Odd: Amex & Chase Suspend Emirates Skywards Points Transfers

I’m not sure what to make of this exactly, but it doesn’t sound very promising.

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…?

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?