Hotel points expiration rules by program: the five clocks, and what restarts them

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The verdict

1. IHG has the tightest clock of the five and it is the one worth checking first. Club-level balances are forfeited after 12 months with no earn or redeem transaction, while every other big chain gives you at least 18. If your balance is close to that line, the smallest purchase IHG permits — 1,000 points — restarts it; see today's IHG points price and compare it against what the balance is worth in our points-value calculator.
2. Buying points counts as qualifying activity in all five programs. IHG, Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt and Choice each list a purchase among the actions that keep an account active, which is what makes a top-up a rational move even with no booking in mind.
3. Two programs run a second, longer clock you are less likely to notice. Marriott may deactivate an account after five consecutive years without active status, and Hilton may remove a member after five years of inactivity. Forfeiting your points and losing the account are separate events with separate timers.

The table

Every row below is quoted from the program's own published rules, read on 22 September 2026. Hyatt's terms are taken from an archived capture dated 16 September 2026, because hyatt.com returns an error to automated requests.

The headline reading is simple. Twelve months at IHG, eighteen at Choice, twenty-four everywhere else. The useful reading is in the next two sections, because the differences that catch people out are in what counts as activity rather than in how long the window is.

What counts as activity, and what does not

The rules are more precise than the summaries usually are, and the precision matters.

IHG frames it as a transaction test: a balance expires where "there was no 'earn' or 'redeem' transactions, for any period of twelve (12) months or longer," and to keep it alive "you must have at least one 'earn' or 'redeem' transaction posted to your account every twelve (12) months." Elite members are exempt while status is maintained. The terms do not spell out which actions qualify, but IHG's own "how to keep your points" page does, listing Purchase Points alongside booking a trip, redeeming a reward night, using Points + Cash, shopping the catalogue, donating, exchanging and transferring.

Hilton publishes a closed list of four actions — stay at a participating hotel, earn points through Hilton or any third party including a co-branded credit card, purchase points, or donate points through its giving programme. Miss all four for 24 consecutive months and the balance is forfeited.

Marriott puts the purchase route in the rule itself: "Members can remain active in the Loyalty Program and retain accumulated Points by earning Points or Miles, redeeming Points, or purchasing Points … at least once every twenty-four (24) months."

Hyatt has the longest list, and it includes two items nobody else publishes: converting points to partner loyalty points, and simply "having a valid Hyatt co-branded credit card … associated with the Member's Program account." At Hyatt, holding the card is itself activity.

Choice defines a Qualifying Activity as earning or redeeming points, and names the routes explicitly: "completing a qualified Points-Eligible stay, redeeming Choice Privileges points, earning points with one of our partner programs, or purchasing Choice Privileges points." Each one pushes the expiry date out by a further 18 calendar months.

Four traps in the fine print

The IHG credit-card free night does not count. IHG states it directly: "Use of the one night per year provided to IHG One Rewards credit card holders does not constitute an 'earn' or 'redeem' activity to prevent Point expiration." This is the single most expensive misunderstanding on this page, because it hits exactly the people who assume their card keeps the account warm. Compare that with Hyatt, where having the card associated with the account is itself enough. The two programs' cards do opposite jobs on this point, which is covered further in our IHG versus Hilton comparison and in whether buying IHG points pays off.

A cancelled Hyatt award does not toll the clock. Hyatt's terms: "If a Member redeems points for an Award Reservation and either cancels that reservation or does not actually check-in on the appointed date (i.e., no-shows), that reservation will not count as a redemption of points … and will not toll the measurement of that Member's Program inactivity." A booking you did not take is not activity.

A Choice Reward Night is not qualifying activity. Choice lists it among the non-qualifying examples: "completing a non-Points-Eligible Stay (such as a Reward Night stay or other stay that does not qualify to earn points) or registering for a promotion." Spending your points on a free night does count as a redemption, but staying on one does not earn you anything that restarts the clock a second time.

Recovery is not free anywhere, and at some chains it is impossible. Hyatt is blunt: "Under no circumstances will forfeited points be reinstated," though the account remains open and can earn again. Hilton says forfeited points cannot be retrieved. Choice is the exception, allowing members to reinstate an inactive account and some or all expired points "up to one hundred eighty (180) days after expiration" — but those reinstated points "do not count towards qualifying for any increased or improved status," and a reinstated account goes inactive again 18 months later without other activity. See today's Choice points price if that is the situation you are in, and read whether buying Choice points pays off before you decide.

Is buying points the right way to reset a clock?

Usually it is the cheapest way, and occasionally it is the wrong question.

It is the right move when the balance is worth materially more than the smallest purchase the programme will sell you, and you have no stay or redemption coming before the deadline. IHG's minimum is 1,000 points. Hyatt sells in increments of 1,000 Bonus Points. Choice notes that purchases "may be limited to certain increments (such as increments of 1,000 points)." Hilton's terms say minimum thresholds may apply and can change without notice. Against a balance worth several nights, a minimum purchase is cheap insurance.

It is the wrong move in two cases. First, when a cheaper qualifying action is available — an earning transaction through a shopping or dining partner, a small redemption, or in Hyatt's case simply having the co-branded card on the account. Second, when the balance is small enough that letting it go costs less than rescuing it. Nobody should spend real money to preserve a few hundred points.

And in all five programs, the purchase does nothing for your status. Marriott states that purchased points do not count toward Bonvoy Elite status. Hyatt classes vendor-purchased points as Bonus Points that "do not count toward Member's qualification for elite status in the Program." Hilton says points earned do not count toward Elite Tier Status qualification. IHG sorts purchases into its Non-Elite Qualifying column. Choice awards status on Elite Qualifying Nights and Elite Qualifying Credits, not on balance. The mechanics of doing this well are in how to top up points for an award night.

Whose clock you actually need to watch

If you hold balances across several programs, the order of attention is not the order of the table.

Watch IHG first, because twelve months passes quickly and the card free night will not save you. Watch Choice second if you are not currently Elite there, because eighteen months is still short and the reinstatement window, generous as it is, costs money and returns points that carry no status value.

Hilton, Marriott and Hyatt can usually wait, because twenty-four months is long enough that most people trigger qualifying activity without trying — a single stay, a card purchase posting points, a partner transaction. The exception is a balance you built during one trip and have not touched since — the occasional-traveller profile described in our look at IHG One Rewards for a few Holiday Inn Express nights a year — and it is the one that quietly reaches the deadline. You can see today's Hilton points price if that describes your Honors account.

For contrast, not every travel currency works this way. Alaska's Atmos Rewards terms state that points "do not have an expiration date and may remain in an account indefinitely," which removes this whole category of risk — the trade being that the value of a stored balance can still be repriced. We cover that in buying Alaska miles versus paying cash.

If you are deciding whether to hold hotel points at all rather than which clock to watch, the broader argument is in when buying hotel points is worth it, and the single-programme versions are in buying Marriott points and buying Hyatt points.

FAQ

Do hotel points expire?

Yes, in all five of the big chains, but on different timers. IHG forfeits Club-level balances after twelve months without an earn or redeem transaction. Choice forfeits after eighteen consecutive calendar months of inactivity. Hilton, Marriott and World of Hyatt each use a twenty-four month window. IHG exempts Elite members while they hold status, and Choice exempts members who currently hold Gold, Platinum, Diamond or Titanium status.

Does buying points stop them from expiring?

Yes in every one of the five programs. IHG counts a purchase as an earn transaction. Hilton lists purchasing points as one of four actions that keep an account active. Marriott names purchasing points in its expiry rule directly. Hyatt lists purchasing or combining points among the ways a member remains active. Choice names purchasing points as a Qualifying Activity that extends the expiry date by a further eighteen months.

Can you get expired hotel points back?

Only at Choice, and only within a window. Choice allows a member to reinstate an inactive account and some or all expired points up to one hundred and eighty days after expiration, for a fee, though reinstated points do not count toward status. Hyatt's terms say that under no circumstances will forfeited points be reinstated, and Hilton's say a member may not retrieve forfeited points. Neither IHG nor Marriott publishes a reinstatement route.

Does the IHG credit card free night keep my points alive?

No. IHG's member terms state that use of the one night per year provided to IHG One Rewards credit card holders does not constitute an earn or redeem activity for the purpose of preventing point expiration. This is the opposite of the World of Hyatt rule, where simply having a valid Hyatt co-branded credit card associated with your account counts as activity. If you rely on a card anniversary night at IHG, you still need a separate earning or redemption every twelve months.

How long do Marriott points last without activity?

Marriott's terms state that an account inactive for twenty-four consecutive months forfeits all accumulated points, and that members remain active by earning points or miles, redeeming points, or purchasing points at least once in that period. A second and longer rule sits behind it: if a member does not maintain an active status for five consecutive years, the account itself may be deactivated.