QANTAS/EMIRATES: Tougher to get first class awards. More points and more strings attached

If you’ve been quietly eyeing off an Emirates First Class splurge using Qantas Frequent Flyer points, you may be too late. Or, at least it will cost you more and come with more conditions you need to fulfil.

Emirates has been tightening the rules around its Emirates Skywards scheme. Transfer ratios have worsened, access to First Class awards has been restricted to elite members, and even age limits have been introduced for redemptions in the pointiest of pointy ends.

Because Emirates and Qantas enjoy one of the industry’s closest airline partnerships, there used to be a kind of loophole for those booking Emirates First Class with Qantas Frequent Flyer points. You didn’t need to clear the same hurdles that Skywards members faced.

That loophole has now pretty much closed.

Qantas Frequent Flyer confirms redemptions on Emirates changes

Qantas has confirmed three significant changes to award bookings on Emirates. Existing bookings are unaffected, but anyone making a new redemption will need to take note.

The first two changes specifically affect Emirates First Class. From January 21, 2026, all passengers travelling in Emirates First Class on a Qantas points redemption must be at least nine years old. From February 18, 2026, Emirates First Class awards will only be available to Qantas Frequent Flyer members with Silver status or higher. No status, no suite, even if you have the points to burn.

The third change applies across the board. Qantas will increase the number of points required for Emirates award bookings made from March 31, 2026. Comparing the current award chart, valid for bookings through March 30, 2026, with the new chart shows increases across most routes and cabins. In many cases, the rises sit in the 10 to 30% range, with premium cabins bearing the brunt of the increase. Economy isn’t immune, but Business and First are clearly where the pain is concentrated.

Economy and Business Class redemptions are increasing by 7 to 11%. For Premium Economy, you will need 32% more points, while for First Class seats, you will need 20% more points.

Not really a surprise

While no one enjoys a devaluation, these changes were always on the cards.

Emirates doesn’t treat loyalty programs in quite the same way as many airlines do now. Increasingly, airlines operate as financial businesses that just happen to fly planes on the side. Qantas is one of those that now makes more money from its frequent flyer program than from international flying.

For Emirates, Skywards remains firmly embedded in the airline’s commercial strategy. The goal is to reward loyalty, protect premium inventory, and prioritise its most valuable customers, particularly at the very front of the aircraft.

With that view in mind, the recent Skywards changes make sense, even if the execution has frustrated members. And once Emirates decided that First Class redemptions should be restricted to elite Skywards members, it was inevitable that partner programs would be forced to follow suit. Allowing unrestricted access via Qantas would have completely undermined that strategy.

Emirates has forced Qantas’ hand

From Qantas’ perspective, this is less a choice and more a consequence of partnership economics. Either Emirates has increased the reimbursement it charges for award seats, or it has insisted that Qantas close off what had become an obvious arbitrage opportunity. Most likely, it’s a combination of both.

The outcome is predictable: higher prices, tighter access, and a renewed emphasis on status.

2PAXfly Takeout

Qantas Frequent Flyers have faced low availability of premium reward seats since flying returned to pre-pandemic levels. That applies to seats on their own and partner metal. I’ve recently turned to using Cathay Pacific’s award engine to find premium redemptions to Europe. On the Qantas site, there were essentially none, or very few, or only on British Airways partner redemptions available. And as we all know, BA First Class is the best Business Class cabin in the skies!

It was only a matter of time before Qantas aligned Emirates redemptions with the tougher rules already in place under Skywards.

I’m not so worried about the Silver status required, as you would probably have needed that, if not Gold or Platinum, to even see premium rewards on Emirates on the Qantas website.

Using loyalty points to book premium airfares is just getting harder and more expensive these days. It’s a trend that I can’t see changing.