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There's no shortage of ways to get from the U.S. to Europe using points and miles, but few are cheaper than flying Emirates. The Dubai-based airline operates two fifth-freedom routes between the U.S. and Europe: New York (JFK) to Milan, Italy (MXP) and Newark (EWR) to Athens, Greece (ATH). And the award rates are solid: Just 35,000 miles round-trip in economy and just 108,000 miles round-trip in business class.
Emirates recently hiked the fees for these award flights, which is a major bummer. But there is still some value to be had if you want to redeem your points and miles for a trip across the Atlantic. Here's how to find and book Emirates award flights to Europe and back.
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Emirates' Fifth-Freedom Routes to Italy and Greece
Fifth-freedom routes are passenger flights operated between two countries in which neither is the airline's country of origin. Emirates operates several fifth-freedom routes all over the world, but we're focusing on the following two:
- New York City (JFK) to/from Milan (MXP)
- Newark (EWR) to/from Athens (ATH)
Emirates operates the JFK-MXP route daily on its massive, double-decker Airbus A380. The flight to Milan clocks in at just shy of 8 hours, while the flight to New York is longer at 8 hours and 45 minutes. Keep that in mind if you're trying to maximize your Emirates business class experience.
Emirates also flies the EWR-ATH route daily on a Boeing 777. The flight to Athens is about 9 hours and 10 minutes long, while the flight to Newark takes 10 hours and 45 minutes.
Related: The Best Uses of Emirates Skywards Miles
Fly Emirates Economy for 17.5K Miles One-Way — or 35K Roundtrip
Emirates charges just 35,000 Skywards miles round-trip in economy for its flights between New York (JFK) and Milan (MXP) and Newark (EWR) and Athens (ATH). That's about as good as it gets for transatlantic flights between the U.S. and Europe.
What made these fifth-freedom routes such a great deal was the relatively reasonable taxes and fees, especially compared to other carriers. Unfortunately, Emirates recently increased the surcharges on these routes. You'll now pay close to $290 in taxes and fees round-trip — more than double what the airline was previously charging.
Notably, you can book one-ways for half the round-trip economy price — just 17,500 miles each way. This is a solid option if you're looking to round out your itinerary with a way to or from Europe, especially flying an airline that's routinely ranked as one of the best in the world.
How to search for Emirates award flights
You'll need to be logged into your Skywards account to search for award flights. It's free to join. Once you're logged in, toggle on “Classic Rewards” to start an award search. It will be easiest to search one-way and with flexible dates, so be sure to select the option for “(+/- 3 days).
The key is to find Saver award availability. Luckily, economy award availability on these Emirates Europe routes is fairly widespread.
Book Emirates Business Class for 108K Roundtrip…And High Fees
Emirates Business Class is on many travelers' bucket lists, and for good reason. Not only do you get lie-flat seats, incredible service, and top-notch food and drinks, but on the airline's A380, you'll also get access to a full onboard bar, one of the few bars you'll find in the sky.
Flying one of the airline's fifth-freedom routes is one of the best ways to book Emirates Business Class for fewer miles. But unlike with the economy flights, you'll need to book a round-trip to get the best deal.
Emirates charges 108,000 miles round-trip for either route. But with the increased surcharges, taxes and fees for these round-trip awards come out to an eye-popping $910. Yikes.
You need to find Saver award availability, which can be hard to come by. You'll have to search for a round-trip. It can take a lot of trial and error to find dates that work.
Make sure you're searching with flexible dates. This will pull up an award calendar of sorts that can help you find the lowest rates. Even if you don't see the 108,000-mile rate, look for any dates for 141,000 miles. That indicates that at least one of those flights is at the Saver rate of 54,000 miles. From there, you may be able to start to piece together a viable itinerary.
Booking one-way, you'll only be able to book the Flex Plus rate of 87,000 miles and about $434 in taxes and fees. At that price, there are cheaper business class awards to Europe where you can get better value for your points and miles.
Related: My Experience Flying Emirates Business Class: Did it Live Up to the Hype?
How to Earn Emirates Miles
Before you can book any of these flights, you'll need to earn Emirates Skywards miles. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to do so.
Transfer flexible rewards to Emirates Skywards
The easiest is, of course, by transferring flexible points currencies to Emirates. Emirates was one of the few airlines to partner with all the major transferable award currencies. But that has changed with Chase Ultimate Rewards dropping Emirates as a transfer partner on October 16, 2025. Meanwhile, points transfers from Citi and American Express to Emirates have dropped to a less than 1:1 transfer ratio.
Here are the current transfer options of points you can transfer to Emirates:
You'll see that Capital One and Bilt Rewards still have a 1:1 transfer ratio with Emirates. That means you can earn miles on cards like the popular Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and turn them into Emirates miles you need to book these fifth-freedom flights to Europe.
Earn miles by flying Emirates or partner airlines
The most obvious way to earn Emirates miles is by flying Emirates or one of its many partner airlines. You'll earn miles based on the distance flown and the fare class booked. You can calculate your exact earnings by using Emirates' miles calculator. Just remember to add your Emirates Skywards membership number to your booking if flying an eligible partner airline.
Emirates also gives you the option to pool miles with family members.
Earn with an Emirates credit card
Barclays issues two Emirates co-branded credit cards in the U.S.:
- Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard®
- Earn 40,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
- $99 annual fee.
- Emirates Skywards Silver status during your first year as a cardholder.
- Earn 3X on Emirates purchases, 2X on travel, and 1X on other purchases.
- Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard®
- Earn 70,000 bonus Skywards miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
- $499 annual fee.
- Emirates Skywards Gold status during your first year as a cardholder.
- Earn 3X on Emirates purchases, 2X on travel, and 1X on other purchases.
- 10,000 bonus miles on each cardholder anniversary.
Buy Emirates Skywards miles
While it's not a good fit for every situation, we're fans of strategically buying points and miles. If you're tapped out of other options and need to top off your account, buying Emirates Skywards miles could let you book an award that you otherwise wouldn't have enough miles for. Just make sure to do the math to make sure it makes sense to do so — instead of booking the flight with cash.
Related: How My Family Saved Thousands by Buying Points
Bottom Line
Emirates' two fifth-freedom routes from the U.S. to Europe present solid options for using your points and miles. Just 17,5000 miles each way — or 35,000 miles round-trip — in economy to Italy or Greece is on par or better than what many other airlines charge for similar flights, even with the now-higher taxes and fees. Business class awards are no longer the value they once were, thanks to higher surcharges. But this is still a decent sweet spot if you're looking to fly on one of the world's best airlines.
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