Miles and more – unlawful forfeiture clauses concerning bonus miles ruled on by the German Federal Court of Justice on 28 November 2017

In a case decided by the German Federal Court of Justice, the airline in question could erase bonus miles for the category of ‘ivory members’ after a period of 20 months of inactivity. In the event of a termination of the contract, customers had to use the bonus miles within 6 months either by ordering a ticket (even if the flight was scheduled for much later) or by otherwise using the bonus, i.e. staying in a hotel, renting a car etc. These periods of 20 or only 6 months given in the bonus programme are much shorter than the general rule for the limitation period according to German civil law, which is three years from the end of the year in which the bonus miles were earned. So, by law, the limitation period can range between 36 months up to almost 48 months.

The court ruled that the bonus programme was in the sole interest of the company. The money spent by the customer in order to earn the bonus miles was relatively high, so the customer could expect to have a reasonable time to spend the bonus miles after having earned them. This reasonable time is, in the opinion of the court, set by the rules of the limitation period according to German civil law within the mentioned period.

Therefore, companies offering such a bonus programme have to consider that it will continue to create obligations and costs up to four years after the earning of the bonuses by the client. The clients, on the other hand, should be aware that not all regulations in a bonus programme have to be accepted as given and should check their rights if bonuses are reduced or even lost. Have a good flight!

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