the address in Section 7 of the Program Rules (My Best Buy Program, P.O. Box 949, Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949), and account and membership questions are handled by Best Buy Customer Service at 1-888-237-8289. There is no published document list for a deceased member, so an executor should be ready to provide a death certificate, proof of authority to act for the estate, and the member ID.
The paid terms provide a refund mechanism, and it is the strongest ask in the account. My Best Buy Plus Terms Section 10 gives a full refund of the then-current term if the membership is cancelled within 60 days of purchase of the initial or renewal term, and a pro-rated refund based on the days remaining in the billing year after that. My Best Buy Total Terms Section 14 uses the same shape with a Purchase Grace Period. Best Buy may deduct the value of membership benefits already used. Plus is $29.99 per year and Total is $199.99 per year, so an unused term is real money.
No. Under the Program Rules, points "have no cash value and may not be redeemed, exchanged, or converted to cash," and reward certificates have no cash value and give no change on redemption. There is no published way to convert them to money or to move them to an estate. The only paths are to have the certificates honored while the account is open or to ask Best Buy, as a courtesy, to issue certificates for a named survivor.
Promptly, for three separate reasons. Reward certificates expire on the date printed on them, typically 60 days after issuance, and expired certificates cannot be replaced. After a membership is cancelled, points may be redeemed for only 90 days before unused points are forfeited. A paid Plus or Total membership renews automatically until it is cancelled, so an unnoticed membership can bill the estate for another full term.
Because points are forfeited at death, lifetime use is the only reliable strategy. Redeeming or sharing Best Buy points while the account holder is alive ensures their value is not lost.
Sources
Data sourced from Best Buy Co., Inc. primary sources (6 pages reviewed). How we research.
Best Buy Customer Service
My Best Buy Program, P.O. Box 949, Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
Best Buy Customer Service
My Best Buy Program, P.O. Box 949, Minneapolis, MN 55440-0949
Best Buy publishes no timeline for a deceased member's account, because there is no dedicated bereavement process. Three published deadlines do apply to value in the account. Reward certificates expire at 11:59 p.m. CT on the date shown, typically 60 days from issuance, and used or expired certificates cannot be replaced. After a membership is cancelled by the member or by Best Buy, points may be redeemed for 90 days, after which unused points are forfeited. Paid Plus and Total memberships renew automatically until cancelled, so cancelling promptly both stops further charges and starts the pro-rated refund the paid terms provide.
(General customer service)
