SPG - Account Cancellation - What the?

SPG - Account Cancellation - What the?

I was told that my account had been cancelled due to not making any transactions for 1 year. Despite my having a large amount of points. Anyway after calling them they said they could reinstate my account but I need to make sure I make one transaction p.a. otherwise next time I won't be able to restore the account.

Isn't that ridiculous? Especially without any warning?? Is that normal for other membership programs? I haven't made any transactions in a few of my other hotel memberships for ages and they're still active. How can they cancel without even an email?

If you're asking for an opinion on whether it's ridiculous, I'll have to play devil's advocate and say it actually sounds fairly normal... Qantas will automatically cancel your account if you don't have any activity in an 18 month period.

I'm not saying it's necessarily "right," but at the end of the day it's a loyalty program, not a bank account. The entire premise is that you need to be a regular customer if you expect them to reward you, right?

Cue downvotes.

They said it everywhere. Is it fair or not is other story, but it is their rules. Though I agree that automatically generated courtesy email will not hurt.

Sounds about right for SPG - twelve months of inactivity and your account goes into an expired status.

A number of programs have introduced expiration policies over the last few years, it's not just SPG.

I'm with Jay on this one...Loyalty programs are designed to recognise loyalty and in many cases these days - ongoing loyalty. 

I've given up points with American, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates because my travel habits have changed - its a fact of business travel. 

This is also why I focus my travel on those providers who best fit my current travel needs. 

Haven't taken a flight with EY in 4 yrs and I still have my account