AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Emirates is one of the world's most renowned airlines, known for connecting global hubs and delivering a premium onboard experience. For award travelers, the Emirates Skywards program is especially appealing — particularly when it comes to booking Emirates first class.
But if you’re saving up Skywards miles for a big redemption, there’s one important caveat: Emirates miles expire on a fixed date — and unlike many other programs, you can’t reset the clock just by earning or redeeming miles.
Here’s what you need to know about how Emirates Skywards miles expire — and how to avoid losing them
Do Emirates Miles Expire?
Emirates miles expire based on a fixed lifespan. According to the Emirates Skywards terms and conditions page, miles are valid for three years from the date of travel:
Your Skywards Miles are valid for three years from the date of travel. Within the calendar year that Skywards Miles are due to expire, they will be removed from your account at the end of the month in which you were born.
Unlike most other airline awards programs, you can't keep your miles alive by earning or redeeming miles.
Track your points and miles expiration for 630+ loyalty programs and get email alerts before your miles expire by signing up for a free AwardWallet account.
Exemptions to Emirates mileage expiration
Fortunately, your Emirates miles won't expire if you hold:
- A co-branded Emirates Skywards credit card
- Emirates Skywards Platinum Tier elite status
U.S. travelers have two Emirates Skywards credit card options. If you don't already have one, the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard® current sign-up bonus is: Earn 40,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Related: Best Uses of Emirates Skywards Miles
How Emirates handles its “birthday month” quirk
Emirates operates a complex system to determine the exact date your miles expire. Specifically, Emirates miles expire in the third year after you earn them and they're removed from your account at the end of your birthday month. Not a particularly nice birthday present for Emirates to give its travelers!
So, if you took a flight in January 2022 and your birthday is in February, your miles will be removed from your account at the end of February 2025.
But, you might wonder what happens if your birthday is before your flight month. We reached out to Emirates and they confirmed your miles will expire at the end of your birthday month once three years have elapsed from your flight. This means Emirates miles expire between three and four years from when you earn them.
So, if your birthday is in January and you took a flight in February 2022, your Emirates miles expire at the end of January 2026. That gives you almost four years to use those miles.
This leads to a unique quirk in the Emirates program. Say two people took the same flight in January 2023. One traveler was born in February and the other in December. Their miles would expire at the end of February 2026 and December 2026, respectively. That's a significant difference for miles earned on the same flight!
Related: How To Upgrade to Emirates First Class With Miles
Use AwardWallet to Track Emirates Skywards Expiration
AwardWallet can help save you the hassle of calculating tracking when your Emirates miles expire. Link your accounts and AwardWallet will automatically check and track your expiration for Skywards — and most other airline, hotel, and other loyalty programs.
To add your Emirates Skywards account, log into your AwardWallet account and then click this link to link your Emirates Skywards account.
Related: How to Track Your Rewards Using AwardWallet
How to Reinstate Expired Emirates Miles
If your Emirates miles expired, you may be able to reinstate them. However, it is expensive.
You can reinstate miles that have expired in the last six months in blocks of 1,000. The cost for doing so is $20 per 1,000 miles. And you can only reinstate up to 50,000 Emirates miles per calendar year.
Once reinstated, your Emirates miles will have a shorter lifespan. Reinstated miles are valid for 12 months from the date of reinstatement. So, make sure that you have a plan to use your miles before paying dearly to reinstate them.
Finally, you can pay the reinstatement fee in advance if you have miles that will expire within the next three months. Doing so will extend their validity for 12 months from their expiration date.
How to Boost Your Emirates Skywards Balance
You are spoiled for choice if you need to boost your Emirates Skywards balance for your next award redemption. You can buy Emirates miles, but Emirates is also a partner with all six major transferable reward currencies:
With so many different transfer partners, it is easy to earn enough Emirates Skywards for your next award redemption.
Bottom Line
Emirates miles expire based on a fixed timeline, not your activity. Unless you have a co-branded Emirates card or Platinum status, your miles will expire at the end of your birth month, three years after you earn them.
The good news? AwardWallet can track your expiration dates, and you can top off your Skywards balance easily with most major transferable points. Just make sure you have a plan to use your miles before making a transfer.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
I have an Emirates Mastercard and one of the perks is that miles do not expire as long as you have the card.
Great point! I added a quick blurb about that to the post now, and we will elaborate in an update soon.
Great article – thanks! My account currently doesn’t have any miles in it, but I have quite a few Ultimate Rewards to transfer in. The date is currently Oct 2 – what would happen if I changed my birthday to Sept 30 and then transferred new points in today? That would give me 3 years and six months before expiration, right? I can’t imagine they would ever confirm a birthdate. Birth date is not asked for in the passport section of my profile. Thoughts?
Expiration miles after three years and redemption awards quite expensive.
This is the reason why I have never enrolled in the Emirates Skywards programme.
Buena info, prefiero un programa donde las pueda reintegrar mas facilmente.
I don’t understand why programmes have hard expiries in this day and age, it’s infuriating and disengaging. SQ KrisFlyer I tolerate, but EK Skywards and LH Miles and More are two I’d like to be more involved with but just don’t because of that hard expiry.
Definitely I would choose first a program where miles do not expire
Thanks, this was helpful to understand what to expect
Weird rules, glad that the programs I participate in are different.
particularmente prefiero en estas epocas las millas que no caducan, o las que se pueden renovar,
es mas seguro a la hora de acumular con los programas
3 year max expiration limit on miles is a complete deal breaker….they should be moving to a program where miles don’t expire like so many other carriers today (DL, WN, UN, etc.). Really limits the attractiveness of the program when you can’t extend the expiration date with some activity of some sort.
Let’s hope the other carriers represent the trend. I certainly hope it’s akin to the breakaway group in the Tour de France, where the pack slowly reels them in.
The complexity of expiration rules from some award programs is really unappealing. I definitely have a preference for the award programs that keep it simple with no award point expiration.
If there is a way to prevent miles from expiring after 3 years? No credit card?
I don’t believe so. If anyone knows an option we missed, please let us know in the comments.