Emirates follows Singapore Airlines in cutting its American Express transfer rate
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American Express has announced that the transfer rate from Membership Rewards points to the Emirates Skywards programme will change from 19th August.
It will drop from the current 1:1 to 4:3.
In itself, this is not a major disaster. What is more worrying is the trend.
Three years ago, Singapore Airlines cut the transfer rate from Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer from 1:1 to 3:2.
This broke the unwritten rule that American Express in the UK would only offer 1:1 transfers into its airline partners.
Emirates has now decided to play the same game and move to 4:3.
Whilst it won’t impact most HfP readers, Emirates is also stripping Gold status from holders of The Centurion Card from American Express. Virgin Atlantic Gold status is the only major airline status still available if you have The Centurion Card – you can see The Centurion Card benefits in this HfP article.
Which airline partners are left at 1:1?
As a reminder, here are the current American Express Membership Rewards airline partners in the UK.
1 Membership Rewards point gets you:
- 1 Avios (into BA, Iberia, Finnair or Qatar Airways, all oneworld)
- 1 Asia Mile (oneworld)
- 1 Delta mile (SkyTeam)
- 1 Etihad mile (no alliance)
- 0.75 Emirates miles (no alliance)
- 1 Flying Blue mile (SkyTeam)
- 1 Qantas Point (oneworld)
- 1 SAS mile (Star Alliance, soon to be SkyTeam)
- 0.67 Singapore Airlines miles (Star Alliance)
- 1 Virgin Point (SkyTeam)
Clearly, American Express will not pay the same price per mile to all of these airlines. However, the desire by Amex to present an easy to understand reward chart and the desire by the airlines to be on par with the competition meant that 1:1 had survived for MANY years until Singapore Airlines broke ranks.
1:1 is not normal if you look at Amex globally. If you look at the reward chart of the International Dollar Card, it is a mix of 3:2 and 1:1. 3:2 makes sense with the International Dollar Card because 1 point per $1 is easier to earn than 1 point per £1.
Why is Emirates doing this?
There was no logical reason for Singapore Airlines to make a change back in 2021 – nothing has happened in the last three years to explain it – so I am wary of making excuses for Emirates.
However, it does seem that Emirates is planning a new co-brand credit card in the UK. Cutting the transfer rate from American Express is one way of making a new Emirates card look attractive, or even just competitive.
This is more than we can say for Emirates Skywards itself, of course. Taxes and charges have been increased to extreme levels since the pandemic, at the same time that availability has been squeezed (and that’s being polite).
The days when you could pretty much guarantee to be able to get four Business Class seats between London and Dubai whenever you wanted them – and with low charges to boot – are long gone.
Will other airlines break ranks?
Potentially. For some it makes no sense – although I would have said that about Singapore Airlines, and it still devalued.
However, British Airways could make its own American Express and Barclaycard cards more attractive by moving to a 3:2 rate from Membership Rewards. The same could be said for Virgin Atlantic.
At present, it makes more sense to get the Amex Rewards Credit Card than the free BA Amex card. The Amex Rewards Credit Card is free for life, like the free BA Amex, and indirectly earns 1 Avios per £1, like the free BA Amex. You also get the flexibility to convert to all of the other Amex partners, however, removing any risk of an Avios devaluation.
(This assumes that you believe the companion voucher on the free BA Amex is effectively worthless, since it needs £15,000 of annual spend from November 2024 – very hard for an average earner – and can only be used on Economy redemptions.)
There could be upside, of course ….
…. if this move encourages other airlines into the American Express fold.
I’m sure that some airlines refused to join UK Membership Rewards because they couldn’t make 1:1 stack up financially, and they really needed to be at 1:1 because everyone else was. Could we now see hold-outs such as Lufthansa, Air Canada, American Airlines or Turkish Airlines become UK Amex partners?
Remember that you still have a month, until 19th August, to move your Membership Rewards points to Emirates at the 1:1 rate.
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How to earn Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)
Emirates Skywards does not have a UK credit card. However, you can earn Emirates Skywards miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.
Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:
- American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 15,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
- The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 37,500 Emirates Skywards miles
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
- American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 7,500 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for life.
Membership Rewards points convert at 4:3 into Emirates Skywards miles which is an attractive rate. The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 0.75 Emirates Skywards miles
The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Emirates but with any airline.
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