The Protect Your Points Act of 2026 mandates transparency, prohibits point expiration and arbitrary fees, and requires enhanced security and notice for changes to airline frequent flyer programs and co-branded credit cards.
Richard Durbin
Senator
IL
The Protect Your Points Act of 2026 establishes new consumer protections for airline frequent flyer programs and co-branded credit cards. The bill mandates greater transparency regarding point values and redemption rates, prohibits point expiration and arbitrary fees, and requires one year’s notice before any devaluation of rewards. Additionally, it enhances account security and mandates flexible payment options for travelers using points and cash.
Protect Your Points Act of 2026 Bans Expiring Miles and Mandates One-Year Notice for Reward Devaluations
If you have ever logged into your airline account only to find your hard-earned miles vanished into thin air, this bill is looking out for you. The Protect Your Points Act of 2026 sets a high bar for transparency in frequent flyer programs, starting with a 90-day deadline for airlines to post the actual dollar value of a single point on their apps and websites. Within a year, the bill requires airlines to show you the cost of a flight in both cash and points simultaneously on the booking page—no more toggling back and forth to figure out if you're getting a good deal. Most importantly, it flat-out prohibits points from ever expiring and bans those annoying fees airlines charge just to use or redeposit the miles you already earned.
No More Moving Goalposts
One of the biggest frustrations for travelers is the "midnight devaluation," where an airline suddenly decides a trip to Hawaii costs 80,000 miles instead of 40,000. Under Section 2 of the bill, carriers are prohibited from changing their terms of service or devaluing points without giving you at least one year’s notice. This gives a family saving up for a summer vacation a full 12 months to use their points at the current rate before any changes kick in. Additionally, the bill mandates that airlines offer a "cash plus points" payment option for all fares and ancillary fees, like checked bags or Wi-Fi, giving you more flexibility to clear out small balances that aren't enough for a full ticket.
Sharing the Wealth and Securing the Bag
The legislation also tackles how we share rewards and keep them safe. It prohibits airlines from charging fees to transfer points between members of the same program, meaning you could send your extra miles to a friend or family member for free to help them cover a flight. To protect these digital assets, which can be worth thousands of dollars, the bill requires airlines to implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) within 90 days. This means that just like your bank account, your loyalty account will require a secondary code for login, making it much harder for hackers to drain your mileage balance.
The Cost of Compliance
While this is a win for the average traveler, it presents a significant shift for the airline industry and their credit card partners. Airlines often rely on points expiring and redemption fees as a source of revenue; under this bill, those income streams disappear. Carriers will also have to report their "redemption rate" annually—showing exactly what percentage of points were actually used by customers—which could put pressure on them to make rewards easier to claim. While the bill allows airlines to limit transfers to prevent legitimate fraud, the Secretary of Transportation will be watching closely to ensure they don't use "fraud prevention" as a loophole to restrict your ability to share points.