Differing number of miles required for upgrade based on multi-city or return booking
 

(Edit: This was a misunderstanding on my part and there is no issue; the 65,000-mile figure was for upgrading both JNB-DXB and DXB-LHR flights and not merely the former, which would require 46,800 miles as expected).

Hi folks—

I'm looking to upgrade a single JNB-DXB leg to Business (Flex) as part of an upcoming multi-city trip I'm going to be booking on EK. I notice that more miles are required under the following test bookings for a multi-city trip compared to a standard return trip: (trying different dates don't seem to make any difference)

• JNB-DXB-LHR, MUC-DXB-JNB (multi-city): 65,000 miles required
• JNB-DXB-LHR, LHR-DXB-JNB (return): 46,800 miles required

The Skywards Miles Calculator indicates that 46,800 miles would be required for this JNB-DXB upgrade, so I'm not sure why the multi-city trip requires more miles.

I'd appreciate any clarity on why EK's rules differ in these two scenarios. Thanks!

Well, it looks like I missed the news that EK has very recently begun a new Skywards miles devaluation, which has yet to apply to return bookings, and that the miles calculator has yet to be updated — it explains this discrepancy perfectly.

As a workaround, I am considering making a return JNB-LHR booking, taking the upgrade at a lower mileage rate whilst it's still available, and then calling up EK to change the return leg to depart from MUC instead of LHR. EK phone support indicates that this should work fine.

This was actually just due to a misunderstanding on my part and there is no issue. :) The 65,000-mile figure was for upgrading both JNB-DXB and DXB-LHR flights and not merely the former, which would require 46,800 miles as expected.