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Emirates Skywards Devaluation

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Old Dec 26, 2022 | 7:45 am
  #16  
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
20%? Try 100%
Which routes are 100% increase?
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Old Dec 26, 2022 | 8:49 am
  #17  
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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.
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Old Dec 26, 2022 | 8:56 am
  #18  
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.....

Last edited by DYKWIA; Dec 26, 2022 at 9:06 am Reason: Probably get taken seriously...
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Old Dec 26, 2022 | 10:43 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by pifly
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

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Im on ek 22 on Friday 30th.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 3:56 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by BadoRas
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.
Depending on where you live, the miles that are being used are only accrued through paid fares. I have a choice. I travel business class for clients, and choose the airline for service but also for programme benefits. I'm not going to split my flights between airlines, and a couple of options disqualify themselves on the first of those two qualifiers. I'm left with 3 arilines. Am I going to choose the airline that makes it near impossible to redeem miles and has jacked up prices of those reward flights? Of course not. So they lose 4 or 5 returns a year to make a handful of extra miles on a seat that would otherwise likely be empty. I'm sure they'll come around in the end, but until then I'll take another airline for the next 36 - 48 months. It's not a huge loss, but it's certainly needless and with little return.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 11:34 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by thijsseh
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)
https://onemileatatime.com/insights/...uation-absurd/
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 11:54 am
  #22  
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Rather than just linking to a blog, could you give some real life examples of where there has been a 100% increase?

Even using the routes in that blog, I cant replicate the figures quoted.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 11:57 am
  #23  
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Originally Posted by DYKWIA
Rather than just linking to a blog, could you give some real life examples of where there has been a 100% increase?

Even using the routes in that blog, I can’t replicate the figures quoted.
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.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 12:37 pm
  #24  
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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.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 12:56 pm
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Susiew237
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.
Disappointing for sure. Was hoping to fly EK F again at some point in the future (flew once in 2017 when Alaska redemptions were still attractive), but going to be hard now. Maybe Aeroplan.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 5:33 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
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.
As I asked, please provide some concrete evidence of these 100% increases, not just just a blog with BIG PICTURES.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 5:35 pm
  #27  
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
Disappointing for sure. Was hoping to fly EK F again at some point in the future (flew once in 2017 when Alaska redemptions were still attractive), but going to be hard now. Maybe Aeroplan.
Surprise, Surprise...
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 5:36 pm
  #28  
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Originally Posted by DYKWIA
As I asked, please provide some concrete evidence of these 100% increases, not just just a blog with BIG PICTURES.
Examples are in the blog. Don't know what else to tell you.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 5:44 pm
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Sandeep1
Examples are in the blog. Don't know what else to tell you.
Blog appears to be incorrect. There are increases, but I've not found anything like 100% that you stated.
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Old Dec 27, 2022 | 8:11 pm
  #30  
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Originally Posted by BadoRas
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.
A few general assumptions here. Some people, like myself, only fly F internationally and have a mixture of revenue and award bookings, I would say almost 50% of each. Not work funded, entirely my own. Just because one pays cash, doesn't mean they don't feel the effect of this change.

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.

Originally Posted by DYKWIA
Blog appears to be incorrect. There are increases, but I've not found anything like 100% that you stated.
It's OMAAT. Often incorrect when the info isn't copied directly from FT.
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