Estate planning as a Chick-fil-A account holder

Chick-fil-A One is the free loyalty program inside the Chick-fil-A app. Members earn points on qualifying purchases, redeem points for food rewards, and earn member tier status (Chick-fil-A One, then Silver from 1,000 points, Red from 4,000, and Signature from 10,000). The points sit inside a personal Chick-fil-A One account. Chick-fil-A states that points do not expire, but the rewards points are redeemed for do expire, and member tier status is recalculated each year (status points reset to zero on January 1). Points have no cash value and are not transferable between accounts. Silver, Red, and Signature members can, however, spend points on a reward and gift that reward to a friend or family member through a shareable link — the only route by which value leaves the account short of eating it. Separately, an account can hold loaded funds — prepaid money added to the app for mobile order and pay — which, unlike the points, is recoverable through Chick-fil-A CARES.

When a Chick-fil-A account holder dies, their points are forfeited. The program's terms state that points do not constitute property of the account holder and cannot be transferred upon death, by operation of law, or through estate planning documents.

Chick-fil-A allows members to transfer points to other program members during their lifetime, typically for a fee. This is a practical way to share value without a formal estate transfer.

What happens at death

Chick-fil-A One points are forfeited. Chick-fil-A states that points and offers "have no cash value and are subject to all terms and conditions applicable to use of the app and Chick-fil-A One membership program," and that offers and points "are not transferable." The account is personal to the member; there is no beneficiary designation and no published way to inherit points. The one sharing mechanism the program does offer -- Silver, Red, and Signature members can spend points on a reward and gift it to a friend or family member through a shareable link -- is a lifetime feature exercised by the member from their own account, not a succession right, and Chick-fil-A publishes nothing about honoring it after death. Notably, Chick-fil-A states that Chick-fil-A One points do not expire, but the rewards a member redeems points for do expire on their own dates, and member tier status (Chick-fil-A One, Silver, Red, Signature) is recalculated annually with status points resetting to zero on January 1. Because points are non-transferable and have no cash value, there is nothing of monetary value in the loyalty currency itself for an estate to claim. One asset is recoverable: if the account holds loaded funds (prepaid money added to the app for mobile order and pay), Chick-fil-A states that when an account is deleted with unused funds, the member "may contact CARES to receive a digital gift card for any outstanding funds that remain on the account." That loaded-fund value is prepaid money belonging to the estate; an executor recovers it through Chick-fil-A CARES. Chick-fil-A publishes no dedicated bereavement or estate-claims process for the program; reporting a death and closing the account runs through general Chick-fil-A CARES customer service.

Frequently asked questions