IKEA account? Points are lost – and the credit card isn't IKEA's

Dealing with a loved one’s accounts after they die is rarely straightforward, and IKEA is a good example of why. What looks like a single relationship with a retailer can involve several distinct financial products – an IKEA Family loyalty membership, a credit card issued by Ikano Bank, gift cards sitting in a wallet or inbox, and possibly an active delivery or assembly booking. Each is handled separately, and some need more urgent attention than others.

This guide explains what to do with each IKEA-connected account and how to contact the right organisation for each one. If you are working through a broader list of accounts to close, the what to do when someone dies hub is a good place to start.

Quick reference:

How to notify IKEA

IKEA does not publish a dedicated bereavement service or a separate bereavement phone number. The primary contact route is their main customer service line.

Phone: Call 01733 520006. Lines are open Monday to Saturday, 7am–8pm, and Sunday, 7am–7pm. Ask to report a bereavement and request that the account be closed.

In store: You can also visit the customer service desk at your nearest IKEA store. This can be useful if you have original documents to hand, though calling is generally faster for straightforward account closures.

Online: IKEA does not offer an online bereavement form. Their contact page provides access to a chatbot and links to the phone line, but there is no web-based notification route specifically for bereavement.

What to have ready

When you call, have the following to hand:

• The deceased’s full name as it appears on the account
• Their date of birth and date of death
• Their usual address and email address
• Their IKEA Family membership number, if you can find it (check for an IKEA Family card in their wallet, or look for emails from IKEA Family in their inbox)
• Your own name, contact details, and your relationship to the deceased

You do not need a grant of probate to close an IKEA Family membership. A death certificate and your personal details as next of kin or executor are sufficient.

What IKEA will do

Once notified, IKEA will close the account and stop any marketing communications addressed to the deceased. If there are any active orders on the account, discuss these at the same time – see the section on active orders below.

IKEA Family membership

IKEA Family is IKEA’s free loyalty programme. Members earn points on purchases, which convert into reward vouchers, and enjoy other in-store benefits such as free tea and coffee and member pricing on selected products.

What happens to IKEA Family points when a member dies

The IKEA Family terms and conditions are clear on this point: “In the event of the death of the IKEA Family account holder, the points will be lost and are not able to be transferred to another IKEA Family member.” (IKEA Family Terms and Conditions)

Any accumulated points, rewards, or vouchers that have not yet been redeemed will be forfeited when the account is closed. There is no provision in IKEA’s terms for converting outstanding points to cash, transferring them to a family member, or redeeming them as part of the estate.

If the deceased had reward vouchers that had already been issued (rather than points still to be converted), check whether those vouchers are still within their 30-day validity window. Issued vouchers expire 30 days after issue date. If they are still valid, you may be able to use them before notifying IKEA – though you should take legal advice if you are unsure of your position as executor.

How to close the IKEA Family membership

Call IKEA customer service on 01733 520006 and ask to close the IKEA Family account following a bereavement. You can also write to:

IKEA Family
255 North Circular Road
London, NW10 0JQ

If the membership closure is straightforward, a phone call is the quicker route. Written requests are useful if you want a paper trail.

IKEA Family credit card

The IKEA Family credit card is a separate product from the IKEA Family loyalty programme, despite sharing a name. It is issued by Ikano Bank AB (publ) UK branch – a bank, not IKEA itself – and must be handled as a distinct account.

Ikano Bank is registered in the UK with a registered office at Waterfront House, Waterfront Plaza, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3DQ. They have a bereavement notification process separate from anything IKEA’s main customer service team handles.

How to notify Ikano Bank

Ikano Bank accepts bereavement notifications online. Go to ikano.co.uk/help-centre/register-bereavement and complete their online form. You will need:

• Your full name, email address, and contact number
• Your confirmation as the point of contact for the account
• The deceased’s name, account number (if known), postcode, date of birth, and date of death
• Executor or solicitor information, if applicable

Ikano Bank does not publish a dedicated bereavement telephone number. Contact is primarily through the online form.

What happens next

Once Ikano Bank receives the notification:

• They will send written confirmation to the registered address on the account within up to two weeks
• They will update their records to stop sending letters, emails, and texts to the deceased
• If there is an outstanding balance on the credit card, the confirmation letter will include details of how to settle it from the estate

Allow up to three months for all communications to fully cease. If there is a significant outstanding balance and you are uncertain about the estate’s assets, seek guidance from a solicitor before settling – outstanding debts should be paid in the correct order of priority. For guidance on what happens to debts when someone dies, the how to deal with credit reference agencies page explains how creditors typically report accounts and what to expect.

Gift cards and store credit

IKEA gift cards are a common item in estates – they are often given as presents and may sit unused in a wallet, envelope, or email inbox for some time.

Key terms

Under IKEA’s current gift card terms (for cards issued from October 2025 onwards), cards are valid for five years from the date of purchase. Cards issued before October 2025 carry no expiry date.

Gift cards cannot be refunded and have no cash value – they can only be spent in IKEA stores or online. The terms state: “No refunds are permitted with respect to the purchase of Gift Cards; all sales are final.” (IKEA Gift Card Terms and Conditions)

What this means for an estate

IKEA gift cards are not treated as cash by IKEA’s terms. There is no published process for converting gift card balances into estate funds. In practice, an executor can use a valid gift card to purchase items for the estate (for example, items to furnish a property being sold), but cannot redeem the balance in cash.

If the card has not expired and still holds a balance, it can be used by whoever is managing the estate for IKEA purchases. If you are unsure whether this is appropriate in your specific situation, seek advice from a solicitor.

Active orders and deliveries

If the deceased placed an order with IKEA that had not yet been delivered or assembled at the time of death, the executor has the right to manage what happens next.

Call IKEA customer service on 01733 520006 and inform them of the bereavement. Have the order number to hand if you can find it – look for a confirmation email in the deceased’s inbox or check their IKEA online account.

The options available to you are likely to include:

• Cancelling the order and receiving a refund to the original payment method (or to the estate if the payment was made from the estate account)
• Redirecting the delivery to a different address, if the original delivery address is no longer suitable
• Proceeding with the order as placed, if it is needed for the property

IKEA’s customer service team will advise on what is possible for the specific order type. Large or complex orders (kitchen installations, for example) may involve separate tradespeople and need separate arrangements. If IKEA Home (their design consultation service) was involved in a kitchen or interior project, raise this during the same call to find out whether any prepaid consultations or design fees are recoverable.

Klarna Pay Later

At checkout, IKEA offers flexible payment options powered by Klarna. These include Pay in 3 (three equal monthly instalments), Pay in 30 Days, and longer financing plans. These are Klarna agreements, not IKEA agreements – if the deceased had an active Klarna arrangement from an IKEA purchase, you notify Klarna, not IKEA.

Klarna’s process for deceased customers is handled through an online webform at klarna.com/uk/inform-us. Select “A bereavement / deceased customer” and follow the form. You will need the death certificate and your own photo ID, along with the deceased’s account details.

Outstanding Klarna balances are an unsecured liability of the estate. Surviving family members are not personally responsible for paying them unless they were a co-borrower on the specific agreement – Klarna does not offer joint BNPL accounts. For a full explanation of how Klarna handles bereavement notifications, including documents needed and timelines, see the Klarna bereavement guide.

IKEA for Business accounts

IKEA for Business (also called the IKEA Business Network) allows sole traders, limited companies, and other organisations to buy from IKEA at volume with a dedicated account. If the deceased ran a small business and held an IKEA for Business account in their name, the account needs to be closed as part of winding up the business.

For sole traders, the business is not a separate legal entity – its assets and liabilities form part of the individual’s estate. An executor can contact IKEA customer service on 01733 520006 or through the IKEA for Business contact page to request account closure.

If there are outstanding invoices on the Business account, these should be settled by the estate in the normal course of administration, in the correct priority order alongside other unsecured debts.

For limited companies, the account will need to be addressed as part of the company’s own winding-up or transfer process, which is separate from the individual’s personal estate.

Things to watch out for

A few details about IKEA accounts that are worth knowing before you make contact.

The IKEA Family credit card and the IKEA Family membership are different things. The loyalty programme is closed through IKEA. The credit card is closed through Ikano Bank. You need to contact both separately. It is easy to assume one call to IKEA closes everything – it does not.

Ikano Bank may still have an outstanding balance even if IKEA shows the account as closed. If the deceased had an IKEA Family credit card and also an IKEA Family membership, closing the membership does not close the credit account. Always check both.

Points and vouchers are lost on account closure. There is no way to convert IKEA Family points or reward vouchers into cash for the estate. If valid vouchers exist and there are legitimate estate expenses at IKEA, using them before notifying the account may be appropriate – but document it carefully.

Gift card balances are not refundable. Unlike some retailers, IKEA does not have a process for converting gift card balances to cash as part of an estate. The balance can only be spent at IKEA.

Klarna balances are a separate debt. If you only notify IKEA, outstanding Klarna balances will not be addressed. Check whether the deceased made recent purchases using Pay in 3 or any other Klarna payment plan, and notify Klarna separately if so.

Check for recurring charges. IKEA does not typically have subscription products, but if the deceased held an active IKEA Home design service arrangement with prepaid fees, raise this when you call.

For a broader view of what credit activity the deceased had – including whether they held any accounts that have not surfaced in their paperwork – see the guide to checking credit reference agencies. And for context on what probate might mean for settling debts, see do I need probate?

If the deceased also shopped at B&Q for larger DIY projects, installations, or trade supplies, see the B&Q bereavement guide – B&Q and IKEA are entirely separate businesses and must be notified independently. If the deceased purchased a sofa or upholstered furniture from DFS or Sofology on a finance plan, see the DFS bereavement guide – DFS uses Novuna Consumer Finance and has its own bereavement process separate from IKEA. For Dunelm homewares accounts and any outstanding Creation Finance agreements, see the Dunelm bereavement guide.

Summary

IKEA does not have a dedicated bereavement service, but the process is manageable if you approach each product separately. The main points of contact are:

• IKEA (membership, orders, account): 01733 520006 – Mon–Sat 7am–8pm, Sun 7am–7pm
• Ikano Bank (IKEA Family credit card): Online form at ikano.co.uk/help-centre/register-bereavement – no dedicated bereavement phone line published
• Klarna (Pay Later balances): klarna.com/uk/inform-us – or 0808 189 3333

Start with any credit card or outstanding balance – these are time-sensitive. The loyalty membership and gift card situation can follow once the financial accounts are dealt with.