I’m not sure what to make of this exactly, but it doesn’t sound very promising.
In this post:
Emirates Skywards points transfer changes coming
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.
Historically, Emirates has partnered with all major transferable points currencies, so at least the points have been easy to come by. However, something strange is going on.
Recently, I covered 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. We assumed that was an isolated move, but there might be more going on here, as flagged by Doctor Of Credit.
Both Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards will soon be temporarily suspending transfers to Emirates.
Amex states that Emirates transfers will be suspended on May 28, with no date for those transfers being reinstated:
Beginning May 28th, the ability to transfer Membership Rewards points to Emirates Skywards Miles will be temporarily unavailable. Please visit Emirates.com for more information. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Chase states that Emirates transfers will be suspended between May 29 and “tentatively” June 30:
Transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points online or over the phone to Emirates Skywards will be unavailable between 12:00 AM ET 5/29/25 and tentatively 6/30/25. We apologize for the inconvenience.
What should we make of this Emirates development?
Something is obviously going on with Emirates when it comes to its points transfer strategy, but we just don’t know what, and all we can do is speculate.
As I explained when I covered the devaluation of the Citi ThankYou to Emirates Skywards transfer ratio, I have to imagine that comes down to Emirates demanding more money for points transfers, and Citi passing on that cost (at least partly) to card members.
However, Amex and Chase are taking a different approach here, and are providing notice of transfers being made unavailable. What’s interesting is that Amex gives no date for transfers being reinstated, while Chase suggests the outage will be for a month.
I have to imagine that it’s not a coincidence that this outage comes just shortly after Citi announced it would devalue these transfers. Is Emirates renegotiating its contracts with partners, and demanding more money, and Amex and Chase are introducing a temporary outage until they figure out what to do? Or is there a more “innocent” explanation, and Emirates is making updates to some back-end systems?
Emirates takes a different approach than many other airlines when it comes to loyalty, and we know that Emirates can be a tough partner when it comes to points redemptions. For example, while Emirates allows redemptions through Air Canada Aeroplan, the rates are way higher than with other programs.
So we’ll mark this as “developing” for now, but if you definitely want to earn some Emirates Skywards miles at a 1:1 ratio, I’d recommend making a transfer before these outages…
Bottom line
In late May 2025, Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards are suspending points transfers to Emirates Skywards. Amex gives no timeline for transfers being reinstated, while Chase suggests it’ll be around a month. Given that this news comes shortly after Citi ThankYou announced it would devalue its Emirates transfer ratio, one can’t help but wonder what’s going on…
What do you make of this strange Emirates Skywards situation?
Best Wishes for those seeking the “Game Changer” As I wind down my hobby, I've got Award First seats DXB HND DXB. Then home to IAD with a Shower for 2025 Birthday Trip.
Not all fun and games - flying to DXB in BA First ;-)
This will do it for me on EK. Also, I’ve seen the sun set from the 156 level of the Burj Kalifa.
I prefer Qatar and especially Etihad - love Abu Dhabi! But waiting for more museums to open before returning
Safe Travels
Enjoy! I did HND DXB IAH last July in the “Game changer”. (I was the only pax)…and then the 380 for 16 hours. I guess I understand why everyone still wants “free” but I’ve just never minded paying Emirates fees….or BAs for that matter….as I still think it’s incredible value for the experience!! Cheers!!
The Citi TY devaluation wasn't an across the board devaluation. Only for the Rewards+ and other card. For Citi Premiere/Strata cardholders, it's still a 1:1 transfer rate.
Wrong. The JetBlue and Choices devaluation was for R+ and DC cardholders. The Emirates devaluation was for Premiere/Strata.
Non-premier/Strata holders cannot transfer TY to EK, so devaluation isn’t possible.
I have 30k Emirates points leftover and they are useless, even to try to upgrade a coach fare from MIA to Colombia. Glad people realize the emperor has no clothes when you see what they offer in J vs F, and it becomes a much easier decision to walk away. The cash grab fees combined with the miles make redemptions useless. I’m getting more value using those points on united domestic. Emirates can suck a bag of ds.
I was in a similar situation as the result of a points refund for a first class upgrade that was originally booked separately, but was able to get Emirates to reprice at the through rate. I ended up using the points to book a hotel.
Insider here. Emirates is migrating their internal loyalty management system, which includes the system that processes points transfers. This requires a new buildout by partners, and until that buildout is done the transfers can't happen.
Interesting - any idea what system they're upgrading from/to?
MS-DOS to Windows 3.1
You're probably not off by much. I was going to suggest that they're finally moving on from Windows XP.
I don't really understand why Ben is so complimentary on Emirates' program. It is highly useless with their high award costs.
Agree, the high award + surcharge costs made it largely unusable, and the outdated business class product is of the worst J products among the major airlines out there (excluding TAAG, but that may change soon too).
Agreed, AC was a good deal back in 2021/2022, but their copays then became absurd. I've looked at EK business pricing and it's just... wild.
Meh…I have both Chase and Amex cards. There’s wayyy better redemption opportunities out there than transferring your points to Emirates. If you really want to fly Emirates, you can transfer your points over to Aeroplan and book that way. Will cost an arm and both your legs though.
JFK-MXP and EWR-ATH remain (remained?) solid redemption options due to the lack of surcharges