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You can now book Emirates awards using Air Canada Aeroplan points. The move is the latest development in the in-depth partnership between both programs announced earlier this year.
New Emirates Award Chart
The Aeroplan program can offer tremendous value due to its excellent sweet spots and great award chart. However, awards are not as generous with the new Emirates partnership. Instead, Aeroplan has introduced a unique distance-based award chart for Emirates awards.
And unfortunately, the new Emirates award chart is more expensive than standard Aeroplan awards. One thing to keep in mind is that with the new chart, it looks like you will be able to redeem your points for Emirates first-class travel, albeit at an expensive rate.
Emirates Routes from the U.S.
Almost all Emirates routes fall in the 5,001-9,000 miles range when heading from the US to Dubai. That means one-way business class awards will set you back between 80,000 and 185,000 points plus taxes and fees. If you can get the low end of the spectrum, these awards can be good value.
Although if you're looking at first-class travel, then the price is insane! You can expect to pay between 225,000 and 475,000 points plus taxes and fees.
Economy awards from the U.S. are slightly overpriced, setting you back between 40,000 and 85,000 points one way, plus taxes and fees.
Other Potential Aeroplan Sweet Spots on Emirates
Although the new Emirates award chart is substantially more expensive, it still has some great options if you take the time to dig around.
Flights Under 5,000 Miles
Flights between 2,001 and 5,000 miles will set you back between 45,000 and 145,000 points plus taxes and fees one way in business class.
Factoring in that you are connecting in Dubai opens up a whole lot of routes for you. For instance, London to Delhi is just under the 5,000 miles mark, making it a great option.
Istanbul to Bangkok also comes in at under 5,000 miles making it another great option to sample Emirates business class on a long-haul flight (the Dubai to Bangkok segment).
Flights Under 7,500 Miles
There are other potential sweet spots on somewhat longer fights. For example, Dubai to Sydney clocks in at around 7,500 miles. With the new chart, one-way awards in business class will set you back as few as 80,000 Aeroplan points.
Temporary Aeroplan Award Pricing on Emirates
At this point, there are a few temporary sweet spots booking Aeroplan Emirates awards. This is because the new award chart has not been implemented yet. As a result, you can currently book Emirates awards deep into 2023 (November) using the standard Aeroplan partner awards chart. Several data points online suggest that the new chart will come into force early in 2023.
Heading to Dubai from the U.S., there is some great value. From the East coast, business class awards from Washington IAD to Dubai will set you back 90,000 points plus around $75 in taxes and fees:
From the West Coast, there is also some great value to be had. One-way business class awards from Los Angeles (LAX) to Dubai will set you back 110,000 points plus around $75 in taxes and fees:
Due to the way the Aeroplan award chart splits up the world and distance-based pricing, other great options include heading from the US to India, for instance. One-way business class awards from Los Angeles (LAX) to Delhi (DEL) via Dubai will also set you back 110,000 points plus around $75 in taxes and fees.
One thing to remember if you want to take advantage of these sweet spots is that there is no indication of how long they will last. They could be gone in a couple of weeks or months. Therefore, if you have solid travel plans and find a sweet deal that works for you, book it and lock in the lower pricing.
Our Take
It is excellent news to see the Emirates Aeroplan award partnership developing at pace. Although the new award chart is somewhat expensive, it still has some value to offer. The new chart will even give you another way to book Emirates first class, which has gotten more and more difficult in the past couple of years. In the meantime, hopefully, the temporary sweet spots last for as long as possible!
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