A little while back, we started seeing programs unpeg from a 1:1 transfer ratio to Emirates Skywards. The undeniable reason has been that Emirates jacked up the price of miles to where the programs were left with the choice of discontinuing transfers entirely (which Chase did) or reduce the transfer ratio (which Amex and Citi did, to 5:4).
Now, effective January 13, 2026 at 12:00AM ET, the ratio for transferring Capital One Miles to Emirates Skywards Miles will update from 1000 Capital One Miles = 1000 Emirates Skywards Miles to 1000 Capital One Miles = 750 Emirates Skywards Miles.
This leaves only Bilt as a 1:1 transfer partner and I kind of think as a niche program they might just keep things there, but we now see Capital One going even lower than Amex and Citi went, by 5%.
All of that said, Skywards miles are basically only useful for 5th Freedom flights like NY-Milan or Newark to Athens (in my opinion) because the surcharges on awards to or via Dubai have gotten too high to justify.
Thoughts?
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