Amex, Bilt, And Chase, Suspend Emirates Skywards Points Transfers

I first wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, but want to provide an update, for anyone who wants to make a points transfer before this restriction is put in place.

Emirates Skywards points transfers being paused

Emirates Skywards is a useful frequent flyer program, specifically for premium cabin redemptions on Emirates. If you want to redeem for Emirates first or business class, Skywards is generally the best option, despite the relatively high award costs and carrier imposed surcharges (keep in mind you now need Skywards elite status to redeem for first class, but that’s easy enough to earn).

With that in mind, if you have any redemptions coming up soon, you’ll want to make your transfer ASAP. Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards, are all suspending Emirates Skywards points transfers for a limited time:

• Amex states that this applies as of May 28, 2025, with no published end date
• Bilt states that this applies between May 27 and June 19, 2025
• Chase states that this applies between May 29 and June 30, 2025

Capital One and Citi have not announced plans to suspend transfers, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that happening as well, given the reason for this change, and that Emirates partners with all major transferable points currencies.

Why are Emirates transfers being suspended?

So, why are all these programs suspending points transfers to Emirates Skywards? It’s my understanding that Emirates is migrating its internal loyalty management system, and that includes the system that processes points transfers. This reportedly requires a new buildout by partners, and that’ll take some time.

I think that’s the extent of the logic for this, and there aren’t nefarious things going on in the background. The reason this announcement was a little suspicious at first is because we also recently learned how Citi ThankYou is devaluing its Emirates Skywards points transfer ratio. Historically, points have transfered at a 1:1 ratio, while as of July 27, 2025, transfers will be at a 5:4 ratio.

So when you first hear of one transfer ratio being devalued and then learn about transfers to other programs being suspended, it’s not illogical to get suspicious. However, these two things are unrelated, based on my understanding.

Bottom line

Shortly we’ll see Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards, all suspend points transfers to Emirates Skywards. This is due to some tech upgrades for Emirates, for the system that manages the functionality that allows points transfers. So if you want to make any points transfers, now is the time to do so.