Credit Card Points Expire in Five Years — Check the Integrated Lookup Before They Vanish
When was the last time you checked the points piled up on the cards in your wallet? Card issuers automatically wipe out points that sit unused for five years. According to data recently submitted to Korea's National Assembly by the Financial Supervisory Service, the money disappearing this way tops 90 billion won every year. Here's how to check before it's gone and cash it out.
Card points expire five years from the date earned -- not on a calendar year
Many people assume all their points vanish in one batch on December 31st, but the real rule is that each individual point expires five years from the date it was earned, because commercial claims under Korea's Commercial Act carry a five-year statute of limitations. That means points earned in September 2021 disappear around September 2026, while points earned in March 2022 disappear around March 2027 -- each batch on its own clock. The longer someone has held a card, the more scattered those earning dates are, which means a small amount of that person's points is likely expiring every single year without them noticing.
More than 90 billion won a year is vanishing
According to data the Financial Supervisory Service submitted to the National Assembly's National Policy Committee, eight major card issuers -- Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori, Hana, and BC -- wrote off a combined 501.8 billion won in expired points over the five years from 2021 to 2025. Broken down by year: 101.8 billion won in 2021, 106.6 billion in 2022, 102.7 billion in 2023, 97.1 billion in 2024, and 93.7 billion in 2025 -- roughly 90-100 billion won a year flowing into card issuer revenue instead of cardholders' pockets. The yearly total has edged down slightly, but it's still a substantial amount of unclaimed money.
You get a monthly notice for the six months before points expire
Article 15, Clause 7 of the Standard Terms for Individual Credit Card Members requires card issuers to warn members before their points expire. Issuers must notify cardholders monthly, starting six months before expiration, through the monthly billing statement, an app notification, or similar channel, stating the amount about to expire and when. The problem is that this notice is easy to skim past in a text message or email. Anyone who has app notifications turned off, or doesn't read their statement closely, often has no idea their points are about to disappear until it's too late.
Checking everything at once through the integrated lookup service
If you use several cards, it's faster to skip opening each issuer's app one by one and instead use the Credit Finance Association's integrated card point lookup service. A single identity verification lets you see the remaining and soon-to-expire points -- and the exact month they expire -- across every card issuer you hold, all on one screen. It isn't a year-end-only service; it runs year-round, so checking today is never too late.
Cashing out takes one bank-deposit request
Once the lookup screen shows how many points are eligible for cash conversion, you can request an immediate deposit into your own bank account at a rate of 1 won per point. Unlike converting points into gift certificates or mileage, there's no separate exchange-rate loss, and you don't need to install each card issuer's individual app to process it. That said, some issuers exclude certain partner points or promotional points from cash conversion, so go by the "cash-convertible points" figure shown on the lookup screen rather than the total balance.
Check family cards separately too
Checking only your own card leaves points you could be missing. Cards issued in a spouse's or child's name but actually used by you, and old cards you've since cancelled but that may still hold a balance, each need their own separate identity verification and lookup. Cancelling a card doesn't automatically erase its accumulated points -- the same five-year clock usually still applies -- so if you cancelled a card years ago, it's worth checking the remaining balance through that issuer's app or customer service line.
If the lookup screen shows zero points even though you remember earning some, they may have already expired, or they may be partner-specific points managed separately and usable only at certain merchants -- a category the integrated lookup doesn't capture. In that case, check the "point history" section inside that specific card issuer's app directly for the earn, use, and expiration record. Once points expire, they usually can't be recovered even if you received the notice, so the surest safeguard is simply not skimming past the point-expiration line in your monthly statement.
Worth checking alongside this
If paying down your card balance in full each month feels tight and you're relying on revolving payments, it's worth reviewing how a lower minimum payment ratio actually means more real interest at the same time. If you're planning to cash out points into a bank account, comparing parking accounts and CMAs that pay interest even for a single day can help. And if you're curious about managing your credit score, submitting utility payment history for a same-day credit score boost is worth a look too.
Steps to follow
①Verify your identity on the Credit Finance Association's integrated card point lookup service and check the remaining and soon-to-expire points across every card you hold. ②Check family cards -- a spouse's, a child's, and any cards you've since cancelled -- separately. ③If any points are cash-convertible, request the bank deposit (1 point = 1 won). ④Don't ignore your card issuer's app notifications or the point-expiration notice on your monthly statement. ⑤Make this a once-a-year habit, and you'll cut down on points quietly disappearing.
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