Amex Membership Rewards just got a little smaller. As of today, Etihad Guest is no longer a transfer destination for UK cardholders - and while it's not the end of the world, it's a reminder of how quickly the Gulf carriers are pulling back from the points ecosystem.

Quick question before we dive in:

Which of the following is the current Amex Membership Rewards transfer ratio to Emirates Skywards?

The answer is waiting near the bottom... keep scrolling 👇

As of today, Etihad Guest is no longer on the list of Amex Membership Rewards transfer partners for UK cardholders. If you were sitting on MR points and had vague plans to send them to Etihad at some point, that window has now closed.

The honest take? This is less of a blow than it sounds. Etihad has been making its loyalty programme progressively harder to use over the past couple of years. The most painful change was the introduction of aggressive cancellation penalties - cancel a reward flight and you'll lose at least 25% of your miles, and up to 75% if it's short notice. That's before we even get to the expiry rules, which now require you to fly with Etihad or a partner every 18 months to keep your balance alive. For an airline that isn't in a major alliance, that's a tough ask.

Emirates has been heading in a similar direction. The Skywards transfer ratio from Amex has now moved twice - first from 1:1 to 4:3, and then again to the current 2:1 ratio (meaning you get just one Skywards mile for every two MR points). Reward pricing has also shot up, with another Emirates devaluation last month adding roughly 15% to redemption costs. The message from both Gulf carriers is clear: they've decided their product sells itself and they no longer need a generous frequent flyer programme to fill seats.

If you do want to fly Etihad and have MR points burning a hole in your account, you still have two realistic options. You can use your MR points towards a cash booking on the Amex Travel website, or you can transfer to Flying Blue (Air France KLM's scheme) and book Etihad tickets through their partnership - which may actually work out cheaper anyway.

The full updated list of Amex MR transfer partners for UK cards now looks like this - worth bookmarking if you use the Amex Welcome Bonus Eligibility Tool to plan your card strategy:

The standout 1:1 options remain the best. Transferring to British Airways Avios, Virgin Points, or Cathay Asia Miles continues to offer genuinely strong value - especially when you're targeting premium cabin redemptions. You can check current redemption options using the Points Converter to see how your MR points stack up across partners.

Bottom line: losing Etihad stings slightly for the flexibility argument, but in practice the programme had become too restrictive to recommend for most UK collectors. The good news is the remaining partner list is still excellent.

IHG One Rewards has launched its fifth buy points sale of 2026, and this time the bonus is as good as it gets: a 100% bonus on purchased points, running until Thursday 16th July. That brings the effective cost down to 0.5 cents (roughly 0.4p) per IHG point.

Members can purchase up to 200,000 points per year, with some accounts eligible for higher limits - check your own account for your personalised cap.

The key caveat here is one worth repeating: only buy points if you have a specific redemption in mind. IHG points at this price are genuinely fair value if you're targeting a high-category property - an InterContinental or Kimpton in a city where cash rates are elevated. But buying points speculatively and hoping rates don't change is a risk with any hotel programme.

Heads up: IHG's buy points offer is sometimes personalised, so the 100% bonus isn't guaranteed for every account. Log in and check your offer before purchasing.

Emirates has relaunched its free Dubai stopover promotion for summer 2026. Book a return Emirates flight for travel between 25th June and 30th September, and you can add a complimentary hotel stay at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai on top.

The breakdown is straightforward: travel in Economy or Premium Economy and you get one free night. Travel in Business or First Class and that goes up to two free nights. The JW Marriott Marquis in Dubai is a genuine five-star property - cash rates there regularly run at £250-£350 per night, so for business class passengers this is a meaningful add-on.

Warning: This offer is not available on one-way bookings and is only applicable once per itinerary. You need to book the stopover through Emirates directly. Bookings for the hotel component must be made between 22nd June and 12th July, so the booking window is relatively tight.

Given the 2:1 transfer ratio now in place for Amex to Emirates Skywards (as we just covered above), this deal is probably better suited to those paying cash for their Emirates ticket rather than redeeming points. But if you've already got a summer Emirates booking, it's absolutely worth adding the stopover.

World of Hyatt has launched a new global promotion for stays between 1st July and 7th September 2026. Members earn 2,000 bonus points for every two nights, capped at 8,000 bonus points total across the promotion period.

The catch - and it's an annoying one - is that bonus earning only starts from your second stay during the promo period. Your first hotel stay earns nothing. Award stays do count towards the bonus, which is a nice touch.

Registration is required by 1st September. If you have two or more Hyatt stays planned this summer, register now and you're looking at up to 8,000 bonus points on top of your usual earning - worth roughly £40-£50 towards a future award stay.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles has launched a 30% discount on economy short-haul award flights to and from select European destinations, for travel between 1st November 2026 and 28th February 2027. You need to book by Monday 6th July to lock in the discount.

Valid routes include flights to and from Turkey, covering destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Rome, and Vienna among others. Blackout dates of 12th December and 10th January apply.

Miles&Smiles points aren't widely earned by UK collectors, but if you have a balance sitting there this is a solid opportunity for a winter city break. Worth checking availability before the booking window closes in less than two weeks.

The answer was 🟣 2:1 - two MR points for every one Skywards mile. Emirates has cut the ratio twice from the original 1:1, first to 4:3 and then to the current 2:1. Combined with rising redemption costs and restricted First Class availability, it's now one of the weaker transfer partners on the Amex roster for UK collectors. Virgin Points, Avios, and Asia Miles all offer better value at 1:1.

With Etihad now gone from the Amex partner list, which transfer partner do you actually use most with your Membership Rewards points? Is it Avios, Virgin Points, Flying Blue, or something else entirely? Hit reply - I read every response and it genuinely shapes what we cover.

That's it for today - but don't sleep on the IHG buy points sale if you have a redemption in mind. The 100% bonus expires Thursday 16th July and 0.5p per point is as good as this programme gets. Have a great Wednesday.

These are the top credit card welcome bonuses we're tracking. Offers change frequently - see all cards.

1. Currensea Marriott Bonvoy Debit Card: 40,000 points after spending £3,000 in 12 months (£1.75/yr)

2. HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard: Receive 40,000 reward points when you spend £2,000 on your card in the first 90 ... (£2.9/yr)

3. Gold Card: 20,000 points after spending £3,000 in 3 months (£1.6/yr (waived first year))

Looking to redeem your points? Here's what's available right now (via Award Travel Finder):

Hotels:

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Award Travel Finder hunts down the best redemptions so you don't have to.

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