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Three major global airline alliances (Star Alliance, Oneworld, and SkyTeam) contain the majority of the world's airline partnerships. However, we see other airline partnerships formed all the time — from Alaska Airlines and Porter to Etihad and Azul. Recently, Aegean Airlines and Emirates enhanced their partnership.
Although the two airlines are somewhat close in proximity, Aegean (a Star Alliance member) and Emirates (which doesn't belong to any airline alliance) don't have much in common. But the two airlines have expanded their partnership to include earning and redeeming miles with each other, which has led to some interesting redemption opportunities. Let's take a closer look at this partnership and whether it's worth utilizing.
Earning Aegean Miles on Emirates Flights
This is the chart for earning Aegean Miles+Bonus miles on Emirates paid flights. You can see that with higher fare classes comes the opportunity to earn more Aegean miles.
Redeeming Aegean Miles on Emirates Flights
Aegean uses a zone-based chart for redeeming miles on Emirates flights. The chart below is for round-trip flights in economy (Y), business (C), and first (F) class. You can divide the number in half for one-way flights.
Here are some interesting routes that could be worth considering.
Dubai to Bangkok in business class for 45k miles each way
Since Emirates mostly flies from its hub in Dubai (DXB), looking at the Middle East to various regions is a good place to start. For example, this Dubai (DXB) to Bangkok (BKK) business class flight is only 45,000 Aegean miles one-way:
The downside? Taxes and fees tack on €382 ($441). But the same flight booked through Emirates costs AED 1,640 ($446) out-of-pocket plus 100,500 Skyward miles — more than double the mileage required through Aegean.
Barcelona to Mexico City in business class for 55k miles each way
This 12-hour fifth-freedom route between Barcelona (BCN) and Mexico City (MEX) is only 55,000 miles and $140.
Again, through Emirates the flight costs quite a bit more miles with similar fees — 96,000 plus the same $140 to be exact.
It's worth mentioning that the above chart does indicate Emirates first class awards as bookable through Aegean. This is interesting because Emirates recently announced that first-class awards would only be available to elite members through their own program. Although Aegean included these awards in the above award chart, we haven't found any Emirates First Class awards bookable through Aegean yet.
How to earn Aegean miles
Of course, the problem is that Aegean Miles+Bonus miles are hard to earn. Aegean isn't a transfer partner of any major bank points program. However, you can transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to Aegean at a 3:1 ratio — meaning 3,000 Marriott points would net you 1,000 Aegean Miles. However, this option won't make sense for most travelers.
Since Aegean is a member of the Star Alliance, you can credit flights on other Star Alliance airlines — including ANA, Lufthansa, Singapore, and United — to your Aegean Miles+Bonus account to earn miles.
You can also purchase Aegean miles for €25 per 1,000 miles. That means it would cost €1,125 plus the €382 co-pay (for a total of $1741) for the Dubai to Bangkok business-class seat mentioned above. Although that is a reasonable price, many points and miles collectors want to use as little cash as possible, making this option unpalatable.
Earning Emirates Miles on Aegean Flights
This chart shows how you'll earn Emirates Skywards miles on Aegean flights credited to Miles+Bonus:
As you can see, you'll need to book business class flights to earn 100% of flight miles — making this one of the less-lucrative earning opportunities.
Redeeming Emirates Miles on Aegean Flights
The chart for redeeming Emirates miles isn't as attractive as the Aegean chart. However, the ability to transfer points from all major bank currencies to Skywards makes these redemptions much more accessible for flyers. Emirates' chart for booking Aegean flights is distance-based:
There is decent value for short-haul flights from Aegean's hub in Athens (ATH), like this flight to Istanbul (IST) for only 8,000 miles and €40 ($46) in taxes and fees.
The same flight would be available to book through United Airlines for 6,000 miles and $35. However, booking through Skywards miles could be a solid alternative if you don't have United miles (or Chase points).
Related: How to Consolidate Transferable Points for an Award Ticket
The fastest and most flexible way to accumulate Emirates Skywards miles is to transfer them from any of Emirates' transfer partners. Emirates has become one of the few airlines to partner with every major transferable award currency. Points can be transferred from the following:
Final Thoughts
This enhanced partnership between Aegean and Emirates opens up new earning and redemption opportunities. However, it's not a comprehensive loyalty program partnership quite yet. Most notably, travelers won’t receive reciprocal elite perks — such as lounge access or additional baggage allowance — when flying either carrier as an elite member of the other.
Still, this tie-up offers some intriguing sweet spots, especially for travelers who already have Aegean miles or can access Emirates miles via transferable points. Options like flying Emirates business class from Dubai to Bangkok for 45,000 Aegean miles — or using Emirates miles for short-haul Aegean flights — highlight how these cross-program partnerships can deliver solid value.
These types of collaborations may not rival full alliance membership, but they’re a welcome development for savvy travelers looking to stretch their miles in new and creative ways.
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