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In 2025, Emirates dominated the news cycle by devaluing transfer ratios with American Express, Citi, and Capital One, while also ending its partnership with Chase Ultimate Rewards. Since then, Emirates appears to be on a path to make amends with frequent flyers. A month ago, Emirates updated several of its partner award charts, decreasing awards by up to 76%.
Surprisingly, Emirates just updated its Qantas award chart again, discounting select awards by an additional 15%. However, in true Emirates fashion, other awards are up as much as 79%. It's not often that an airline updates its award chart for a partner twice in one month, so let's dig into these changes.
Emirates Overhauls Qantas Award Chart
Emirates has just released a new award chart for Qantas. Not only did it update award pricing, but it also changed the distance bands. Interestingly, Emirates also removed the callout that “Premium Economy will soon be available for this partner,” and removed premium economy awards from the award chart entirely. It added first class awards, which were not there previously.
Here's the newest Qantas award chart using Emirates Skywards miles:
| One-way distance (in miles) | Economy Class | Business Class | First Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-250 | 8,000 | 17,500 | 27,500 |
| 251‑500 | 8,000 | 25,000 | 35,000 |
| 501‑1,000 | 12,000 | 35,000 | 50,000 |
| 1,001‑2,000 | 18,000 | 50,000 | 72,500 |
| 2,001‑3,000 | 22,000 | 65,000 | 95,000 |
| 3,001‑4,000 | 26,000 | 77,500 | 115,000 |
| 4,001‑5,000 | 32,000 | 92,500 | 135,000 |
| 5,001‑6,000 | 38,000 | 105,000 | 160,000 |
| 6,001‑7,000 | 44,000 | 125,000 | 190,000 |
| 7,001‑15,000 | 54,000 | 145,000 | 220,000 |
Economy award changes
Whenever an airline changes distance bands in an award chart, it makes the changes hard to decipher. When the distance bands aren't equal, you can't immediately see the changes to determine how they will impact you. In short, select economy flights will increase by up to 29%, while other flights will decrease by up to 15%.
Here's how the math shakes down for economy Qantas awards booked through Emirates:
| Distance in miles | Prior Rate | New Rate | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-500 | 9,500 | 8,000 | 15% decrease |
| 501-600 | 9,500 | 12,000 | 26% increase |
| 601-1,000 | 14,000 | 12,000 | 14% decrease |
| 1,001-1,200 | 14,000 | 18,000 | 29% increase |
| 1,201-2,000 | 21,000 | 18,000 | 14% decrease |
| 2,001-2,400 | 21,000 | 22,000 | 5% increase |
| 2,401-3,000 | 23,500 | 22,000 | 6% decrease |
| 3,001-3,600 | 23,500 | 26,000 | 11% increase |
| 3,601-4,000 | 29,000 | 26,000 | 10% decrease |
| 4,001-4,800 | 29,000 | 32,000 | 10% increase |
| 4,801-5,000 | 36,500 | 32,000 | 12% decrease |
| 5,001-5,800 | 36,500 | 38,000 | 4% increase |
| 5,801-6,000 | 43,500 | 38,000 | 13% decrease |
| 6,001-7,000 | 43,500 | 44,000 | 1% increase |
| 7,001-8,400 | 48,500 | 54,000 | 11% increase |
| 8,401-9,600 | 59,000 | 54,000 | 8% decrease |
| 9,600+ | 63,500 | 54,000 | 15% decrease |
One of the hardest-hit distance bands is also one of the smallest: flights of 1,001 to 1,200 miles will increase by up to 29%. That'll only affect a handful of Qantas flights, like Adelaide (ADL) to Brisbane (BNE) and Sydney (SYD) to Norfolk Island (NLK).
If you're based in the U.S. and want to go to Australia, you'll notice both positive and negative changes as a result of this update. The shortest Qantas flight between the continental U.S. and Australia is 7,163 miles, which is now 11% more expensive. However, the 8,800-mile flight between New York City (JFK) and Auckland (AKL) is getting an 8% decrease.
Business class award changes
Business awards have the most substantial changes. Although the last award chart update showed impressively steep discounts on business class awards, Emirates is now overcorrecting. Fortunately, these flights are still less expensive than they once were:
| Distance in miles | Prior Rate | New Rate | Percent Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-250 | 19,500 | 17,500 | 10% decrease |
| 251-500 | 19,500 | 25,000 | 28% increase |
| 501-600 | 19,500 | 35,000 | 79% increase |
| 601-1,000 | 29,000 | 35,000 | 21% increase |
| 1,001-1,200 | 29,000 | 50,000 | 72% increase |
| 1,201-2,000 | 44,000 | 50,000 | 14% increase |
| 2,001-2,400 | 44,000 | 65,000 | 48% increase |
| 2,401-3,000 | 68,500 | 65,000 | 5% decrease |
| 3,001-3,600 | 68,500 | 77,500 | 13% increase |
| 3,601-4,000 | 82,500 | 77,500 | 6% decrease |
| 4,001-4,800 | 82,500 | 92,500 | 12% increase |
| 4,801-5,000 | 98,500 | 92,500 | 6% decrease |
| 5,001-5,800 | 98,500 | 105,000 | 7% increase |
| 5,801-6,000 | 114,000 | 105,000 | 8% increase |
| 6,001-7,000 | 114,000 | 125,000 | 10% increase |
| 7,001-8,400 | 130,500 | 145,000 | 11% increase |
| 8,401-9,600 | 152,000 | 145,000 | 5% decrease |
| 9,600+ | 166,500 | 145,000 | 13% decrease |
Considering that, in the last update, a business class seat on routes between 1,000 and 1,200 miles dropped from 72,500 miles to 29,000 miles, it's disappointing to see that number jump back up to 50,000 miles. Similarly, routes between 2,000 and 2,400 miles were originally 95,000, dropped to 44,000, and are now back up to 65,000. These awards might not be as bad as they once were, but they are still much worse than they've been this past month.
Related: Qantas Announces Devaluation and Restrictions on Emirates Award Bookings
Bottom Line
Emirates released a new award chart for Qantas-operated flights, and the changes are a mixed bag. Short-haul economy awards now cost just 8,000 Emirates Skywards miles, which is a great deal. However, select distance bands are now substantially more expensive — especially for business class redemptions. Hopefully, this is the last award chart shake-up for a while, so passengers can get used to the changes.
Before booking your Qantas flight through Emirates, be sure to compare pricing with other airline partners and factor in the subpar transfer ratios if you don't already have Skywards miles sitting in your account.
