China Eastern announced a brand-new frequent flyer membership program today. For the full list of changes, please refer here. The most important change is this: China Eastern miles can now be extended. As long as there is any account activity within 36 months, the miles will automatically be extended for another 36 months. (Points purchased through the official website never expire.) This means that if you hold a China Eastern co-branded card or transfer points from a domestic bank program, you can effectively keep your China Eastern miles from expiring.
- The membership terms will take effect 6 months after the date of publication, but the actual implementation date will depend on when the system goes live.
Since the second half of 2019, airline loyalty programs have been making large-scale changes to expiration policies and extension methods. First, United (UA) and Southwest (WN) announced that miles would never expire. Then Asia Miles announced that miles can be extended starting this year. Now China Eastern has also announced an extension policy.
Among Chinese airlines, Hainan Airlines miles have long been extendable. We expect Air China, China Southern, and XiamenAir to also follow with mileage extension rules in the future. What I’m more curious about is when Japanese airlines will follow. In any case, this is a good start.
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https://www.uscreditcards101.com/points-expiration-rules/