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Ontario Bans Loyalty Rewards Points From Expiring

Ontario’s legislature voted in favour of a bill on Monday to prevent loyalty rewards points from expiring.

As a result of the passage of the Protecting Rewards Points Act, expiry dates on rewards points programs (such as credit card rewards) in the province will be eliminated.

The legislation is also retroactive, meaning that points that expired on or after Oct. 1, 2016 will be credited back to the account.

However, rewards points can expire because of their age if there’s also a second reason given. For example, if your points agreement states you must use your account (earn or redeem points) within two years and you don’t, your points could expire because of the combination of time passing and inactivity.

The law will come into force next year after the government talks with consumers and businesses about how best to implement the change.

The bill was inspired by the negative consumer reaction about the decision by LoyaltyOne—the parent company of Air Miles—to expire any miles five years or older starting at the end of the year. Last week, the company cancelled the expiry policy.

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Flickr: West Annex News