Points and miles are a currency whose issuer can reprice it at any time, so a hoarded balance carries a real expected annual cost: balance × your value per point × the devaluation rate you assume. Earn and burn wins whenever that drag exceeds what waiting buys you — and the worksheet in this guide turns the slogan into a number, including the two legitimate reasons to hold (a named target award and a short, defined horizon) and the expiration sidebar for balances you keep.
When a member dies, their airline miles are governed by each program's own terms: some programs' published terms say miles are not transferable on death, others describe a discretionary process involving documentation and sometimes a fee. Before contacting anyone, an executor should inventory every balance, value each one conservatively in dollars, and compare that value against the paperwork effort and any fee — because pursuing a small balance through an affidavit process can cost more than the miles are worth.