Emirates Skywards will pause its My Family pooling program in January 2027 and move every pooled mile to the Family Head’s own account. A new version of My Family is due by the end of 2027, so families lose shared pooling for up to a year.

If you’re a Family Head, don’t close your My Family account before January in the hope of getting the miles back. Emirates says closing it now forfeits the pooled miles.

What changed

  • Before: a Family Head links up to seven family members, the group pools its miles in one My Family account, and the Family Head books awards for anyone in it, per Emirates’ My Family page
  • Now: from January 2027, Emirates says pooling, spending from My Family accounts, and adding or removing members “will be temporarily unavailable” (program updates page)
  • Pooled miles: move to the Family Head’s individual Skywards account within 7 to 14 days and stay valid for up to two years
  • New miles: stay in each member’s own account from January 2027
  • Relaunch: “by the end of 2027,” with no exact date
  • Who it affects: Skywards members in a My Family account, mostly families who fly Emirates or flydubai together

Key terms

  • The pause: Emirates’ program updates page says “the current My Family will be paused from January 2027.”
  • Closing early costs you: if the Family Head closes the account before January 2027, Emirates says the account closes and the remaining pooled miles are forfeited.
  • Members can leave: if a Family Member leaves before January, the miles they already added stay in the family account and move to the Family Head.
  • Booked trips stand: existing My Family award bookings stay valid, and changes go through the Emirates Contact Centre.
  • Miles in transit: you can’t use the miles during the 7 to 14 days they take to move.
  • No re-enrollment: active My Family accounts move to the new program automatically.

Bank points were never part of the pool

Many U.S. members get Skywards miles by moving bank points, and those miles never entered the pool. Emirates’ My Family page is clear about it. Miles “earned with financial conversion partners can’t be pooled into your My Family account.” So a transfer from American Express or Capital One always landed in your own account, and the pause doesn’t change that.

The ratios still matter if you plan an Emirates award next year. Amex’s transfer partner page gives 800 Skywards miles for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Capital One’s transfer partner page lists Emirates at 2:1.5, so 1,000 Capital One miles become 750 Skywards miles.

How the new My Family will work

Emirates says the relaunched program keeps miles in each member’s own account. “You’ll only need to pool your Miles together when making an eligible My Family redemptions,” the updates page says. That sounds like pooling at the moment of booking instead of a shared balance, but Emirates hasn’t published the rules, fees or eligible awards yet.

LoyaltyLobby reported the change on November 11. Until the relaunch, each member keeps earning miles on Emirates and flydubai flights in their own account, per the Skywards page.

Our take

If your family pools miles, spend them before January when you have a trip in mind. The miles move to the Family Head, who can still book for every family member, so the real loss is that nobody else adds to the balance for about a year. From January, a parent’s and a teenager’s miles from the same trip land in two separate accounts, and neither balance tops up the other until the relaunch.

The two-year validity also deserves a calendar note. If 60,000 miles move to the Family Head in January 2027, plan to use them before January 2029, since Emirates says “up to” two years. Replacing 60,000 Skywards miles by transfer takes 75,000 Membership Rewards points. At our valuation of 2.0 cents for Amex points, that’s about $1,500 of points lost to an expiry date.

Skip any action if you only earn Skywards miles by transfer from a card. Those miles were never pooled, so the pause doesn’t touch them. For other ways to use transferable points on long-haul flights, see our best travel credit cards guide and our transfer partners tag. Our family travel tag collects more trip planning posts, and the Emirates double miles post covers the fall promotion on Emirates and flydubai flights.

FAQ

When does Emirates pause My Family?

In January 2027. Emirates hasn’t given an exact day, and it says the new My Family arrives by the end of 2027.

What happens to miles in my My Family account?

They move to the Family Head’s individual Skywards account within 7 to 14 days. They stay valid for up to two years, and the Family Head can still book awards for every family member.

Should I close my My Family account before January 2027?

No, not if you’re the Family Head. Emirates says closing the account before January forfeits the remaining pooled miles.

Can I still transfer Amex or Capital One points to Emirates?

Yes. Amex moves 1,000 points to 800 Skywards miles, and Capital One moves miles at 2:1.5. Those miles go to your own account and were never pooled.

Do I need to re-enroll in the new My Family?

No. Emirates says active My Family accounts move to the new program automatically.

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