Estate planning as a My GM Rewards account holder

My GM Rewards, which General Motors now brands simply GM Rewards, is GM's owner loyalty program spanning Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac. Membership is free. Members earn points through a single GM Account that signs in across the GM brand owner apps and websites, and redeem them toward an eligible new vehicle purchase or lease, a CarBravo certified used vehicle, GM Certified Service, GM Genuine Parts and ACDelco Parts, eligible accessories, GM Protection Plans, most OnStar plans, General Motors Insurance, the GM Company Store, GM Financial and Cadillac Financial account balances, and GM exclusive experiences. GM relaunched the program on May 20, 2025, adding a simplified redemption value of $0.01 per point when redeemed through General Motors and a GM Rewards Mastercard issued by Barclays Bank Delaware. Points are tied to the individual Member Account, are not the member's property, and have no cash value; the Program Terms close the account and forfeit all points at the member's death, and state that points cannot be transferred by operation of law.

When a My GM Rewards 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.

During their lifetime, My GM Rewards members can transfer points to other program members for a fee. This provides a straightforward way to share accumulated value.

What happens at death

My GM Rewards points are forfeited at death under GM's own Program Terms. The Terms state that GM will close a Member Account upon the death of the Member, and that "All accumulated Points automatically expire upon the death of the Member or cancellation of a Member Account." On any account closure, "any accumulated Points will be forfeited. Once Points are forfeited, the Points cannot be reinstated. GM will not and is under no obligation to compensate or pay cash for any forfeited or unused Points." Points "have no cash or other monetary value... are not your property, and have no property value," and cannot be redeemed for cash or currency, so there is no balance the estate can claim as a matter of right. Section 3(K) closes the door further: "Points may not be assigned, transferred, traded or pledged to any third party, except as expressly authorized by GM," and "Points cannot be transferred by operation of law, such as by bankruptcy or in connection with a divorce." GM publishes no deceased-member transfer process and no estate-claim path. Two things nonetheless remain worth doing. First, the Terms contain a member-to-member point transfer mechanism that GM operates during a member's life, so a survivor can write to GM and ask it to exercise its discretion and apply that same mechanism, or reinstate the points, notwithstanding the forfeiture clause. GM is under no obligation to agree. Second, the only reliable way to preserve the value is to redeem the points, or transfer them to another member, before the account is closed.

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