Estate planning as a FRONTIER Miles account holder

FRONTIER Miles is the loyalty program of Frontier Airlines, an ultra-low-cost U.S. carrier headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Effective January 9, 2024 the program separates two balances: Travel Miles, which are the redeemable currency used for award flights, and Elite Status Points, which are earned only on eligible Frontier purchases and Frontier Airlines World Mastercard spend and determine elite tier. Four elite tiers are earned on Elite Status Points in a calendar year -- Silver (10,000), Gold (20,000), Platinum (50,000), and Diamond (75,000 effective August 27, 2026, lowered from 100,000); effective January 1, 2027 Silver rises to 15,000 and Gold to 25,000. Travel Miles expire at the end of the twelve-month period after the last accrual activity date unless the member holds an active Frontier Airlines World Mastercard, and miles that have expired within the past six months can be reinstated for a published buy-back fee. Family Pooling lets a pool head share a combined balance with contributors. The Terms and Conditions state that accrued Miles do not constitute property of the member, but carry a documented death-of-member provision under which Miles pass to heirs on a death certificate or executor letter.

When a FRONTIER Miles account holder dies, their miles can be transferred to family members at no charge.

FRONTIER Miles provides a pooling or family sharing option for miles. FRONTIER Miles Family Pooling lets members combine and share Miles. Section 12 of the Terms and Conditions states that a family account pool consists of one primary account holder plus up to eight pool contributors; Frontier's own Family Pooling page and help-center article describe the same feature more loosely as "a group of up to 8 people." The primary account holder (the member who starts the pool) must be a Frontier Airlines World Mastercard holder or hold any Elite tier status, controls the pool, can redeem Miles from the pooled balance without the contributors' permission, and may remove any person from the pool at any time. Pool contributors can be any Miles contributor -- Frontier states that friends, coworkers, roommates and family all qualify -- and Frontier advertises no minimums, maximums or hidden transaction fees on pool contributions. On cancellation of a pool, unused Miles balances return to the individual account holder who earned them; redemptions draw first-in/first-out across the combined pooled accounts. A member who leaves a pool enters a 90-day cooling-off period before joining or creating another. Pooling does not suspend expiration: expiration dates are still calculated on each contributor's own accrual history (except contributors under 18, who take the primary account holder's expiration date), and a contributor with no accrual activity inside the 12-month window has their Miles expire and leave the pool balance. Miles purchased or gifted through Frontier's partner Points.com can also be added to a pool.

What happens at death

Section 22 of the FRONTIER Miles Terms and Conditions states that "Accrued Miles and Award Travel do not constitute property of Member and are non-transferable," and then lists death as one of the situations in which that non-transferability applies only in the absence of documentation: Miles are non-transferable upon the death of a Member "without: (i) the death certificate of the Member or (ii) letter from the executor." Read together, the Terms permit a transfer on death where one of those two documents is produced, and the recipients are the individual heirs rather than the estate itself -- the Terms disclaim that the Miles are property of the member. Where there are multiple executors or heirs of Miles based on court documents, Miles are divided as directed by the court. An heir who does not have a FRONTIER Miles account may enroll to receive their share, or may submit written permission to waive their rights to their Miles, in which case those Miles are divided among the remaining heirs. No fee and no processing timeline for a post-death transfer are published in the Terms and Conditions.

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