In the space of just the last year or two, Emirates' Skywards miles have gone from indispensable to … honestly, completely forgettable. The U.A.E-based airline has repeatedly raised award rates, jacked up cash surcharges, cut transfer ratios from all the big banks (and dropped Chase altogether), and more or less made flying Emirates First Class using miles off-limits.
Last week, it seemed like another gut punch was on the way as the airline warned that it would be adjusting award rates effective May 20 – without spelling out what those changes would be. That day has come Wednesday, and there's good and bad news.
Let's focus on the good news first, shall we? Against all odds, Emirates actually made many business class redemptions cheaper!
For years, you'd need to book a roundtrip award ticket to get the lowest rates. So while a roundtrip flying Emirates' funky fifth-freedom route from New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP) could be yours for as low as 108,000 miles, a one-way on that same route would cost you at least 87,000 miles. The same pattern held true flying all the way to Dubai.
While you'll still get a slightly better deal booking roundtrip, one-way award rates have dropped significantly:
- New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP): 59,000 miles – down from 87,000 miles, a 32% decrease
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH): 59,000 miles – down from 87,000 miles, a 32% decrease
- Miami (MIA) to Bogota (BOG): 36,000 miles – down from 53,000 miles, another 32% drop
- New York City (JFK) to Dubai (DXB): 96,000 miles – down from 138,000, a 30% decrease
Unfortunately, that means that roundtrip rates have inched up – what Emirates is actually doing here is allowing members to book those cheapest “saver” awards as one-ways. And you may still see plenty of those pricier 87,000 one-way flights to Europe. Everything is logged and updated in Emirates' handy Miles Calculator.
Of course, these awards all still get hit with some nasty cash surcharges of $200 to $400 (or more) each way – and closer to $900 for a trip to Dubai or back. In many cases, you'd be much better off booking through Japan Airlines' Mileage Bank for a similar amount of miles (if not significantly less on a roundtrip booking) and a fraction of the taxes and fees.
But since Emirates blocks anyone without status from booking first class awards, initially booking through Emirates is more or less essential for making your way into Emirates' vaunted first class cabin. That's the key to upgrading with miles into first class – partner award tickets booked through the likes of JAL, Qantas, or Air Canada Aeroplan are not eligible for upgrades, period.
So if you want any hope of showering at 38,000 feet and eating bottomless caviar, you'll want to book using Emirates Skywards. And that's where the bad news comes in: Emirates has increased first class upgrade rates.
Fortunately, many of these increases are relatively mild. For example, bumping up to first class on a one-way flight to or from Athens or Milan now costs 56,000 miles – up from 51,000 miles. One exception? Upgrades on the route between Miami (MIA) and Bogota (BOG) remain untouched … for now.
Again, these rates are all spelled out in Emirates' Miles Calculator. Those upcharges come down if you don't book the cheapest saver fares – with miles or with cash.
And while Emirates' award rates to book first class from the outset went up, too, that's a moot point – only those with status are eligible to book those awards.
Bottom Line
Color me surprised.
While there's bad news here, I'd consider it a win overall – a rarity in the world of award travel, when “changes to our award chart” are almost always synonymous with “pain.” The flexibility of cheaper one-way business class awards, combined with relatively modest (or unchanged) upgrade rates, could make it easier and cheaper to get into Emirates first class.
Now if Emirates would just do something about those awful surcharges …
