Emirates seems to think that this is a good time to make mostly negative changes to its loyalty program, which strikes me as a questionable decision, given what’s going on in the world…
Emirates Skywards updates award & upgrade costs
Several days ago, the Emirates Skywards mileage calculator was updated to reflect that there would be changes to award costs for bookings made as of Wednesday, May 20, 2026. Specifically, this impacts classic rewards and upgrade rewards, the two best ways to redeem Skywards miles.
Emirates Skywards generally has very high award costs in terms of the number of miles required, in addition to very high carrier imposed surcharges. This is only the latest in a string of negative changes to Emirates Skywards:
Now that these changes are live, just how bad are they? It seems that on average, awards have increased in price by somewhere around 15%, give or take. Just to give some first class examples (increases are roughly proportional in other cabins):
- A one-way Newark to Athens first class award used to cost 102,000 miles, and now costs 117,000 miles
- A one-way New York to Dubai first class award used to cost 163,500 miles, and now costs 188,000 miles
- A one-way Houston to Dubai to Johannesburg first class award used to cost 187,500 miles, and now costs 216,000 miles
Now, there is some good news as well, though. Emirates has different fare bundles, and historically, one-way business class awards have only been possible in the more expensive Flex Plus tier, but not in the cheaper Saver tier. Instead, you’ve had to book a roundtrip award in order to unlock Saver travel in business class.
With these changes, Emirates has brought back one-way Saver awards in business class, which is great news. For example, if you were to fly between New York and Milan, previously your only option was to redeem 87,000 miles for a one-way ticket, while now you can book a Saver award, at the cost of 59,000 miles.
So while I’m frustrated by the continued increase in award costs, these cheaper business class awards being opened up on one-ways is a pretty significant positive development.
So all-in-all, I’d still consider these changes to be negative, on balance, given the general price increase. But at least there’s a lot more of a silver lining than we’ve seen with many past Emirates devaluations.
Emirates just takes a different approach to “loyalty”
The lack of value offered by Emirates Skywards mileage redemptions, and how things have mostly gotten worse over time, drives me bonkers. The way I see it:
- Points currencies can be a great way to fill seats that would otherwise be empty
- Often those redeeming points for a flight end up becoming loyal customers who book revenue tickets in the long run, often in the cabin they redeemed for
- There’s the ability to further monetize members who are engaged in a loyalty program, like getting them to apply for a co-branded credit card
The SVP of Emirates Skywards is a smart guy, even if I very much disagree with the approach he takes. He hasn’t really been secretive about the lack of value the program offers with redemptions. Emirates doesn’t take the same approach to loyalty programs as in the United States, where airlines essentially operate as loss leaders for their loyalty programs.
Instead, Skywards is viewed as being more part of the commercial organization, both in terms of how it’s monetized, and in terms of how it’s intended to encourage loyalty:
- Emirates just doesn’t want to provide big discounts on empty seats by releasing award space, and the idea is almost that redeeming miles gets the airline similar revenue to a cash booking (between the money that Emirates gets when you transfer points to the program, plus all the surcharges)
- The point of Skywards is to offer better “soft” treatment for those who like flying with the beloved brand, rather than actually to “give away” too much
So yeah, personally I’m not at all a fan of the approach. But I also think Skywards leadership is acting intentionally, and it’s not that they think they’re offering great value, and would be shocked to learn that others don’t feel that way (unlike at many other airlines, where that is the case).
Emirates is probably the world’s most revered and known airline brand, and I think that’s largely what the airline leans into heavily. I mean, Emirates has been incredibly profitable, even beating Delta for the past two years (though obviously this year will be different). It remains to be seen if the airline can continue with that approach in the long run.
Bottom line
Emirates Skywards has adjusted award and upgrade costs as of May 20, 2026. In this case, it looks like many award costs have gone up by an average of around 15%. The good news is that Emirates has made Saver awards available for one-way travel in business class, while they were previously restricted to roundtrips.
This latest change follows endless devaluations over the years, in terms of the number of miles required, the carrier surcharges, and the restrictions on certain redemptions. Emirates’ redemption rates are highly uncompetitive nowadays, but that almost seems to be by design. Emirates just takes a different approach to loyalty, and I don’t like it. But, you know, it is what it is…
What do you make of these latest Emirates Skywards changes?
