We now have a somewhat absurd situation where Qantas Frequent Flyer members can access Emirates First Class reward seats, but not a large cohort of Emirates’ own Skywards loyalty program members.
Emirates is now restricting access to its First Class reward seats to Skywards members who have status. It’s given barely two days of notice about this change.
Malaysia Airlines will resume direct flights between Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur from 29 November 2025. There’s currently lots of reward availability on these flights in both Economy and Business.
Avios just became even more useful, with Qatar Airways Privilege Club adding Garuda Indonesia as a new partner. There’s lots of Business Class award availability to both Bali and Jakarta!
This may be an unpopular opinion, but frequent flyer programs that allow unredeemed points to expire generally offer better and more consistent value to members.