Emirates is one of many travelers’ go-to Amex transfer partners, a prime spot to send Membership Rewards points to book Emirates business class or upgrade to first class. But those transfers are poised to take a big hit in a few months’ time.
American Express quietly updated its transfer chart for Emirates on Tuesday with the following warning: “Effective Sept. 16, 2025, the ratio for transferring Membership Rewards points to Emirates Skywards Miles will be changed from: ‘1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Skywards mile’ to ‘5 Membership Rewards points = 4 Skywards miles.’”
That means Emirates will no longer be a 1:1 Amex transfer partner, dropping instead to a far worse 1,000:800 ratio in two and a half months. So while transferring 50,000 points from cards like the *amex gold* or *amex platinum* currently gets you 50,000 Emirates Skywards miles, that same transfer will soon net you just 40,000 Skywards miles.
Once that change takes effect, it will add an extra layer of confusion when sending points to Emirates. Emirates will join only JetBlue with a sub-1-to-1 transfer ratio, forcing cardholders to transfer even more of their hard-earned points for a redemption.
It came out of nowhere … except there were actually plenty of warning signs.
For starters, Citi previously announced this spring it would adopt that exact same 5:4 transfer ratio. That change is expected to take effect July 27.
On the heels of that announcement, there was even more ominous news: Chase, American Express, Bilt, and Capital One all temporarily suspended points transfers to Emirates. Those transfers have all since been restored … but now we see this news from American Express.
As of publication, no banks other than Citi and now American Express disclose this looming devaluation. Representatives from Chase and Capital One did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether changes to transferring their own points to Emirates are afoot.
A spokesperson for Bilt Rewards confirmed the program will not change its current 1:1 transfer ratio to Emirates.
Considering all the changes underway at Emirates, it’s clearly the airline is rethinking its Skywards program altogether. In May, the airline made it harder to book Emirates First Class using points by requiring members to have status in order to be eligible.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.
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