What happened
Emirates Skywards has extended member tiers and paused miles expiry until June 30, 2026. The airline is offering a 20% bonus on both award and tier miles, with reduced tier qualification requirements by 20% valid from May 8 through August 31, 2026. Additionally, Emirates extended its flexible cancellation and rebooking policy for flights until May 31, 2026, and allows one free date change for tickets issued on or after April 2, 2026. Etihad Guest has extended its flexible rebooking and refund policies, allowing rebooking until June 15 for tickets issued by May 15, 2026. The program has also lowered qualification and requalification criteria by 25% until March 31, 2027. Qatar Airways Privilege Club has updated its tier extension policy effective June 1, 2026, covering the period from February 28 to May 31, 2026. The airline has also clarified flexible rebooking and refund policies for tickets issued on or before May 15, 2026, noting that the policy for new tickets issued on or after May 16 has ended. Scheduled destinations have been updated for travel until September 16, 2026. Operations are recovering: Emirates and Etihad are at roughly 80% of pre-war levels, while Qatar Airways is at 60% with a reported 10% weekly increase in flight numbers