AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
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' site.
- 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 loyalty program, the first hurdle is always earning enough points or miles to do anything. There are many ways to accumulate Skywards miles, making it easy to earn enough for the redemption you want.
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.
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)
