You don’t have to spend much time in the world of points and miles to learn that award prices go in one direction: up. Each year, the devaluation drumbeat beats regularly across both hotel and airline programs. We expect it.
So, when Emirates Skywards made unannounced changes to its partner award chart earlier this week, we naturally assumed the worst. Turns out, Emirates didn’t devalue partner awards. It sort of, uh, revalued them?
Most of Emirates Skywards’ partners have been moved to a single, new award chart. And, outside of a couple of exceptions, it’s a better value for your Skywards points than most of the same awards were last week, especially for shorter flights. (h/t: Award Wallet)
Emirates Skywards partner award charts
Emirates has always treated its various partnerships differently, and that’s the case with its new group of award charts. There are three general groupings: partners whose rates are governed by a new, broadly improved award chart; partners whose award prices remain unchanged; and Qantas.
Broadly improved Emirates partner awards
The new, primarily cheaper Skywards award chart applies to the following partners:
- Aegean Air
- Air Mauritius
- Azul
- Bangkok Airways
- Condor
- COPA
- Garuda Indonesia
- GOL
- Korean Air
- Malaysia Airlines
- Olympic Air
- South African Airways
- TAP Portugal
Pricing is as follows:
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Premium | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-300 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 7,500 |
| 301-500 | 4,500 | 9,000 | 11,500 |
| 501-700 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| 701-900 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 20,000 |
| 901-1,500 | 11,000 | 22,000 | 27,500 |
| 1,501-2,000 | 17,000 | 34,000 | 42,500 |
| 2,001-3,000 | 22,500 | 45,000 | 56,500 |
| 3,001-4,000 | 27,000 | 54,000 | 67,500 |
| 4,001-5,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 |
| 5,001+ | 37,500 | 75,000 | 94,000 |
The biggest winners on this new chart are short-distance flights, both in business class and economy. Economy flights under 900 miles have been reduced in price by as much as 50%, while business class flights under 1,500 miles are reduced by 40%-70%.
A few awards have gone up in price. Economy flights between 2,000 and 4,000 are up slightly for most included partners (by less than 5%). Condor economy flights, which used to be governed by a separate chart, took the worst hit, with prices in the same distance band increasing by ~33%.
However, that’s pretty much all of the bad news. By and large, all other awards have decreased in price to some degree.
Unchanged Emirates partner awards
There are a handful of Skywards partners that are still governed by the old partner award chart, including:
- Air Canada
- Japan Airlines
- Jetstar
- United Airlines
Pricing is as follows:
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Business |
|---|---|---|
| 0–250 | 8,000 | 17,500 |
| 251–500 | 8,000 | 25,000 |
| 501–1,000 | 12,000 | 35,000 |
| 1,001–2,000 | 18,000 | 50,000 |
| 2,001–3,000 | 22,000 | 65,000 |
| 3,001–4,000 | 26,000 | 77,500 |
| 4,001–5,000 | 32,000 | 92,500 |
| 5,001–6,000 | 38,000 | 105,000 |
| 6,001–7,000 | 44,000 | 125,000 |
| 7,001–15,000 | 54,000 | 145,000 |
Emirates partner awards with Qantas
Qantas has a special relationship with Emirates and, as a result, its own partner award chart. It’s been updated with the following pricing:
| Distance (miles) | Economy | Premium | Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-600 | 9,500 | 14,500 | 19,500 |
| 601-1,200 | 14,000 | 22,000 | 29,000 |
| 1,201-2,400 | 21,000 | 33,000 | 44,000 |
| 2,401-3,600 | 23,500 | 51,000 | 68,500 |
| 3,601-4,800 | 29,000 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
| 4,801-5,800 | 36,500 | 74,000 | 98,500 |
| 5,801-7,000 | 43,500 | 85,500 | 114,000 |
| 7,001-8,400 | 48,500 | 98,000 | 130,500 |
| 8,401-9,600 | 59,000 | 114,000 | 152,000 |
| 9,601+ | 63,500 | 125,000 | 166,500 |
Like the “unified” partner chart, most shorter flights are much cheaper, by up to ~60% for some flights between 601-1,200 miles, and ~50% for premium economy and business awards in between 1,201 and 2,400 miles. The only increase that I can find is in flights under 500 miles, where economy prices are up by ~20%
Quick Thoughts
In some ways, this is much ado about little, as Emirates’ partner award prices were high to begin with. Now, they’re not necessarily bargains, but rather closer to being competitive. It still pays to shop around, especially as Emirates’ transfer ratios from the major American bank programs have worsened over the last year.
Still, it’s not often that we see award chart changes that are positive, so it’s worth giving Skywards a modest pat on the back.
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