Emirates Skywards Devaluation
#17



Join Date: Jul 2017
Location: AU, UG, NG, ET, others
Programs: EK (plat), ET, VA, QF
Posts: 607
I hesitate to add this, but those who are always pursuing a miles upgrade or miles redemption flight to avoid paying full fare for a seat they cannot afford to pay cash for, may tend to forget that they are in a small minority of people. They might mistakenly think that everyone is playing the same game.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
I do not subscribe to that theory. I believe that the upgrade / flight redemption path gives those passengers an opportunity to experience J or F travel, importantly encouraging them to purchase those initial Y or J seats. It keeps their loyalty to what I believe is a very good airline.
I do think that Emirates will suffer if they lose this group of people. It's a bad decision that will come back to bite them.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
I do not subscribe to that theory. I believe that the upgrade / flight redemption path gives those passengers an opportunity to experience J or F travel, importantly encouraging them to purchase those initial Y or J seats. It keeps their loyalty to what I believe is a very good airline.
I do think that Emirates will suffer if they lose this group of people. It's a bad decision that will come back to bite them.
#19


Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: MAN DXB ✈️
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 6,932
Sorry to hear this, time to start burning the miles.
On an every cloud note; we had been waitlisted for Y-J upgrade since Nov on MAN-DXB on 30th Dec, got the email and called and was only charged the old no of miles to upgrade, was expecting to have to shell out the increase - maybe because it was 'reserved' beforehand
Happy holidays
On an every cloud note; we had been waitlisted for Y-J upgrade since Nov on MAN-DXB on 30th Dec, got the email and called and was only charged the old no of miles to upgrade, was expecting to have to shell out the increase - maybe because it was 'reserved' beforehand
Happy holidays
#20
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 497
I hesitate to add this, but those who are always pursuing a miles upgrade or miles redemption flight to avoid paying full fare for a seat they cannot afford to pay cash for, may tend to forget that they are in a small minority of people. They might mistakenly think that everyone is playing the same game.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
#21




Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 7,413
However upset I also am about the devaluation (see my earlier post), this 100% is factually incorrect as this would make Skywards worth nothing at all, which is obviously not the case.
I think we should try to keep emotion out of the discussion (however difficult that may be)
I think we should try to keep emotion out of the discussion (however difficult that may be)
#22
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 19,813
Even using the routes in that blog, I cant replicate the figures quoted.
#23




Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 7,413
The blog highlights several of the routes that experienced 100% increases. Even uses big pictures for those who don't want to read. Emirates has also said it will take a few weeks for everything to be finalized, so if you're unable to replicate, give it a few more weeks.
#24


Join Date: May 2011
Location: South Island, NZ
Programs: IHG Ambassador, Air NZ Silver, Emirates Silver
Posts: 568
Wow sizeable increase on being able to use points to upgrade. Have a bunch of points just about to expire and was considering purchasing some to give me enough points to upgrade from Akl to Dxb to first. But I dont think it would be worth purchasing any unless I can be assured of the upgrade before original points expire.
I think the skywards program is not going to be very attractive at all to NZers going forward as hard to redeem.
I think the skywards program is not going to be very attractive at all to NZers going forward as hard to redeem.
#25




Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 7,413
Wow sizeable increase on being able to use points to upgrade. Have a bunch of points just about to expire and was considering purchasing some to give me enough points to upgrade from Akl to Dxb to first. But I dont think it would be worth purchasing any unless I can be assured of the upgrade before original points expire.
I think the skywards program is not going to be very attractive at all to NZers going forward as hard to redeem.
I think the skywards program is not going to be very attractive at all to NZers going forward as hard to redeem.
#26
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 19,813
The blog highlights several of the routes that experienced 100% increases. Even uses big pictures for those who don't want to read. Emirates has also said it will take a few weeks for everything to be finalized, so if you're unable to replicate, give it a few more weeks.
#27
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 19,813
#29
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 19,813
#30


Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: SYD
Programs: QF WP (OWE), VA PLAT, EY GLD, SPG PLAT, Hyatt DIA, Hilton DIA, Hertz PC
Posts: 8,665
I hesitate to add this, but those who are always pursuing a miles upgrade or miles redemption flight to avoid paying full fare for a seat they cannot afford to pay cash for, may tend to forget that they are in a small minority of people. They might mistakenly think that everyone is playing the same game.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
I do not subscribe to that theory. I believe that the upgrade / flight redemption path gives those passengers an opportunity to experience J or F travel, importantly encouraging them to purchase those initial Y or J seats. It keeps their loyalty to what I believe is a very good airline.
I do think that Emirates will suffer if they lose this group of people. It's a bad decision that will come back to bite them.
What they probably forget is that most people travelling on an aeroplane actually pay cash for the fare class they choose. No airline could survive without that being true.
They do so because;
1. They don't fly often enough to garner enough miles and cannot afford to buy the number of miles they need, or
2. They have the money to secure a seat in the class they want and cannot be bothered with the drawn out and increasingly uncertain game of using miles to upgrade.
The vast majority of passengers can only hope for an op-up.
I suggest that those who persist with trying to get the seat they want using miles are people who purchase or are provided with a Y or J seat several times a year. This allows them to accrue enough miles to hope for an upgrade or a 'free' flight.
And I suspect these are the people who are now disgruntled with increasing surcharges and miles to achieve what they want, and in response are saying they will change airlines.
I understand it is disappointing to observe the diminishing chances of continuing this process. But these people must not fool themselves that Emirates gives a toss about losing them. At the end of the day, rightly or wrongly, it's clear that Emirates wants cash, not redeemed miles. And I think they believe the miles redeemers will be replaced by those prepared to pay with cold hard cash for the higher class of travel they want.
I do not subscribe to that theory. I believe that the upgrade / flight redemption path gives those passengers an opportunity to experience J or F travel, importantly encouraging them to purchase those initial Y or J seats. It keeps their loyalty to what I believe is a very good airline.
I do think that Emirates will suffer if they lose this group of people. It's a bad decision that will come back to bite them.
Also, with "taxes" as high as AUD $1,800 for SYD-Europe in F pp, EK is gaining the equivalent of a Y fare for most F redemptions. It's bizarre that partners like AC can redeem and pay less than EK's own members.
I do, however, agree that they are pursuing the cash upgrade over redemption options. Some flights never open for F full redemptions but waitlist, auto upgrade and airport upgrades are all offered.
It's OMAAT. Often incorrect when the info isn't copied directly from FT.

