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Update: The changes below have taken effect. Here is our analysis of the new redemption rates.
Emirates has repeatedly devalued its Skywards mileage program, increasing award rates on Emirates flights and ending partnerships with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue. As if that wasn't enough, Emirates is now planning to “adjust” award rates for mileage awards for all of its remaining partners, effective January 10, 2024.
This advance notice gives travelers the chance to still make bookings at current rates. Here's what you need to know about this latest Emirates devaluation and what to book before January 10, 2024.
What We Know So Far About Emirates’ Devaluation
On January 10, 2024, Emirates plans to “adjust” the business-class award price for reward bookings on its partners. Emirates posted the following notice to its website:
Notice: The Skywards Miles required to book reward flights on partner flights will be adjusted from January 10, 2024. This applies to Business Class flights only. The pricing change will not apply to the Miles you’ll earn on your flight. If you’ve already booked flights using Miles before the price adjustment but with travel after January 10, 2024, the older pricing will apply to any changes to your booking as long as you don’t change the itinerary or reward type.
As you can see, Emirates isn't providing the extent of this “price adjustment” other than saying it's for business class flights only and is taking effect on January 10, 2024. While the adjustment may be positive, the fact that Emirates is giving notice means it's likely a devaluation.
The good news is Emirates confirms that there are no changes to mileage earning rates or redemption rates in economy class (or premium economy and first class where available). Also, the notice clarifies that you can book partner awards at current award rates for flights beyond January 10, 2024. You'll only have to pay the new rate if you “change the itinerary or reward type.”
Emirates Airline Partners
Emirates isn't a member of any formal airline alliance. Instead, it strategically partners with airlines all around the world. Through these partnerships, travelers can redeem Emirates Skywards miles on the following airlines:
- United Airlines
- Air Canada
- Air Mauritius
- Bangkok Airways
- Copa Airlines
- GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes [economy and premium economy]
- Japan Airlines
- Jetstar
- Korean Air
- Malaysia Airlines
- Qantas [economy, business class, and first class]
- South African Airways
- TAP Portugal
- flyDubai
Unless otherwise noted above, Emirates airline partner award redemptions are only available in economy and business class.
Emirates Airline Partner Award Charts
Emirates' airline partner award chart is distance-based and is the same for every partner. The only difference between airlines is which cabins are available. The only partner airline for which Skywards members can book first-class awards is Qantas.
| One-way distance (miles) | Economy class | Business class | First class (Qantas only) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–250 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 24,000 |
| 251–500 | 10,000 | 20,000 | 30,000 |
| 501–1,000 | 14,000 | 28,000 | 42,000 |
| 1,001–2,000 | 20,000 | 40,000 | 60,000 |
| 2,001–3,000 | 26,000 | 52,000 | 78,000 |
| 3,001–4,000 | 32,000 | 64,000 | 96,000 |
| 4,001–5,000 | 38,000 | 76,000 | 114,000 |
| 5,001–6,000 | 44,000 | 88,000 | 132,000 |
| 6,001–7,000 | 52,000 | 104,000 | 150,000 |
| 7,001–15,000 | 60,000 | 120,000 | 180,000 |
As stated in Emirates' notice, only business class award rates will be “adjusted” effective January 10, 2024. That rules out larger changes to the Emirates award chart — such as switching to a region-based award chart. Instead, it's likely we will simply see an increase in business class award rates.
Best Emirates Partner Business Class Award Bookings
If you want to take advantage of the current business class award pricing, here are some of the best uses of Emirates Skywards miles for partner bookings in business class to/from North America:
- Newark/Washington, D.C. to London (or dozens of other European destinations) on United: 64,000 Skywards miles
- Boston/New York/Newark/Washington, D.C. to Lisbon on TAP Portugal: 64,000 Skywards miles
- Seattle/Vancouver to Tokyo on Japan Airlines: 76,000 miles
- Seattle/Los Angeles/San Francisco/Vancouver to Seoul on Korean Airlines: 88,000 Skywards miles
Plus, here are business-class some sweet spots that don't touch North America:
- Hong Kong to Mauritius on Air Mauritius: 76,000 Skywards miles
- Kuala Lumpur to Sydney on Malaysia Airlines: 76,000 Skywards miles
- Singapore to Sydney on Qantas: 64,000 Skywards miles
How To Get Emirates Skywards Miles
One reason that this pending Emirates devaluation matters to U.S.-based travelers is the ease travelers have in accumulating Emirates Skywards miles. Emirates partners with most transferrable point programs — plus several other loyalty programs. Here's a partial list of which loyalty program points transfer to Emirates:
Emirates also periodically offers a bonus for buying Emirates miles. However, the purchase price rarely justifies buying miles — even when Emirates is offering a bonus.
If you're planning to make significant Emirates Skywards redemptions, consider getting an Emirates Skywards+ subscription plan to reduce the price of award bookings, get lounge passes, and extra checked baggage allowance.
Bottom Line
Emirates has devalued its Skywards program in several ways over the past couple of years. Now, Emirates plans to “adjust” business class award rates on its airline partners. Considering Emirates is providing notice of these changes, it's unlikely to be a positive “adjustment” — at least from the perspective of award travelers.
The only silver lining is that Emirates provided advanced notice of these changes. That means travelers can still book partner airline awards at current Emirates Skymiles redemption rates.
How bad do you think the Emirates partner airline business class award devaluation is going to be?
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