The Divorce Dividend: Who Gets the Miles When Love Crashes and Burns

🎧 Always Turn Left: The Loyalty Minefield | Why Miles Are the Most Overlooked Asset in Divorce

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When love crashes and burns, most people fight over the obvious things: the house, the dog, the Peloton, or that giant Netflix account. But there’s a battlefield nobody talks about - the one where your hard-earned airline miles, hotel points, and credit card rewards become the ultimate weapon. Welcome to The Divorce Dividend: the petty, absurd, and occasionally savage world of points in divorce.

Because here’s the truth: loyalty points are legally invisible. They’re contractual perks, not property, which means courts often ignore them entirely. And yet, they can be worth tens of thousands of dollars if you play them right - or lost in a heartbeat if you don’t.

Why Miles Are the Most Overlooked Asset in Divorce

Most people don’t even realize their points matter until it’s too late. Airline miles, hotel rewards, and credit card points are usually logged under a personal account, tied to a single email address, and invisible on a balance sheet. Legally, courts often don’t recognize them as marital property. Your divorce lawyer might not care - they’re busy splitting retirement funds and furniture.

But here’s the kicker: those points often outvalue some of the assets that actually get divided. Consider a couple with 300,000 transferable airline miles. At a conservative 2 cents per mile, that’s $6,000. Book strategically with premium cabins or high-value partners, and you’re talking $20,000-$30,000. That’s not chump change. That’s a first-class flight to Europe, a luxury safari in Africa, or multiple trips that feel like an entirely new lifestyle.

Even credit card points earned on business spend can be massive. Business owners often underestimate that their day-to-day expenses generate points that, when optimized, create real financial leverage. Lose those in divorce disputes, and it’s like handing your ex a small windfall while watching your own plans evaporate.

The Petty Playbook: How People “Steal” Miles

If loyalty points are invisible on paper, they’re very visible in practice. And humans? Petty. Really petty. Here’s how divorcing couples weaponize points:

• The Sneaky Redeemer: One spouse quietly books a last-minute vacation, draining the points before the other even knows. Bali, Tahiti, Maldives - sometimes the destination is an afterthought; the victory is in the pettiness.
• The Transfer Trick: Points can be sent to family or friends outside the marriage. Suddenly, those miles are in a cousin’s account halfway across the country.
• The “Work Trip” Tactic: One spouse claims a business trip and books first-class tickets to a tropical island. Moral victory: “It’s for work, obviously.”
• The Account Freeze: Some couples escalate to calling the airline to lock the account “pending documentation.” A classic nuclear option.
• Hotel Hijinks: One spouse books multiple free nights at a luxury hotel, then cancels last-minute, hoping to create confusion or force concessions during negotiations.

These moves are not hypothetical. They happen. And while lawyers might scoff at points, they’re real dollars lost (or won) depending on who acts first.

Courts, Points, and the Dollar Value Debate

When it comes to courts, the situation is messy. Some judges assign a rough dollar value to points, often 1-2 cents each. That means your 500,000 miles suddenly “worth” $10,000 in the eyes of the law. Other judges ignore them entirely, treating points as “non-property perks” because you can’t deposit them in a bank.

State laws differ wildly:

• California: Courts sometimes treat points earned during marriage as community property, which can be split if documented.
• New York: Points are rarely considered marital property; judges expect couples to negotiate a solution privately.
• Texas: Courts might consider points earned on community funds as divisible, but again, enforcement is rare without proper documentation.

There are rare cases where courts have intervened. One California couple negotiated a split where one spouse took all the airline miles while the other got an equivalent cash payout. But that’s the exception. Most of the time, whoever holds the login controls the stash.

The Divorce Dividend Strategy: How to Protect Yourself

So how do you make sure you don’t leave your points on the chopping block? Here’s the UpNonStop tactical playbook:

1. Document Balances Before Filing: Take screenshots of every account. Miles, hotel points, cashback balances, transferable credit card points. These screenshots are your ammo.
2. Assign a Dollar Value: Treat points like cash for settlement talks. Even if courts don’t officially recognize them, negotiating as if they do changes the game.
3. Negotiate Travel Credits Instead of Logins: If your spouse keeps accounts in their name, try to get the equivalent value in credits or vouchers. A hotel certificate or airline credit can be just as valuable, but harder to swipe.
4. Burn Strategically: Sometimes it’s smarter to redeem points yourself than let them get lost in negotiation. Better a first-class flight to Paris than losing it entirely.
5. Separate Personal and Business Points: For Business owners, the stakes are higher. Points earned on company spend can get tangled in personal divorce battles. Establish corporate accounts and policies early to avoid messy fights.
6. Timing Matters: Points often expire, change in value, or lose transfer options. Track them and act before legal paperwork drags on.

Business Owners: Points Are a Business Asset Too

Most Business owners don’t think of loyalty points as part of their balance sheet - but they should. If your business spends $500,000 annually on credit cards and earns transferable points, that stash is an asset. Divorce, partnership splits, or internal disputes can make those points the battleground nobody plans for.

Example: A two-person consultancy splits between two partners, each married. Without clear ownership rules, one spouse could claim personal access to the business points, booking luxury trips that technically came from company spend. Negotiation resulted in one partner giving up access entirely in exchange for cash. Points lost, sanity preserved.

Real-Life Anecdotes

• The Revenge Honeymoon: One spouse booked a surprise trip for their children using the shared points account, only for the other to claim it “was supposed to be mine.” Result: bitter negotiations and a partially wasted safari.
• The Family Transfer Play: Another case involved sending 200,000 points to a sister-in-law overseas. The court didn’t intervene because technically, nothing illegal happened - but the emotional impact? #Priceless.
• The Business Confusion: A small marketing firm with two partners had one partner use business points to fly to a luxury conference while the other partner’s spouse tried to claim half. Negotiation resulted in one partner giving up access entirely in exchange for cash.
• The Last-Minute Hotel Grab: A spouse booked all remaining points at a luxury resort during the week of divorce filing, forcing the other to accept a partial reimbursement rather than a full split.

5 ProTips for Protecting Points During Divorce

• Audit Accounts: Track every login. If you don’t know the balance, neither does the court.
• Freeze Transfers: Some airlines allow you to temporarily lock transfers. Use this strategically.
• Separate Business from Personal: Set up corporate accounts for business points. Treat them like company cash.
• Negotiate Redemption: Instead of fighting over the raw points, negotiate travel credits or vouchers. Less risk of loss.
• Use a Points Specialist: For business owners, an UpNonStop-style strategist can optimize redemptions while protecting balances.

Final Thoughts: Why Points Are Petty, Powerful, and Worth Protecting

Divorce is ugly. Losing your points is uglier. What most couples fail to realize is that miles, hotel rewards, and transferable credit card points can equal tens of thousands of dollars - sometimes more than tangible assets they fight over in court.

The lesson is simple: don’t treat points as fluff. Document, negotiate, protect, and if necessary, redeem. And for business owners, have a strategy in place before the personal and professional lines blur. Because in the end, the only thing worse than heartbreak is watching your ex fly Emirates First Class on your rewards.

With UpNonStop, you can approach points like any other financial asset: protect them, optimize them, and make sure the only one cashing in is you.