New devaluation in sight for Skywards points: partner award tickets affected this time
Over the past 18 months we have seen a series of devaluations of Skywards points, the currency of the program [...]
Emirates
Over the past 18 months we have seen a series of write-downs of Skywards points, the currency of Emirates' loyalty program. In that order, the cost of award tickets for flights via Dubai have increased, then those Fifth Freedom as the Milan/New York, Taxes and surcharges have increased and gone are the collaborations with Alaska Airlines and JetBlue. A real carnage.
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In all these write-downs the only tickets that had not been affected to date were tickets booked through the company's partners Dubai. As is well known Emirates does not participate in any alliance, but it has a number of commercial parntnerships with different carriers: the most historic is with Qantas, the newest is the one with United.
Which companies are Skywards partners
Through these partnerships, travelers can in some cases earn miles and especially redeem Emirates Skywards miles on the following airlines:
Air Canada
Air Mauritius
Bangkok Airways
Copa Airlines
GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes
Japan Airlines
Jetstar
Korean Air
Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
South African Airways
TAP Portugal
United Airlines
To this list must then be added flyDubai, a low-cost carrier owned by Emirates that allows its passengers to fly to Europe and the Southeast.
From Jan. 10, award tickets increase
Before going into detail you have to say BRAVA to Emirates for the notice, of more than 3 months, which is given to all Skywards members, thus as recently done by Cathay, EK also behaves more than correctly and unlike carriers that devalue points night time and covertly, the company informs everyone and allows for unhurried planning of possible actions.
The fateful date is January 10, 2024, starting from that day the fees for booking business class award tickets will be adjusted (probably upward). The information is still not very detailed, but the statements only mention business class tickets not the others.
Note that with the exception of Qantas, which also has in its ticket inventory the first, all other companies make only economy and business tickets available.
Obviously these changes will take effect next year, but all tickets issued by January 9 will be valid and will not be subject to any evaluation or adjustment to the new fares, unless you change your ticket after the date of the table change.
In conclusion
Unfortunately, point costs are bound to increase like everything else, we can only adjust our collections. This umpteenth devaluation however, teaches that points should not be considered as money to be kept in the bank, they are accumulated to be used.
