Julie Jenner had been struck by gut-wrenching grief, losing both her husband and her youngest son in the same year.
After months of sorting out paperwork, belongings, and proceedings, she decided she would transfer her and her late husband's Qantas Frequent Flyer points to her grandchildren.
The children had lost their father and grandfather, and Ms Jenner said she wanted them to travel from Mackay to the Sunshine Coast to spend some time with her.
But the points had been cancelled upon her husband's death.
Ms Jenner said while the couple shared a bank account and collectively accumulated the points, the primary Frequent Flyer member was her husband, Thomas.
"I was the one who did 90 per cent of the shopping … so I was accruing the points all right," she said.
Ms Jenner said while she did not have a huge amount accumulated, estimating there were between 2,000 and 3,000 points on the membership at the time of her husband's death, but she believed they should have been transferred to her.
She said while her solicitor encouraged her to take further action, she did not want to engage in "another battle".
"I'm getting really tired from all the legalities of all this. I've had about seven months of it and I just want what's fair and square."
Loyalty programs differ from program to program, with some companies offering a transferral to the deceased member's beneficiary.
Clinical legal educator and practising lawyer, Kirsty Mackay said while succession law generally presumed jointly owned property would pass on to the surviving person, points systems were a "grey area".
"In terms of Qantas, it's in the name of the person who holds that account, and if they die, then according to the Qantas fine print, those points are cancelled upon notification of that person dying.
"I know on online contracts, it's very easy to click the 'I agree' before moving forward and that actually binds you and confirms that you've read those terms and conditions.
"Before you enter into any agreement, you should certainly have a look at the terms and conditions, just as a matter of course," she said.
Lawyer David Wise said points were different to other assets.
"Points are more of a contractual relationship between the airline and the member.
"If your agreement with the airline says your points are cancelled when you die, then that's what happens, unfortunately," he said.
He said airlines had softened in recent years to allow transferral of points between family members but suggested some further leeway in unique scenarios like Ms Jenner's.
"The most sensible solution seems to be leaving a window of time within which the points can be transferred to a family member," he said.
In a statement, Qantas said the membership terminates automatically upon the death of a member, and any points not transferred or redeemed prior to the death are cancelled.
"Qantas Frequent Flyer memberships are individual.
"If a couple holds a joint points-earning credit card, the Qantas Points will be credited to the account of the primary card holder," the spokesperson said.
Ms Jenner said it was a further blow in a challenging year.
"People need to be aware that if they think their points are going to go across to their husband or their wife or their lifelong partners, they've got another thing coming.
"They need to really have a good look at how it's written and think twice about entering into that agreement," she said.
