Emirates tightens First Class reward availability for Skywards members

Emirates Skywards Blue members will be locked out of booking the airline’s famed First Class with miles, with that privilege now reserved for Skywards Silver, Elite and Gold members from 12 May 2025. Initially highlighted by US blog LoyaltyLobby, Emirates gave less than 48 hours’ notice of the change.

There was initially speculation that Qantas Frequent Flyer members would be similarly limited. However, a spokesperson for Emirates confirmed to Point Hacks that access by partner airlines won’t be affected.

“Starting from 12 May, Classic Rewards for First Class will exclusively be available for [Skywards] Platinum, Gold, and Silver Tier members only. Members of airlines which partner with Emirates Skywards are not impacted by this change,” the spokesperson said.

Qantas Frequent Flyer retains access to Emirates First

Qantas Frequent Flyer members will continue to have access to First Class reward seats on Emirates.

At the time of writing, plenty of Classic Reward seats are available on Perth-Dubai throughout the year. You can also still book Emirates’ popular ‘fifth freedom’ flight between Sydney and Christchurch. In First Class, it costs 64,500 Qantas Points + fees and taxes, one-way.

However, the number of Qantas Points needed for Emirates flights will increase on 5 August 2025.

Skywards members can still upgrade with miles

The spokesperson for Emirates confirmed that Skywards Blue members will still be able to upgrade from Business Class to First using their miles. In other markets, such as the UAE, India and the US, Skywards members can also fast-track to Silver Tier membership status with several cobranded credit cards.

“Emirates Skywards Blue Tier members can still redeem Miles for upgrades prior to flight departure (from Business Class) and use Cash+Miles to save on First Class tickets,” the spokesperson confirmed.

Emirates says the change has been implemented to provide its premium members with ‘more rewards and greater access’ to the coveted First Class suites.

Will this change affect you?

In Australia, earning miles in Emirates Skywards is relatively challenging due to limited earning partners and an unfavourable 3:1 transfer rate from American Express Membership Rewards. As most travellers are far more likely to have Qantas Points anyway, it’s unlikely this change will make much difference.

Over in the US, it’s a different story with Skywards being a 1:1 transfer partner of many bank programs. But even after this change, it seems those US points chasers have another avenue to redeem Emirates First – by simply transferring their miles from participating programs to Qantas Frequent Flyer, instead.

Air Canada Aeroplan is also still showing availability. Aeroplan doesn’t pass on Emirates’ massive carrier charges for reward seats. However, the program imposes a much higher points cost to compensate for it. For the average points collector, Aeroplan’s inflated points price makes it an unviable avenue.

These changes leave Skywards members in a conundrum. A non-Skywards member who transfers points to Qantas now has greater access to premium reward seats than a Skywards Blue member diligently collecting miles with Emirates. Could it incentivise them to look outside of the Skywards ecosystem? Could Emirates look to tighten this ‘loophole’ in the future?

Also read:

• What’s cheaper: a date in Emirates First Class or a date in Sydney?
• Emirates explains carrier charges for its reward flights

This article was updated with comments from an Emirates spokesperson.