Clearly a Gold skywards devaluation instigated by EK!!
Do the few incremental new J Flex/Flex+ Return bookings for summer time (when there is a slow down, less business travelers , low season in Middle East) justify the devaluation of their program? It Doesn’t make sense unless its part of a broader strategy Skywards overall - ie., the New Business special with no lounge, no CD, etc...

Obviously the number of people that will book J flex EK return deliberated for this benefit will be minimal... but then there is a bunch people that werent even aware of this before hand and will turn Gold with one flight which is a good deal! It would be great to see the outcome on of how many new fast track to gold they got since the ticket purchase window is narrow (wont allow future change dates) and period of traveling too.. (ofc we wont ever know) but I Would guess that majority of the people whom can have this benefit this will be UAE residents as @mecabq said above... 6K AED (1.4K EUR) flight from MCT-BAH/KWI and/or from IKA .

Such a great opportunity for ones the whom lost Gold or really want it but from other hand a sad to see a own EK devaluation of a great program, which is never positive.

On a personal note, I will be extremely disappointed if they don’t honor my Plat renewal with 149,949 miles at the end of the cycle and bump me to Gold where I could achieve that with 6K AED....



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Fly in Business Class and upgrade your Emirates Skywards membership status to Gold"If you’re a Blue or Silver member, you can now upgrade to Gold simply by flying in Business Class to and from selected destinations on Flex or Flex plus fares, connecting through Dubai...Register by 26 July and travel by 20 August"

The link is only available to Emirates Skywards members.

Terms and conditions

1. The Emirates Skywards 'Fly Business, get Gold tier' promotion is open to all Emirates Skywards members who:
   • a. are existing Emirates Skywards members, or who become a member by 23.59 (Dubai time) July 26, 2019.
   • b. have registered for the promotion by 23.59 on July 26, (Dubai time) either via email link, via emirates.com or through an Emirates Contact Center.
   • c. have completed issuance of an Eligible Ticket and Eligible Fare (return) between 00.01 on July 18, 2019 and 23.59 on July 26, (Dubai time), as per the 'Date of Issue' on the ticket receipt.
   • d. have commenced and completed their journey on Eligible Flights between 00.01am on 18 July 2019 and 11.59pm on 20 August 2019 (Dubai time).
2. (a) To be eligible for this offer, the journey must commence from the following points of origin: Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Algiers, Amman, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Barcelona, Basra, Beirut, Bologna, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Cebu, Christchurch, Clark, Colombo, Conakry, Dakar, Dallas, Dammam, Dar Es Salaam, Dhaka, Durban, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Hanoi, Harare, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kabul, Karachi, Khartoum, Kolkata, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lagos, Lahore, Larnaca, Luanda, Lusaka, Lyon, Madrid, Malta, Moscow, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, Newcastle, Oslo, Peshawar, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Porto, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Saigon, Saint Petersburg, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, Sialkot, Singapore, Stockholm, Tehran, Thiruvananthapuram, Tunis, Venice, Warsaw, Yangon, Zagreb, Zurich.
   (b) To be eligible for this offer, the journey must be to following destinations: Abidjan, Abuja, Accra, Addis Ababa, Ahmedabad, Algiers, Amman, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Barcelona, Basra, Beirut, Bologna, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Casablanca, Cebu, Christchurch, Clark, Colombo, Conakry, Dakar, Dallas, Dammam, Dar Es Salaam, Dhaka, Durban, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Guangzhou, Hamburg, Hanoi, Harare, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jakarta, Kabul, Karachi, Khartoum, Kolkata, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lagos, Lahore, Larnaca, Luanda, Lusaka, Lyon, Madrid, Malta, Moscow, Munich, Muscat, Nairobi, Newcastle, Oslo, Peshawar, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Porto, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Saigon, Saint Petersburg, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo, Sialkot, Singapore, Stockholm, Tehran, Thiruvananthapuram, Tunis, Venice, Warsaw, Yangon, Zagreb, Zurich.
   (c) This offer is not applicable for travel to or from Dubai; between Abuja and Accra; Bangkok and Phnom Penh; Bangkok and Hong Kong; Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro; Cebu and Clark; Christchurch and Sydney; Colombo and Male; Conakry and Dakar; Harare and Lusaka; Larnaca and Malta; Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile; Singapore and Brisbane; Singapore and Melbourne.
3. An Eligible Fare on Emirates is defined as: "Flex" or "Flex Plus" in Business Class ("Special" and “Saver” fare brands are not eligible), on a return basis. One-way journeys are not eligible for this offer.
4. An Eligible Flight is defined as:
   a) an Emirates marketed flight with EK designator; operated by Emirates or flydubai.
   b) All other codeshare and interline flights are excluded from this offer.
5. An Eligible Ticket is defined as a return journey on Eligible Flights and Eligible Fare, purchased via emirates.com, through Emirates Retail and Contact Centers or through a travel agent.
6. An Emirates Skywards member who, at the discretion of Emirates Skywards, satisfies all of the above conditions, will be upgraded to Emirates Skywards Gold tier at the completion of their entire return ticketed journey. This tier upgrade to Gold will be valid for a period of one year from the date of upgrade.
7. The Emirates Skywards member will be notified of the tier upgrade or they may view their Emirates Skywards account online at emirates.com.
8. Emirates Skywards members must adhere to the Skywards Programme Rules in order to remain eligible for the Emirates Skywards Gold tier upgrade.