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Traveling aboard Emirates First Class is seen by many as the pinnacle of travel luxury. With as much marketing that Emirates has done sponsoring global sports teams and enviable events, the perception for folks — even those not “into” points and miles — is that Emirates is the way to fly. With two first-class products flying in the sky, the demand for the airline's premier product has only grown.
Let's look at how to book Emirates First Class award travel in 2024.
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Book First Class Through Emirates Skywards
Naturally, you can use Emirates Skywards to book yourself into First Class luxury. And there are two ways to do so. The first is more traditional, but comes at a higher price tag. The second requires some strategy and luck.
Book a First Class ticket outright
The most traditional way to book Emirates First Class is to look for award availability on the Emirates' website (or Seats.aero) and secure it with your Skywards miles. Emirates uses straightforward pricing for each route, and availability is generally good, making redemptions fairly easy if you have the required mileage balance.
Emirates operates an entirely wide-body fleet, and most planes feature First Class cabins. At present, you'll find these luxurious cabins on the following routes, but note that the airline could swap in a plane with a different cabin at any time.
And now for what it costs. Here's what you can expect to pay on various one-way routes operated by First Class-equipped planes:
- New York-Kennedy (JFK) to Milan (MXP): 102,00 Skywards miles
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH): 102,000 Skywards miles
- Toronto (YYZ) to Dubai (DXB): 163,500 Skywards miles
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Dubai (DXB): 163,500 Skywards miles
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Dubai (DXB): 186,000 Skywards Miles
It's worth noting that the award taxes and fees are substantial.
Related: Our Complete Guide to Seats.aero
Upgrade to Emirates First Class with Skywards miles
Perhaps an even easier (and potentially cheaper) way to First Class is via a mileage upgrade. Emirates allows upgrades on tickets booked with cash or miles by one class of service. That means you can upgrade to business on an economy or premium economy ticket — or upgrade to First Class if you book a business-class ticket
The only thing to be aware of is that you'll need to book directly through Emirates to get this option. If you book your Emirates award ticket through Air Canada's Aeroplan program, for example, it's unlikely you'll be able to upgrade your flight.
Business awards booked with Skywards code as “Flex Plus” fares, which means you'll pay the lowest published cost to upgrade shown on Emirates' handy mileage calculator. Even better, there are no cash copays to upgrade with miles.
Here's what it costs to upgrade from business to First Class on the same selection of routes shown above:
- New York-Kennedy (JFK) to Milan (MXP): 39,000 Skywards miles
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH): 39,000 Skywards miles
- Toronto (YYZ) to Dubai (DXB): 70,200 Skywards miles
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Dubai (DXB): 70,200 Skywards miles
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Dubai (DXB): 81,900 Skywards Miles
The process to upgrade is simple and easy to accomplish, requiring just a few steps and a bit of luck. For the complete how-to, refer to AwardWallet's step-by-step guide to upgrading to Emirates First Class with miles.
Earning Emirates Skywards miles
Emirates Skywards is a transfer partner of every major transferable point currency, which makes mileage accrual nice and easy. Currently, you can transfer points from the following credit card rewards programs to Emirates:
Related: Do Emirates Skywards Miles Expire?
Book Through Air Canada Aeroplan
Another way to book Emirates First Class is using Air Canada Aeroplan points. Air Canada employs a dedicated award chart for Emirates-operated award flights. But unlike most of Aeroplan's award charts for other carriers, Emirates awards are priced in a range, making it hard to know for sure what you'll pay for an award.
However, you can get a general idea of the number of points necessary for an Emirates award by taking a look at the ranges:
| Flight Distance (Miles) | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2,000 | 15,000-35,000 | 30,000-77,500 | 65,000-175,000 |
| 2,001-5,000 | 21,000-65,000 | 45,000-140,000 | 110,000-325,000 |
| 5,001-9,000 | 40,000-85,000 | 80,000-185,000 | 225,000-475,000 |
| 9,001-12,000 | 60,000-110,000 | 120,000-225,000 | 300,000-600,000 |
| 12,001+ | 85,000-150,000 | 180,000-300,000 | 400,000-750,000 |
Finding Emirates award availability through Air Canada Aeroplan is a challenge. Air Canada sued Seats.aero late last year, and this popular award search option isn't very helpful when you filter by Air Canada directly. But that doesn't mean you can't spot First Class awards when you peruse the Aeroplan site directly.
An option is looking for award availability on Emirates directly (or its Seats.aero page) and checking if the itinerary is bookable with Aeroplan points. Emirates doesn't make every First Class award to its Canadian partner, so your mileage may vary when booking with Aeroplan points. And it goes without saying that you'll need a lot of points to book these awards.
Related: Here's How Much You'll Pay When Redeeming Aeroplan Points for Emirates Flights
Earning Air Canada Aeroplan points
If you get lucky and find an Emirates First Class award you can book with Aeroplan points, you can transfer in points from a few different credit card rewards programs, including:
Related: Do Air Canada Aeroplan Points Expire?
Book Through Qantas Frequent Flyer
You also can book Emirates First Class by redeeming through partner Qantas. Qantas publishes a partner award chart, which outlines what you'll pay for awards on Emirates and a dozen other airline partners. At present, Qantas' partner award chart looks like this:
| Flight Distance (Miles) | Economy | Premium Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-600 | 10,000 | 15,800 | 20,000 | 29,000 |
| 601-1,200 | 14,000 | 23,700 | 30,000 | 43,500 |
| 1,201-2,400 | 20,000 | 34,500 | 43,800 | 64,500 |
| 2,401-3,600 | 24,500 | 48,500 | 61,200 | 89,800 |
| 3,601-4,800 | 30,200 | 59,000 | 75,000 | 107,700 |
| 4,801-5,800 | 37,800 | 70,800 | 90,000 | 129,300 |
| 5,801-7,000 | 45,000 | 81,800 | 104,500 | 149,800 |
| 7,001-8,400 | 50,300 | 93,500 | 119,200 | 170,800 |
| 8,401-9,600 | 61,500 | 109,000 | 139,200 | 199,300 |
| 9,601-15,000 | 66,200 | 124,800 | 159,000 | 227,500 |
Searching for availability is most easily done on Seats.aero, but you also can scroll through the short weekly calendar on Qantas' website. It's always worth comparing costs when booking awards through Qantas, as some routes are cheaper than those booked with Skywards miles directly.
For a side-by-side comparison, here's the number of Qantas points you'll pay for the selection of routes:
- New York-Kennedy (JFK) to Milan (MXP): 107,700 points
- Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH): 129,300 points
- Toronto (YYZ) to Dubai (DXB): 149,800 points
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Dubai (DXB): 170,800 points
- Los Angeles (LAX) to Dubai (DXB): 170,800 points
Earning Qantas Frequent Flyer points
You can build a balance of Qantas Frequent Flyer points by transferring rewards from a short list of major transferable currencies at 1:1 ratios.
Related: Do Qantas Frequent Flyer Points Expire?
Final Thoughts
Emirates First Class is one of the most memorable flights I've ever taken. And, thanks to points and miles, it's possible to travel in luxury without breaking the bank. You can book your way into luxury with Emirates Skywards miles, Qantas Frequent Flyer points, and Air Canada Aeroplan points — so long as you find availability.
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