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Emirates holds a lot of prestige in the aviation world. When travelers think of Emirates, they think of pure luxury: gold-finished cabins, onboard showers, Dom Pérignon Champagne, caviar, and VIP treatment.
Unfortunately, Emirates is also known for sky-high prices and mileage devaluations. Several transferable points currencies have devalued transfers to Emirates — or removed Emirates as a partner altogether — and consistent program devaluations have made it incredibly challenging to squeeze value from Emirates Skywards miles.
That said, Emirates Skywards is still a prime option for booking luxurious Emirates flights — and generally the most straightforward way to book Emirates First Class using miles — but you'll pay a lot of miles and some hefty surcharges. And there are still some sweet spots to be found, even beyond Emirates flights.
Here are the best uses of Emirates Skywards miles.
Redeeming Skywards for Emirates Flights
Emirates has waffled back and forth with the surcharges tacked onto award tickets over the years. In years past, the carrier charged incredibly steep fees for premium-class awards on its own aircraft. It wasn't uncommon to see fuel surcharges well over $1,000 round trip. Surprisingly, Emirates unexpectedly cut surcharges by up to 90% in 2020. This move made Emirates awards far more attractive.
But it didn't last. Emirates fuel surcharges skyrocketed in the middle of 2022, which was followed later that year by a program devaluation. Overnight, some routes experienced a 20% increase in their award cost. This one-two punch took Emirates Skywards from a generally good program for booking Emirates flights to one where you should carefully consider which awards you want to book.
This continues a pattern of frequent — and sometimes abrupt — Skywards pricing changes. In early 2026, Emirates revamped its partner award charts, cutting some partner award prices by up to 76%. Just two months later, it hiked its own premium awards by 15%.
But the problem is this: If you want to book that bucket-list trip in Emirates First Class, you need to use Skywards.
Best Emirates First Class redemption options
Currently, Emirates' own Skywards program is the simplest option for booking Emirates' fabled First Class. There used to be other options, including Japan Airlines (JAL) and Alaska Airlines, but these have since ended.
It's clear that Emirates wants travelers to use its own program to make these bookings. Only limited award availability can be found via Qantas (now restricted to elite status members), and unattractive rates are available through Aeroplan if you're even lucky enough to find one.
Related: How To Book Emirates First Class Award Travel
An aspirational trip in Emirates' First Class suite is one of the best uses of Emirates Skywards — simply for the luxury experience. But it's costly. You can estimate the number of miles you'll need for a first-class trip using Emirates' miles calculator. However, keep in mind that you can now only use miles for Emirates First Class if you hold Emirates elite status.
Here are a few one-way routes to consider flying Emirates First Class:
- New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP) for 117,000 miles
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH) for 117,000 miles
- Dubai (DXB) to Cape Town (CPT) for 124,000 miles
- Seoul (ICN) to Dubai (DXB) for 136,000 miles
Keep in mind that the taxes and fees on these routes are normally astronomical.
If you hold Emirates Silver, Gold, or Platinum status, upgrading a Business Saver ticket to First Class can sometimes cost slightly fewer miles than booking First Class outright. Business Saver upgrades are only available during online check-in, at the airport, or onboard, so there’s no guarantee First Class space will be available.
The availability you'll find when upgrading is generally friendlier than the availability you'll find (or struggle to find) when booking an Emirates First Class award outright. Even better, the upgrade prices are more than palatable.
Redeeming for Emirates business class
These same routes offer some of the best deals for business class using Skywards. Luckily, you can now book one-way Business Saver awards for half the cost of a round trip. Previously, you had to book a Business Flex Plus fare if you booked a one-way journey.
Here's how much you'd spend for a one-way ticket in Business Saver, plus the upgrade to First Class:
- New York City (JFK) to Milan (MXP) for 59,000 miles, plus 56,000 miles to upgrade to First Class
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH) for 59,000 miles, plus 56,000 miles to upgrade to First Class
- Dubai (DXB) to Cape Town (CPT) for 63,000 miles, plus 67,000 miles to upgrade to First Class
- Seoul (ICN) to Dubai (DXB) for 69,000 miles, plus 73,000 miles to upgrade to First Class
In other words, upgrading can actually help you access First Class for less. If you book a Business Saver ticket and upgrade to First Class on the route from New York to Milan, you'll pay a total of 115,000 miles each way, compared to 117,000 miles each way to book First Class outright. The caveat: Business Saver tickets can only be upgraded at check-in and onboard. If there isn't first-class availability, you're out of luck. However, you'd still be flying in Emirates Business Class, so you can't complain.
Take advantage of Emirates' fifth-freedom routes
Fifth-freedom routes are passenger flights operated by an airline between two countries, neither of which is the airline's home country. We've highlighted some of these routes above. A perfect example is Emirates' flight between New York and Milan. Neither of these cities is located in the United Arab Emirates — the home country of Emirates. Instead, the flight operates as part of Emirates’ Dubai–Milan–New York service. In one direction, the aircraft flies DXB–MXP–JFK, then operates the reverse routing back to Dubai.
These fifth-freedom routes are noteworthy because they operate in highly competitive markets — typically resulting in lower prices and increased award availability. They present some of the best value for redeeming Skywards miles.
As of July 2026, Emirates operates the following fifth-freedom routes at various times during the year:
- Bangkok (BKK) to/from Siem Reap (SAI)
- New York City (JFK) to/from Milan (MXP)
- Newark (EWR) to/from Athens (ATH)
- Miami (MIA) to/from Bogotá (BOG)
- Mexico City (MEX) to/from Barcelona (BCN)
- Hong Kong (HKG) to/from Bangkok (BKK)
- Harare (HRE) to/from Lusaka (LUN)
- Dakar (DSS) to/from Conakry (CKY)
- Accra (ACC) to/from Abidjan (ABJ)
- Sydney (SYD) to/from Christchurch (CHC)
- Rio de Janeiro (GIG) to/from Buenos Aires (EZE)
- Colombo (CMB) to/from Malé (MLE)
- Singapore (SIN) to/from Phnom Penh (KTI)
- Bangkok (BKK) to/from Da Nang (DAD)
- Malta (MLA) to/from Larnaca (LCA)
- Seychelles (SEZ) to/from Antananarivo (TNR)
However, even a short route like Hong Kong to Bangkok costs 104,000 Skywards miles round trip in First Class. A flight of just over three hours — Christchurch to Sydney — will set you back 190,000 miles round trip. If you simply want to say you've flown Emirates First Class, this is generally the cheapest way to do so. But I'll argue that a four-hour flight is short of the full experience.
Be aware that Emirates operates some of its fifth-freedom routes using a Boeing 777 variant. In general, the premium product offerings on these aircraft are far inferior to those offered on Emirates' Airbus A380, unless you get lucky with Emirates’ newest Boeing 777 cabin. You should check the aircraft before booking if there is a specific experience you'd like to have on board.
Redeeming on Partner Airlines
Emirates isn't part of any major airline alliance, but it does have several individual airline partnerships. The carrier used to have unique award charts for each partner, but these were scrapped in favor of a common distance-based chart for all partners. Amid the bad press Emirates has received over the past few years, the new partner award charts that rolled out in 2026 with very favorable rates were a positive development.
Here is the updated Emirates Skywards partner award chart, for reference:
| One-way distance (in miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-300 | 3,000 | 6,000 | 7,500 |
| 301-500 | 4,500 | 9,000 | 11,500 |
| 501-700 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 15,000 |
| 701-900 | 8,000 | 16,000 | 20,000 |
| 901-1,500 | 11,000 | 22,000 | 27,500 |
| 1,501-2,000 | 17,000 | 34,000 | 42,500 |
| 2,001-3,000 | 22,500 | 45,000 | 56,500 |
| 3,001-4,000 | 27,000 | 54,000 | 67,500 |
| 4,001-5,000 | 30,000 | 60,000 | 75,000 |
| 5,001+ | 37,500 | 75,000 | 94,000 |
This award chart applies to the following airline partners:
- Aegean Airlines
- Air Mauritius
- Azul
- Bangkok Airways
- Condor
- Copa Airlines
- Garuda Indonesia
- GOL
- Korean Air
- Malaysia Airlines
- Olympic Air
- South African Airways
- TAP Air Portugal
If you want to use your Emirates Skywards miles for Qantas flights, you'll use this award chart, which also got a mostly positive update in March 2026:
| One-way distance (in miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-600 | 9,500 | 14,500 | 19,500 |
| 601-1,200 | 14,000 | 22,000 | 29,000 |
| 1,201-2,400 | 21,000 | 33,000 | 44,000 |
| 2,401-3,600 | 23,500 | 51,000 | 68,500 |
| 3,601-4,800 | 29,000 | 62,000 | 82,500 |
| 4,801-5,800 | 36,500 | 74,000 | 98,500 |
| 5,801-7,000 | 43,500 | 85,500 | 114,000 |
| 7,001-8,400 | 48,500 | 98,000 | 130,500 |
| 8,401-9,600 | 59,000 | 114,000 | 152,000 |
| 9,601+ | 63,500 | 125,000 | 166,500 |
Finally, Air Canada, Japan Airlines, Jetstar, and United Airlines still use the older, unchanged Emirates partner award chart:
| One‑way distance (miles) | Economy Class | Business Class |
|---|---|---|
| 0–250 | 8,000 | 17,500 |
| 251–500 | 8,000 | 25,000 |
| 501–1,000 | 12,000 | 35,000 |
| 1,001–2,000 | 18,000 | 50,000 |
| 2,001–3,000 | 22,000 | 65,000 |
| 3,001–4,000 | 26,000 | 77,500 |
| 4,001–5,000 | 32,000 | 92,500 |
| 5,001–6,000 | 38,000 | 105,000 |
| 6,001–7,000 | 44,000 | 125,000 |
| 7,001–15,000 | 54,000 | 145,000 |
Best uses of Emirates Skywards for partner flights
At present, here are some of the best uses of Emirates Skywards for partner flights:
- Newark and Washington Dulles to various destinations in Western Europe on United Airlines: 77,500 Skywards miles in business class
- Japan to Hawaii on Japan Airlines: 77,500 Skywards miles in business class
- Vancouver to Tokyo on Air Canada: 92,500 Skywards miles in business class
- U.S. West Coast to Tokyo on Japan Airlines or United Airlines: 105,000 Skywards miles in business class
- U.S. West Coast to Seoul on Korean Air: 94,000 Skywards miles in business class
- U.S. East Coast to Lisbon on TAP Air Portugal: 67,500 Skywards miles in business class
- Montreal to Dublin on Air Canada: 65,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Istanbul to Mauritius on Air Mauritius: 75,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Kuala Lumpur to Sydney on Malaysia Airlines: 75,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Sydney to Singapore on Qantas: 82,500 Skywards miles in business class
Searching and Booking Award Space
Booking Emirates flights
If you're looking for an Emirates-operated flight, you can use the Emirates award search tool. The Emirates website isn't the worst search experience out there, but you are limited to searching for awards in a single cabin. And unlike other carriers, Emirates doesn't display a week of dates at the top of your search results. To view multiple dates at one time, click “My dates are flexible” when you search, and you'll see an overview of prices for a few days. Next, click the date to see available flights.
If you don't want to search for availability at random, you might be better off using a tool like Seats.aero to identify open business-class seats.
Booking partner flights
To book partner flights, you'll follow the same process. However, under airline, select “flydubai & partners.” If you don't change this option, you'll only see Emirates flights in the search results, and you might not be able to enter the necessary airport codes.
The website has improved over the years, but it's still glitchy, and Emirates' award search doesn't show all partner award availability. Some partner awards can be booked online, including Air Canada, Condor, JAL, Qantas, and United Airlines.
For others, U.S.-based travelers either need to call Emirates at 800-777-3999 or initiate a chat with Emirates customer service reps to check availability.
I'd recommend searching with other sites before hoping to spot partner award availability. These searches can help identify likely partner award space, but Emirates can offer additional inventory to its own members.
Here are some suggestions for finding award space with partner sites:
- When searching for JAL partner award availability, use
American Airlines - To find Korean Air or Air Mauritius partner award availability, search on Air France's site.
- For South African Airways partner award availability, search for South African award flights on United's website.
Make sure you confirm availability with the phone agent before transferring any points to your Skywards account!
Earning Emirates Skywards Miles
With any
Earn with an Emirates credit card
Barclays issues two Emirates co-branded
- Emirates Skywards
Rewards 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
Related: When Does It Make Sense To Buy Emirates Skywards Miles?
Transfer flexible rewards to Emirates Skywards
The fastest and most flexible way to accumulate Skywards miles is to transfer them from any of Emirates' transfer partners. Points can be transferred from the following:
At one point, Emirates was one of the few airlines to partner with every major transferable award currency, and the transfer ratios were fantastic. Now, the only major currency that transfers at a 1:1 ratio is Bilt Points.
Before transferring your points, you should consider three things:
- Ratio: How many Skywards miles will you receive for every point transferred?
- Transfer times: How long will it take for the points to arrive in your Skywards account?
- Bonuses: Are there any current transfer bonuses that can give you even more value?
A card like the Bilt Palladium Card can be useful here, earning up to 2X Bilt Points on eligible purchases other than Bilt Housing Payments. At a 1:1 transfer ratio, that can translate to up to 2 Skywards miles per $1 spent.
- Earn points on housing payments with no transaction fee
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
- $400 Bilt Travel Hotel credit. Applied twice a year, as $200 statement credits, for qualifying Bilt Travel Portal hotel bookings.
- $200 Bilt Cash (awarded annually). At the end of each calendar year, any Bilt Cash balance over $100 will expire.
- Welcome bonus (subject to approval): 50,000 Bilt Points + Gold Status after spending $4,000 on everyday purchases in the first 90 days + $300 of Bilt Cash.
- Priority Pass ($469/year value). See Guide to Benefits.
- Bilt Point redemptions include airlines, hotels, future rent and mortgage payments, Lyft rides, statement credits, student loan balances, a down payment on a home, and more.
- Choose to earn 4% back in Bilt Cash on everyday spend. Use Bilt Cash to unlock point earnings on rent and mortgage payments with no transaction fee, up to 1X.
- 2X points on everyday spend
Related: How To Consolidate Transferable Points for an Award Ticket
Earn miles by flying Emirates or partner airlines
The other obvious way to accumulate Emirates miles is to purchase a ticket and fly on Emirates or one of its many partners. 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.
Emirates has made it even easier to accumulate miles by giving members the ability to pool miles with family members. However, points transferred from “financial conversion partners” cannot be pooled.
Final Thoughts
The Skywards program has undergone many changes over the past few years. But there is still value to be found in the program. A few of the best uses of Emirates Skywards are really attractive, including some of the airline's fifth-freedom routes that let you experience Emirates' amazing A380 and Boeing 777 First Class for a reasonable cost.
Flying Emirates’ First Class is a bucket-list endeavor for many travelers, without a doubt. But even if your goals are simply to spend the least amount of miles possible to get from A to B, the Skywards program should have a place on your radar.
Have you ever redeemed Emirates Skywards miles or found any exceptional sweet spots that I've missed? Let us know in the comments.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Bilt Palladium Card (Rates & Fees)
Emirates now blocks first class award tickets to elite members of their own program and has basically cut out any partner options. Not sure the purpose of posting this. I’ve flow Emirates and enjoyed them but they are not a very attractive use of transferable points in 2026. Easier just to pay cash frankly IMHO.
I tried using 130K Emirates miles today for a flight and that only shaved $690 off my flight. 6 months ago that same number of miles shaved more that $1500 off the same flight. Do miles values typically fluctuate? I am wondering if I should hold onto the miles and try to redeem them for a future flight rather than using them now.
I joined Skywards (and other programs) from TPG/Awardwallet articles last year just to cover all bases, and it’s great to know that I can leverage Chase/Amex points for redemptions on their flights. Let’s address the elephant in the room – is it worthwhile to transfer points for redemptions on Emirates/partner flights to/from the Middle East? (For example, Dubai, Amman, etc.) Thanks for the article.
All depends on the route and your other options! For some routes, Emirates Skywards is going to be best. On other routes, other programs can provide a better deal. But, one thing that we know for sure is that it’s a lot harder to find high-value Skywards redemptions on partners than before.
Hello, so can I redeem my AA miles to buy a ticket in Emirates or only with the airlines mentioned in the note?
Unfortunately, AA and Emirates aren’t partners. But we have a comprehensive list of all of the airlines that are partners of AA here: https://awardwallet.com/airlines/american-aadvantage/american-airlines-partners/
Thanks JT for the answer, great article
Hi, Great article. The request form link is broken,
Thanks for the heads up that this didn’t work. It looks like you need to be logged into your account already for that link to point the right place, so I added I note in the post about that.
Not a bad deal if you leverage it properly
It is a pity that Emirates does not yet participate in any of the major alliance companies. At least, they have partnerships with several airlines, including TAP Portugal.
I think Emirates is a great airline, but really wish they would join an alliance as it would make their frequent flyer scheme much more interesting. Ideally I would like them in Oneworld, but that obviously will never happen with Qatar in the same alliance competing in the same long haul hub market.
I did not realize what a great deal the Fifth Freedom routes options using miles with Emirates represented before. Fantastic insight!
Excellent Blog! It has very interesting information about the redeeming miles program and booking space!
Hello
The JAL Award Chart redemptions you refer to seem to have been increased significantly since your Article Date
No regional based Awards – just distance based
Award Redemption on JAL Tokyo > Sydney has increased from 85000 Return [Old Chart] to 76000 One Way
since your Article Date
Are you Aware??
No, we weren’t aware of this change. And this devaluation is a huge bummer. Thanks for pointing it out!
If you just have a few points you can use them at Dubai taxfree or to buy tickets for sports events,
I think it is one of the best airlines,
best service for what I have been told
I find Emirates loyalty program unattractive overall, but if you happen to have a stash of their points there are some niche products you can use. My personal choice would be to spend it on S7 airlines rewards.
JAL Round-trip to Australia from North America for 145k miles in business-class is phenomenal!
Thanks for posting!
I’ve flown 1st class on Cathay and will soon do so on JAL. I have a feeling that Emirates’ luxurious suites are the best ever.
Hopefully an aspirational use I can fulfill trying someday.
i like the idea of using some Skywards miles on Easyjet around Europe.
Do you mean on ‘Emirates’, not ‘Easyjet’?!
Emirates miles can be used on Easyjet, so it is an option for those living in or visiting Europe.
There was a rumor that Emirates is going to launch a credit card in the U.S.
If that becomes a reality, collecting and using Emirates miles will become easier.
I know as soon as I get to fly in a suite I’ll never be able to go back to cattle class…
This is very good insight in what Emirates awards might be able to get you.
Those fees are no joke, just took a look…
Unfortunately Alaska redemptions on Emirates are pretty steep…
good outline, shows the levels that you need to have
Our company makes the Super First Class and other products for Emirates, would love to fly in it someday.
I agree that there are a handful of nice opportunities in using Emirates Skywards miles but usually the majority of redemptions are not so cheap.
For me, the bese experience is the Emirate’s business class so far.
This is one great scheme for using their miles either on their flights or partners.
Thank you for this very detailed post.
The addition of Chase as a transfer partner is a benefit as are lower prices to/from Korea, but limited partner availability makes these changes of limited value to me. Thanks for the analysis in any case.
An excellent point. Glad they are now a UR partner though regardless.
Can get some decent value if you know where to look
Wow. A lot of excellent options.
good article, having some Emirates miles left.
Excellent Blog! It has very intresting information about the Skywards Miles program! Thankyou!
Thanks for the info! I have lots of points that transfer to Emirates, but have never done so.
This is a great write up. I didnt know their miles were so useful.
The possibility of the economy flex and upgrade to business class immediately with points is wonderful. Even better since you earn miles on the flight as well. Can you credit this paid flight to any other program than Emirates?
Almost two decades ago, you could earn MileagePlus miles on Emirates flights.
People may know them for lux but that is not the first thing that enters my mind when I see their airline name. I just don’t like some practices they have. It’s good to know and I understand equal op for using points but not me.
Some great partner airlines to use miles but the best is got to be Emirates First.
Emirates First Class via Skywards can be an excellent source for an RTW trip put together with all first class one-way awards from different FFPs.
Awesome post! I prefer pay J class tickets on 5th freedoom routes, they are quite cheap and I earn a lot of miles.
This article is very useful. Skywards program flexibility will be very convenient in future circumstances.
Thank you for this valuable information.
Thanks for highlighting the Emirates frequent flyer program. It is always good to have more options and look forward to using the program for redemptions.
I did not know about the 40K flights to Hawaii on Alaska. Great to know. Love these “best uses” articles.
They are great!
I had no idea that Emirates miles were so useful or easy to earn.
It sounds like the best use of Emirates miles in most cases is to fly partners, and not on Emirates.
This seems to be the way with a lot of airline programs!
Yes, it is somewhat ironic that such “loyalty” programs actually introduce you to and incentivize you to fly other airlines.
The problem I have faced twice with Skywards is having to waste 20,000+ miles as they could not be extended and the items in their online shop were dreadfully poor value. Ended up using the miles to enter their monthly draw. Didn’t win!! If I had done I might have a more positive comment. Cannot fault them as an airline however.
Thank you for such an understandable way! Clearly, I need to do research for my own travel needs!
Fantastic post! I hope to use this valuable information soon!
Wow. I had no idea that upgrading paid EFlex to Biz could be so advantageous. Thanks for calling that out; definitely something I’ll look for going forward!
Very thorough post
I had expiring Emirates skywards miles and ended up redeeming for Intra-US flights on Alaska. The value was not great. Upgrading from economy to Business/First would have yielded better value.
Thank you! Emirates is the best airline I have ever flown…