Thousands of travellers are having their air miles and frequent-flyer points cancelled, as new use-it-or-lose-it expiry regulations begin to bite.

Last January, the Airmiles company (airmiles.co.uk), which claims 2m active members, introduced a time limit on accounts: any that remained inactive for two years would be cancelled.

Any activity on the account is enough to reset the clock — earning miles by using an eligible credit card, for instance, or spending them on flights or hotels — but if members fail to do so, the miles will be gone for ever. “We write to members twice before closing their accounts,” the company said. “But yes, some are closed.”

The two-year limit is tighter than many of the main airline schemes: for example, that from British Airways — which owns Air Miles — allows 36 months before miles are lost.

However, many industry figures predict that European schemes will follow those in America, where travellers are beginning to fall foul of harsher regulations.

Barbara Goldberg, of New York, was surprised when 39,000 miles banked with Delta disappeared. The airline reinstated them after she called a local television station, but she’d had enough: “I’m so turned off by the whole system,” she said. “It’s just not worth it.”

Times recommends

• Travel advice: what to do if your flight is disrupted
• Top 10 unmissable events in 2010
• Seven spa breaks for January