When you think about luxury flying experiences, there’s a good chance Emirates’ first class comes to mind. As a first-class passenger on one of its Airbus A380s, you can enjoy the famous inflight bar and shower. And if you find yourself on one of the new Boeing 777s, you’ll experience the newest first-class cabin with completely private suites.
Emirates even recently announced new first-class amenities available across its fleet.
However, booking these awards with the airline’s Skywards loyalty program has become more difficult over the years. Japan Airlines Mileage Bank no longer offers Emirates first-class awards, and Alaska Airlines and Emirates severed their partnership in 2021.
And to make matters worse, as of May 12, you must have Emirates elite status to book these flights. Thankfully, this restriction does not apply to partner loyalty programs.
With these changes in mind, let’s look at the remaining best ways to book Emirates’ first class with points and miles. This will cover earning Emirates status quickly to book directly, upgrading business-class tickets and leveraging partner programs.
Book with Emirates Skywards
Emirates Skywards used to be the go-to way to book Emirates first-class award flights. Award space was generally easy enough to come by, though the program did impose high award rates and significant taxes and fees. That changed May 12, when the airline started restricting first-class award space to its elite members, effectively ending the ability to book these tickets for most travelers.
But not all is lost. If you want to book with Emirates Skywards, you can open an Emirates cobranded credit card through Barclaycard to quickly earn elite status. The airline offers two U.S. credit cards: the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard® and the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard®.
These cards both include elite status for the first year, with the Premium card offering mid-tier Gold status and the standard card offering entry-level Silver status. You can keep this status beyond the first year by meeting an annual spending requirement.
The information for the Emirates World Elite Master card and the Emirates Skywards Rewards Mastercard has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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If you have status, you can then redeem a huge 163,500 miles for a one-way first-class ticket from Midwest and East Coast U.S. cities to Dubai International Airport (DXB) and 186,000 miles for a one-way ticket from the West Coast. Taxes and fees are high too, at $900-plus per one-way flight per passenger.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Bilt Rewards Points, Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Emirates Skywards. However, Amex and Chase will pause transfers to Emirates on May 28 and May 29, respectively. Further, Citi will devalue its Emirates transfer ratio from 1:1 to 1:0.8 on July 27.
Upgrading to first class with Emirates Skywards
Another good — but still not cheap — way to fly in Emirates first class is to book a business-class ticket with miles or cash, and then upgrade that ticket with miles. You must book a business-class ticket to do this, as economy and premium economy tickets can only be upgraded to business class.
The number of miles you’ll spend on an upgrade to first class depends on the type of business-class fare you book. You can view upgrade pricing on Emirates’ mileage calculator by inputting your routing and noting your cabin class (business) and Skywards status tier from the drop-downs. There’s then a tab for upgrade prices.
Here’s an example of a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to DXB. Note that there is no cash copay, so the price you see below is the “all-in” price for upgrades.
As you can see, the lower the business-class fare you book, the more miles you’ll need to upgrade. Further, you cannot upgrade Business Special fares, and Business Saver fares can only be upgraded at check-in and on board.
If you want to upgrade before the day of departure, you need to book Business Flex or Business Flex Plus. Unfortunately, this is more expensive (if you’re booking a cash ticket) and doesn’t guarantee an upgrade. You can see if upgrade space is available when booking a business-class ticket with cash or points. Generally, seeing first-class award tickets on Emirates partner websites like Air Canada and Qantas also indicates open upgrade space.
If there’s no confirmable award space, you can waitlist for an upgrade if space opens up. You can do this through the “Manage booking” page on Emirates’ website.
Meanwhile, some travelers have had luck upgrading to first class at the airport. If a first-class seat is still for sale at check-in or boarding, speak with an agent and ask them to process a mileage upgrade.
TPG’s senior editorial director, Nick Ewen, accomplished this in June 2024 when flying Emirates’ fifth-freedom flight from Athens International Airport (ATH) to Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). Here’s what he had to say:
I had a bunch of Emirates Skywards miles left over from a disastrous canceled trip in 2022, so I used them to book three Business Flex Plus tickets for me, my wife and my daughter from ATH-EWR. I knew (from the calculator) that upgrading to first class would require 39,000 Skywards miles per passenger, if seats were available. Thankfully, the seat map of the Boeing 777-300ER showed seven as unoccupied when we departed for the airport.
When we got there, I asked the check-in agent about upgrades, and when she confirmed availability, I transferred 117,000 Capital One miles to my Skywards account (which arrived instantly — much to the agent’s surprise). Soon, I had three first-class boarding passes in hand.
Yes, that’s a lot of miles for a single flight (after having used a ton to book business class in the first place). However, it was an incredible experience for my family — and one that we’ll remember for a long time.
Related: Stuck in coach with no elite status? That upgrade might be cheaper than you think
Book with Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada and Emirates have a nonalliance partnership that lets Aeroplan members redeem points for Emirates flights. However, unlike most Aeroplan partner awards, Emirates flights are priced dynamically. Prices can vary greatly depending on when you book and where you fly.
Aeroplan awards on Emirates still appear on the Aeroplan award chart, but awards only have “Starting at” prices for each distance band. Flights from the U.S. to Dubai fall under the “Between North America and Atlantic zones” award chart.
In practice, however, you’ll find that Emirates first-class award tickets price much higher than the “Starting at” price. For example, a flight from Dulles International Airport (IAD) near Washington, D.C., to DXB covers 7,069 miles, which means the starting price for an Emirates first-class award ticket is 130,000 points. Next January, however, the flight costs 691,400 points plus $58.04 in taxes and fees.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Bilt Rewards points, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Aeroplan. Plus, Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a 3:1 ratio, with a bonus of 5,000 Aeroplan points awarded for every 60,000 Marriott points transferred.
Book with Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qantas and Emirates have a similar nonalliance partnership that allows Qantas Frequent Flyer members to redeem points on Emirates flights. As with Aeroplan, this includes first-class award tickets. Thankfully, Qantas has kept a standard award chart for these redemptions, and they are far less expensive than what Aeroplan charges for Emirates flights.
These flights are currently priced based on Qantas’ Partner Classic Flight Reward chart. Unfortunately, this distance-based award chart will be changing Aug. 5, making award tickets more expensive. However, you can book at current rates through Aug. 5, even if your flight departs after this date.
Here’s a look at pricing:
Many Emirates flights from the U.S. to Dubai fall into the 5,801- to 7,000-mile distance band, meaning they cost 149,800 Qantas points each way. Expect to pay at least $835 in taxes and fees on a one-way flight.
You can book all of Emirates’ first-class routes with Qantas points, even fifth-freedom routes like from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG) and from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP). This provides ways to experience Emirates’ first class without flying to Dubai.
Read more: Flying Emirates’ first class from Miami to Bogota
These flights are significantly less expensive than flights from the U.S. to Dubai, too. For example, you can fly from MIA to BOG for 64,500 points and $102 in first class.
You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points, Bilt Rewards points and Capital One miles to Qantas Frequent Flyer. Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer at a 3:1 ratio, with a 5,000-point bonus awarded for every 60,000 points transferred.
Bottom line
Booking Emirates first-class award tickets isn’t as easy as it used to be, but there are still a few ways to do so. These days, your best bet is to either book a first-class ticket outright with Qantas Frequent Flyer or book a business-class ticket and upgrade to first class with Emirates Skywards miles. The latter of those options is even available at the airport when checking in for your flight (subject to availability).
Regardless of which way you book, however, be prepared to spend a hefty amount of points and cash, though splurging for this over-the-top product may be worth it under the right circumstances.
