Bad news for travelers who like using Qantas Points to book Emirates First Class. Qantas Frequent Flyer has just announced a trio of changes that impact how Emirates First Class award redemptions, and the changes will make booking these awards more expensive and much more difficult than they are now.
Qantas Tightens Emirates First Class Award Rules, Devalues Again
As flagged by One Mile At A Time, Qantas Frequent Flyer has revealed a set of changes that make booking Emirates First Class with Qantas Points harder and more restrictive. While partnerships between airlines often evolve, this latest round of restrictions feels like an Emirates-driven edict to align Emirates redemptions via Qantas with its own Skywards loyalty program.
Under the new rules, which begin this month and into February, passengers redeeming for Emirates first class with Qantas Points must meet several new conditions. First, all passengers on an Emirates first class award must be at least nine years old. The previous policy allowed any age, so this immediately disqualifies families with younger children from redeeming on first class using points.
Second, beginning February 18, 2026, Emirates first class award tickets will only be available to Qantas Frequent Flyer members who hold at least Silver status with the program. That blocks entry-level Qantas members from booking first class awards. If you are Bronze or a non-status member, your route to Emirates First Class using points is essentially closed off.
On top of these eligibility changes, Qantas also adjusted the award pricing for Emirates flights, with prices rising 10-30% across all cabins of service.
As a point of reference, this this is the Emirates award chart through March 3o, 2026:
This is the cart for redemptions made on or after March 31, 2026:
| Change | Previous Rule | New Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Age Requirement | No age restriction | All passengers must be at least 9 years old (from January 21, 2026) |
| Status Requirement | Any Qantas Frequent Flyer member could book | Silver status or higher required (from February 18, 2026) |
| Award Pricing | Lower First Class award rates | Higher points required for Emirates First Class awards (from March 31, 2026) |
These three changes align with broader changes we’ve seen in Emirates’ own Skywards program, where award restrictions and elite requirements have been tightening over the past year.
> Read More: Emirates Bans Young Kids From First Class…But Only When Redeeming Miles
> Read More: Emirates Restricts First Class Awards To Skywards Elites (But There Are Two Workarounds)
If you’ve been riding the arbitrage opportunity of using Qantas Points for Emirates First Class, these changes blunt some of that value. With Air Canada Aeroplan charging exorbitant rates to access Emirates First Class, Qantas Frequent Flyer has been the smartest and most straightforward ways to access Emirates’ first class cabins using miles and points, but that loophole is closing quickly. Booking sooner rather than later could lock in awards under the old rules before these restrictions take effect…at least there is some time to prepare for this as long as you were not planning on taking your children along (my son Augustine is nine years old and, as it tuned out, he just mentioned yesterday how much he wants to fly that “Emirates A380 with the bar and showers”).
Part Of A Wider Trend
These updates reflect a wider trend in loyalty programs globally, where premium redemptions are being safeguarded for top tier elites or made more expensive to discourage redemptions from infrequnet flyers. Emirates itself has already implemented similar restrictions for its own frequent flyers, so it’s not surprising to see Qantas align its partner award rules accordingly. But that does little to soften the blow for Qantas members…at least there was some notice given.
We are seeing a trend in which award space is prioritized for a carrier’s own loyalty programs…that’s our new reality as we move into a post-Alliance era. Even joint venture partnerships are not enough: as carriers seek to monetize their programs, they hope to coerce loyalty by restricting award space their members previously were able to book, often a better rates, from partners.
In this case and knowing Emirates, I think Qantas flyers are fortunate they can still book anything at all in Emirates First Class…
CONCLUSION
Qantas is handing its frequent flyers a 1-2-3 punch when it comes to booking Emirates First Class, a series of changes that are not surprising considering how Emirates itself has restricted first class redemptions.
I’m not very optimistic these days about the future of miles and points in terms of partner bookings. In the back of my mind, I keep thinking I better start banking Miles & More points or redeem Aeroplan miles “once more” for Lufthansa First Class before it is too late…
image: Emirates
Boo… hiss…
Look at cheap economy one ways and then upgrade twice with emirates points still may be best option for first class. We did this as a family to fly biz on the a380.
Incidentally both you and OMAAT mentioned an “arbitrage” opportunity. In what sense is it so?
No kids = good times gor the rest of us.