Emirates Revamps Partner Award Chart — Many Flights Now Require Fewer Skywards Miles

Updated: March 5, 2026, 11:36am CST

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Emirates Updates Partner Award Pricing
Final Thoughts

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Emirates Skywards hasn’t delivered much good news for loyalty members recently. Over the past year, the program has introduced tighter restrictions on first class redemptions and made several changes that reduced the value of transferring travel rewards.

Now, there’s finally a more positive development. Emirates has quietly introduced a revamped partner award chart. In many cases, award prices are actually dropping.

Here’s what travelers should know.

Emirates Updates Partner Award Pricing

As first reported by AwardWallet, Emirates rolled out a new distance-based award chart for many of its airline partners effective March 4, 2026. While the airline hasn’t touted the change, early analysis suggests that most partner awards now require fewer Skywards miles than before.

The updated award chart applies to several airline partners and significantly changes how many Skywards miles are required for many redemptions. Here’s a look at the revamped partner award chart:

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One-way mileage distance	Economy Class	Premium Economy Class	Business Class
Under 300 miles	3,000	6,000	7,500
301-500	4,500	9,000	11,500
501-700	6,000	12,000	15,000
701-900	800	16,000	20,000
901-1,500	11,000	22,000	27,500
1,501-2,000	17,000	34,000	42,500
2,001-3,000	22,500	45,000	56,500
3,001-4,000	27,000	54,000	67,500
4,001-5,000	30,000	60,000	75,000
5,001+	37,500	75,000	94,000

Under the updated structure, short-haul partner flights start at just 3,000 miles one-way in economy for itineraries up to 300 miles. Previously, partner awards typically started around 6,000 miles, meaning the new chart effectively cuts entry-level redemption pricing in half.

As of now, the updated partner chart applies to the following airlines:

Aegean Air
Air Mauritius
Azul
Bangkok Airways
Condor
Copa Airlines
Garuda Indonesia
GOL
Korean Air
Malaysia Airlines
Olympic Air
South African Airways
TAP Air Portugal

Meanwhile, a few Skywards partners — including Air Canada, Japan Airlines, and Jetstar — are still pricing awards using the old partner chart, and it’s unclear if Emirates plans to update those in the near future. Qantas remains an exception, with its own award chart reflecting the airlines’ unique partnership.

The most notable change is the new starting price. Under the updated chart, the shortest partner flights now start at just 3,000 Skywards miles one-way, compared to 6,000 miles previously. That could create a new sweet spot in the program for short regional flights.

For example, a flight such as São Paulo (GRUI) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG) on GOL — a route of just over 200 miles — can now price at 3,000 miles one-way, as shown in the example below.

Not all pricing changes were positive, however. Economy awards on some partner flights between 2,000 and 4,000 miles have increased slightly — typically by around 2% to 4%. Condor routes appear to be the most affected, with some awards now pricing noticeably higher after being aligned with Emirates’ standard partner chart.

Hot Tip:

Even with these lower award prices, it’s still worth comparing options across programs. In many cases, the same partner flights may still cost fewer miles through other airline loyalty programs, as there’s often more than 1 way to book the same flight.

Final Thoughts

The new partner award chart is a mixed bag, but many awards now cost fewer miles — especially on shorter routes. And with partner flights now starting at just 3,000 Skywards miles, travelers may find a few new sweet spots in the program.