After I saw the recent news that Emirates had determined to limit first-class awards to elite Platinum, Gold and Silver members of its Emirates Skywards loyalty program, I believed my dream of flying this aspirational product with onboard bars, showers and limitless caviar was over.
I’ve by no means held, and can possible by no means maintain, any Skywards elite standing. Couple this with a number of bank card applications “quickly” suspending points transfers to Skywards, and I used to be chalking this as much as a “ought to have booked it once I might” lesson of incomes and redeeming factors and miles.
Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless a simple technique to guide Emirates firstclass, and it in the end helped me obtain my dream in any case. This is what you need to learn about it.
Associated: Emirates first class still wows: Fully enclosed suites and unlimited caviar
We’re within the golden age of Qantas factors
Studying that Skywards was including restrictions to its personal members’ capability to guide first-class awards, I naturally assumed they’d add comparable restrictions to associate airline applications. In any case, if an entry-level Skywards member can not guide an Emirates award, why let an entry-level member of one other loyalty program achieve this?
However up to now, that hasn’t occurred.
The perfect associate applications to guide Emirates awards have historically been Air Canada’s Aeroplan program and Qantas Frequent Flyer. Aeroplan just lately began pricing Emirates awards dynamically, and whereas Aeroplan nonetheless has entry to first-class awards, these are priced as much as 750,000 Aeroplan factors per flight, which isn’t a superb deal.
Nonetheless, Emirates first-class awards are nonetheless available to all Qantas members utilizing Qantas factors, with comparable charges and costs, taxes and surcharges as Skywards costs its elite members.
Utilizing my secret weapon, Seats.aero, I simply discovered a number of nonstop flights from North America to Dubai Worldwide Airport (DXB).
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This is an instance of some flights out there in late September and early October of this 12 months, when the summer time temperatures within the Center East turn into milder.
Qantas presently costs the next charges for Emirates first-class awards, one-way, per particular person:
- Flights 0 to 600 miles in size: 29,000 factors
- Flights 601 to 1,200 miles in size: 43,500 factors
- Flights 1,201 to 2,400 miles in size: 64,500 factors (this consists of Emirates’ new service from Florida to Colombia)
- Flights 2,401 to three,600 miles in size: 89,800 factors (this consists of most routes from Europe to Dubai)
- Flights 3,601 to 4,800 miles in size: 107,700 factors (this consists of Emirates’ fifth-freedom routes between North America and Europe)
- Flights 4,801 to five,800 miles in size: 149,800 factors (this consists of departures from the Northeast to Dubai)
- Flights 5,801 to 7,000 miles in size: 170,800 factors (this consists of all different U.S. departures, together with from the West Coast)
Associated: A review of Emirates business class on the Airbus A380 from New York to Milan
I jumped on this nice availability and pricing, reserving an Emirates first-class flight from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) to DXB on the Airbus A380 round two weeks earlier than departure for 89,800 Qantas factors plus 572 British kilos, which is about $775 and consists of the compulsory Air Passenger Duty tax for all departures from the UK.
Keep tuned for a full report of my bucket-list flight, however let’s simply say it exceeded my already excessive expectations.
Another excuse proper now’s such a good time to think about Qantas factors is that for bookings constituted of Aug. 5 onward, Emirates flights might be priced in line with the Qantas award chart (slightly than the associate award chart), which means charges (and surcharges) will principally improve as follows:
- Flights 0 to 600 miles in size: 29,000 factors (no change)
- Flights 601 to 1,200 miles in size: 43,600 factors (up by 100 factors)
- Flights 1,201 to 2,400 miles in size: 65,300 (up by 1,200 factors)
- Flights 2,401 to three,600 miles in size: 102,600 factors (up by 12,800 factors)
- Flights 3,601 to 4,800 miles in size: 123,100 (up by 15,400 factors)
- Flights 4,801 to five,800 miles in size: 149,800 factors (down by 2,100 factors)
- Flights 5,801 to 7,000 miles in size: 170,800 factors (no change)
Regardless that some Emirates first-class award flights from the U.S. booked with Qantas factors will lower barely for bookings constituted of Aug. 5 onward, we do not know the way lengthy Qantas Frequent Flyer members can have entry to such beneficiant Emirates first-class availability.
In any case, as this entry is best than what’s supplied to entry-level Skywards members, I would not be stunned if Emirates decides to scale back the variety of first-class seats out there to associate airline applications like Qantas.
How you can earn Qantas factors
Qantas factors are simple to earn, as Qantas Frequent Flyer is a switch associate of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Listed below are a number of the greatest bank card welcome affords out there proper now that you can leverage to switch to Qantas at a 1:1 charge:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards factors after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
- American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards factors after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards factors after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases within the first three months of card membership. Plus, earn a $500 assertion credit score after spending $2,500 on qualifying flights booked immediately with airways or via American Specific Journey within the first three months of card membership. You’ll be able to earn one or each of those affords, which finish June 30.
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases inside the first three months from account opening.
- Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus factors after spending $4,000 on purchases inside three months from account opening.
Backside line
If you wish to guide Emirates’ fabulous first-class product with factors and miles and haven’t got elite standing in Emirates’ personal Skywards loyalty program, this can be a nice time to have a look at the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.
On condition that entry-level Skywards members not have entry to those seats, I would argue availability via Qantas Frequent Flyer has by no means been higher.
The beneficiant award availability could not final, and with most Emirates first-class awards growing in value for bookings constituted of Aug. 5 onward, now’s the golden age of Qantas factors, transferable from Amex, Capital One and Citi.
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