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There are countless ways to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards, but if you prefer transferring them to Emirates Skywards, listen up. Starting in late May 2025, transfers from both programs to Emirates will be paused for at least a month. But will transfers return to normal after that — if they even return at all?
Here’s what you need to know.
Chase and Amex to Pause Transfers to Emirates Skywards
If you woke up this morning and checked your Amex or Chase accounts, you might have noticed some interesting language on the Emirates Skywards transfer partner pages: points transfers will soon be “temporarily unavailable.” This development was first flagged by Doctor of Credit.
Transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to Emirates Skywards will be temporarily unavailable starting May 28, 2025.
Transfers from Chase Ultimate Rewards to Emirates Skywards will be unavailable starting in the early morning hours of May 29, and they'll remain unavailable through a tentative date of June 30, 2025.
Will Chase and Amex Transfers to Emirates Return After the Pause?
It’s extremely uncommon for credit card rewards programs to suspend transfers for a month or longer, so it’s reasonable to wonder whether this development could spell the end of points transfers from Amex and Chase to Emirates. Long story short: it could — or it might not.
However, we do have some context for what the future might look like. Just last week, the Citi ThankYou® Rewards program announced a devaluation of its transfer ratio to Emirates Skywards. Starting July 27, 2025, the 1:1 transfer ratio will drop by 20% and be replaced with a 5:4 ratio.
It’s possible that a similar change could happen with Chase and Amex — but it’s also possible that transfers never come back at all. Don’t hang your hat on a tentative resumption date.
Final Thoughts
Starting in late May, Chase and American Express will pause transfers to Emirates Skywards. Based on the information available from both issuers, transfers should resume at some point, but whether they return to normal remains unclear. It’s possible both issuers could follow Citi’s lead and devalue their transfer ratios, but for now, that’s just speculation.
Ultimately, if you prefer to redeem your Chase or Amex points by transferring them to Emirates, then it’s worth taking advantage of the current 1:1 transfer ratios while they’re still on the table. If these aren’t redemptions you regularly make, this news likely won’t affect you much, but it’s concerning nonetheless.
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