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Emirates holds a lot of prestige in the aviation world. When travelers think of Emirates, they think of luxury. Think of gold-clad cabins, onboard showers, Dom Perignon Champagne, Caviar, and VIP treatment. They also think of SKY-HIGH prices.
One thing people typically don’t think about, though, is Emirates' loyalty program, Skywards Miles. This is for a good reason, as Skywards’ redemptions don’t tend to offer overly-generous value. At least not on the surface.
We think this program may have more to offer than most people realize. In this article, we’re going to show you how your Skywards Miles can put you into some of the most luxurious suites in the sky — and also provide fantastic value.
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Earning Emirates Skywards Miles
With any loyalty program, the first hurdle is always earning enough points or miles to do anything. Thankfully, this happens to be a strong point for Skywards Miles. There’s a lot of ways to accumulate Skywards miles, and this makes it easier to reach the number of miles necessary for that great redemption.
Earn Miles By Flying Emirates or Partner Airlines
The most obvious way to accumulate Emirates miles is to purchase and fly on Emirates' flights or Emirates' long list of partner airlines. 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 by giving members the ability to pool miles with family members.
Transfer Flexible Rewards to Emirates Skywards Miles
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:
Chase Ultimate Rewards
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and transfers are instant.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy new benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3X points on dining and 2X points on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on eligible orders over $12 for a minimum of one year with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get up to $60 back on an eligible Peloton Digital or All-Access Membership through 12/31/2021, and get full access to their workout library through the Peloton app, including cardio, running, strength, yoga, and more. Take classes using a phone, tablet, or TV. No fitness equipment is required.
- 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
American Express Membership Rewards
Amex Membership Rewards transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and transfers are instant.
- Rose Gold is back. You can now choose between Gold or Rose Gold.
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery, and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X).
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year.
- $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- Get up to 12 complimentary months of an Uber Eats Pass subscription when you enroll with your Gold Card by 12/31/21.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $250.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 1X on other purchases
- Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Chris Steak House, Boxed, and participating Shake Shack locations. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
Citi ThankYou Points
Citi ThankYou Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, and transfers are instant.
- 80,000 point signup bonus worth $800 towards airfare through the ThankYou Travel Center, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 3X points per $1 on airfare and hotels and at gas stations, restaurants, and supermarkets
- Annual Hotel Benefit: Save $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) when you book through ThankYou.com
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 3X points per $1 spent on airfare, hotels, and at gas stations
- 3X points per $1 spent on dining at restaurants, including cafes, bars and lounges
- 3X points per $1 spent at supermarkets
- 1X points per $1 spent on all other purchases
Capital One Venture or Spark Miles
Capital One miles transfer at a 2:1 ratio, and transfers are instant.
- Earn 60,000 Miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $600 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
Marriott Bonvoy
Marriott Bonvoy points transfer at a ratio of 3:1, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred. It typically takes up to 3 days for points to transfer from Marriott to Skywards.
- For a Limited Time Only! Earn 125,000 Bonus Points and 1 Free Night Award (value up to 50,000 points) after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 1 Free Night Award (valued up to 35,000 points) every year after account anniversary.
- Earn up to 17X total Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 hotels participating in Marriott Bonvoy® with the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Card.
- 2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Automatic Silver Elite Status each account anniversary year. Path to Gold Status when you spend $35,000 on purchases each account year.
- 15 Elite Night Credits each calendar year.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Earn unlimited Marriott Bonvoy points and get Free Night Stays faster.
- 6X Bonvoy points per $1 spent at over 7,000 participating Marriott Bonvoy hotels
- 2X Bonvoy points for every $1 spent on all other purchases
With the recent additions of Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Points to Emirates' partner roster, Emirates has become one of the few airlines to partner with every major transferrable award currency. This is one of the main reasons why Skywards can be a great choice. Even if award prices are slightly higher on some routes, the ease with which you can accumulate Emirates miles can more than account for the difference in award price.
Transfer Concerns
Before transferring your points, it pays to 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?
With a favorable 1:1 ratio and immediate transfers, we recommend Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Points as your go-to transfer currencies.
Capital One miles transfer to Emirates Skywards at a ratio of 2:1. Since popular Capital One cards like the Capital One Venture earn 2X on every purchase, you can effectively earn 1X Emirates miles on every dollar spent. While this is certainly not a terrible option, it pales in comparison to the 4X and 5X earning potential of Chase, Amex, and Citi cards with 1:1 transfers.
Marriott Bonvoy transfers to Emirates can be lucrative if you leverage the 5k bonus for every 60k transferred. However, they have an average transfer time of 3 days to Emirates Skywards miles. This creates the potential for unnecessary stress in the booking process, as you can't guarantee that the award availability will still be there by the time your transfer is complete.
Redeeming on Emirates Flights
When I first wrote this post, Emirates famously 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.
Thankfully (and somewhat surprisingly), that's no longer an issue. In mid-2020, Emirates spontaneously cut surcharges by up to 90%. Now, Emirates award redemptions incur far more reasonable out-of-pocket expense than before. As a result, using Skywards miles for Emirates-operated flights has become a much better value.
Take Advantage of Emirates Fifth Freedom Routes
Fifth freedom routes are passenger flights operated by an airline between two countries where neither country is the airline's home country.
With Emirates, a perfect example is its flight between New York and Milan. Neither of these cities is located in the United Arab Emirates. Instead, this route is part of a longer route between New York and Dubai.
These 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 this writing, Emirates operates the following fifth freedom routes at various times throughout the year:
- New York City (JFK) <—> Milan (MXP)
- Newark (EWR) <—> Athens (ATH)
- Mexico City (MEX) <—> Barcelona (BCN)
- Hong Kong (HKG) <—> Bangkok (BKK)
- Harare (HRE) <—> Lusaka (LUN)
- Conakry (CKY) <—> Dakar (DSS)
- Accra (ACC) <—> Abidjan (ABJ)
- Sydney (SYD) <—> Christchurch (CHC)
I've graphed the award pricing of the most notable routes here:
Right away, you'll notice a couple of things:
- The mileage difference between “Saver,” “Flex,” and “Flex Plus” fares is significant. This is important to note as Emirates doesn't offer any of the cheaper fare categories for one-way trips on their North American fifth-freedom routes. Meaning you're likely going to get the best value (mileage wise) by booking a round-trip.
- Emirates currently operates all of these routes with a Boeing 777 of some variant. In general, the premium product offerings on these aircraft are far inferior to those offered on Emirates' Airbus A380. (One notable exception is the New York to Milan route, which occasionally features the airline's newest first-class product!) Emirates previously operated an A380 on several of these routes but switched to 777s at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we are starting to see Emirates add the A380 back to more of these routes.
Not-so-Direct Routings
As an aside, when searching for award availability on fifth-freedom flights, you may stumble across some not-so-direct routings. These are interesting because they tend to price out cheaper than when searching those routes specifically.
Here is a couple of examples I stumbled on when originally researching this post in 2020. Note the older (higher) fuel-surcharges and the discontinued Bali to Auckland route.
While these itineraries are far from the quickest, they can present a great opportunity to enjoy the bucket-list experience of Emirates premium cabins for longer. Just remember that Emirates always has the ability to re-book you at any time to the direct route if the availability is there.
Redeeming on Partner Airlines
Emirates isn't part of any major airline alliance, but they do have several individual airline partnerships. Each of these partners has a unique award chart, and some of them can provide decent value.
In previous iterations of this post, this section detailed numerous sweet spots with several of Emirates' partners. Unfortunately, Emirates has recently replaced all of these region-based award charts with distance-based charts. Now, most of those sweet spots aren't nearly as sweet.
It's not all doom and gloom, though. Even with the new distance-based charts, there are still a few routes that can present a decent deal:
- JetBlue from New York or Boston to the Caribbean — from 40,000 Skywards miles in JetBlue Mint
- JetBlue between U.S. East Coast and U.S. West Coast — 52,000 Skywards miles in JetBlue Mint
- JetBlue between U.S. East Coast and London — 64,000 Skywards miles in JetBlue Mint
- Washington D.C. to Lisbon on TAP — 64,000 Skywards miles in business class
- U.S. West Coast to Seoul on Korean Airlines — 88,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Hong Kong to Mauritius on Air Mauritius — 76,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Kuala Lumpur to Sydney on Malaysia Airlines — 76,000 Skywards miles in business class
- Tokyo to Seattle on Japan Airlines — 38,000 Skywards miles in economy, 76,000 miles in business class
- Singapore to Sydney on Qantas — 64,000 Skywards miles in business class, 96,000 miles in first class
On the surface, these rates may not seem all that exciting. However, when you pair them with Emirates' nearly universal transferability (Amex, Chase, Citi, Capital One, Marriott), it makes these awards a lot more accessible.
Searching and Booking Award Space
Unfortunately, Emirates' award-search engine doesn't display all partner award availability. So searching and booking partner awards takes a little creativity.
Besides calling, filling out a request form (must be logged into your account before clicking this link), or initiating a chat with Emirates customer service reps to search individual availability, you can instead search with partner airlines. Since most partners typically have access to the same partner award space, it's safe to assume Emirates' will match. For example:
- 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 partner award availability, search for South African award flights on United's site.
You can currently search and book partner awards with Qantas, JetBlue, and JAL on Emirates' own website. For the other partners, once you've found availability, call Emirates (800-777-3999) to book it. Make sure you confirm the availability with the phone agent before you transfer any points to your Skywards account!
Final Thoughts
The Skywards program has undergone many changes since I first wrote this post in early 2020:
- Emirates previously charged horrendous $1,000+ surcharges on round-trip, premium-cabin itineraries from the U.S. These are no-more (good riddance).
- Emirates previously utilized lucrative region-based award charts for partners like Korean Airlines, JAL, and South African Airways. Unfortunately, it has since updated these with far inferior distance-based award charts. (Hat-tip to reader Ian for pointing this out to us.)
Following these developments, Skywards miles have found renewed utility for premium redemptions on Emirates' aircraft — and respectively far less value for partner redemptions.
Flying Emirates’ First Class is a bucket-list endeavor, without a doubt. But even if your goals are simply to spend the least amount of miles 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 me know in the comments.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees)
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
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/blog/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…