One of the best redemptions for Alaska Airlines miles has been for travel in Emirates First Class. An Emirates first class trip was one of the linchpins in my first class roundtrip around the world. It’s been only 100,000 Alaska miles to fly in Emirates first class from the US to Asia (and only 90,000 from the US to the Middle East).
Carolyn on Emirates First Class
The new normal
Now, instead of 100,000 miles from the US to Asia, it’s 180,000 miles!
There is also the note about not being eligible for the Emirates chauffeur service. That has been the case in practice for awhile, so it’s ince to have the rules written down at least in writing. Interestingly, first class travel from the US to Asia on Cathay Pacific has not changed – it’s still only 70,000 miles
Emirates first class from the US to the Middle East and India on Emirates is now 150,000, and travel to Africa is 200,000 miles!
No notice devaluation!
The worst part about this is that no notice was given. Look, nobody LIKES devaluations, but I think most travelers accept them as the price of doing business. Most people only REALLY get frustrated when no notice is given – it’s a pretty low blow IMO. You have people saving up miles for a particular trip and then BAM – now all of a sudden, the price doubles! (in the case of Africa first class awards which were only 100,000 miles)
Thankfully we just got back from flying this award – (Help! I’m “stuck” in Emirates First class on ONLY a 777!!!), but I’m sure there are plenty of others who were not so lucky.
Other coverage of this is on Flyertalk, One Mile at a Time and many others.
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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