Emirates & Cathay Pacific Transfer Rates Reduced
There are a couple of negative transfer rate changes coming up soon that you should be aware of. These airline transfer rates drop below the 1 to 1 standard that we see for most airline partners. It is happening at American Express for one of these reductions, and Capital One for the other. The Emirates devaluation is far from surprising, as it has been happening with most of their partners (Amex, Chase). The Cathay Pacific change is very much so on the surprising side of things. The silver lining here is that neither of these programs are very heavily used by most award travelers.
Update 2/27/26: Reminder! Cathay Pacific transfer rate lowers on Sunday, March 1st.
Capital One Reducing Emirates Transfer Rate
First up we see that Capital One has sent out notice that the transfer rate to Emirates will be changing early next year (1/13/26) changed on January 13, 2026. The transfer rate went from 1 to 1 down to a 1 to .75, or 1,000 Capital One miles for 750 Emirates Skyward Miles to be exact. This is a 25% reduction in value that you used to get with this transfer partner.
Here is the message on the Capital One site:
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.
I don't see Emirates as a huge loss, especially as they recently increased the taxes and fees for many flights to and from the US. Having said that, it is always better to have an option and not need it, then to need it and not have it. Bilt seems to be the lone holdout for 1 to 1 transfers at this point. We will have to wait and see how long that lasts.
American Express Reducing Cathay Pacific Transfer Rate
In a more unexpected change, your Amex Membership Rewards will soon bring you 20% less Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Here is what American Express had to say about it in a recent announcement:
Effective March 1, 2026, the ratio for transferring Membership Rewards points to Cathay Pacific Asia Miles will be changed from: “1 Membership Rewards point = 1 Asia Mile” to “5 Membership Rewards points = 4 Asia Miles”.
Cathay Pacific has been useful at times to avoid higher fuel surcharges for some Oneworld partners. It was still a pretty niche program that I doubt many readers used heavily. On the plus side, there are still plenty of options for 1 to 1 transfers to Cathay Pacific. We will see if that changes in the future, as this could be the first of many dominoes to fall. At least that is how it happened with Emirates.
Emirates & Cathay Pacific Transfer Rates Reduced: ToP Thoughts
While it is a bummer to see more transferrable currencies lose a 1 to 1 transfer rate, at least they weren't any of the major players. This likely all revolves around the airline programs wanting more money for their miles when they sell them to the banks. They should be careful biting the hand that feeds them though. The banks have kept many of their airline partners afloat over the last few decades. Plus, selling some miles at a lower rate is better than selling none at a higher rate. Let me know what you think of these changes over in the ToP Facebook Group.
