Why Did Emirates Just Make First Class Awards Even Harder to Get?
The airline is restricting First Class award redemptions to elite Skywards members, complicating aspirational redemptions for travelers using partner loyalty programs
Photo: First Class Suite. Courtesy of Emirates.
Travelers hoping to claim an award seat in Emirates First Class cabins now face another hurdle. Starting this week, the Gulf carrier will only allow First Class redemptions for elite Skywards frequent flyer program members.
Starting May 12, first class award benefits are a “tier benefit available only to Platinum, Gold, and Silver tier members,” Emirates states on its website.
What Does This Mean?
That’s bad news for travelers who have accumulated transferable miles with a partner program and were hoping to splurge on a seat on Emirates’ opulent First Class.
Photo: Courtesy of Emirates
However, it’s not a huge surprise. Over the last few years, Emirates has increasingly restricted First Class redemptions for travelers with partner programs, such as Alaska Airlines’ Mileage Plan and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank, preferring to award seats to its own elites.
Emirates First Class award tickets are also pricey, requiring vast sums of miles and the payment of heavy carrier-imposed surcharges. However, the cabins are so incredible—First Class on the Airbus A380 has a bar and lounge and in-suite showers—these award seats are on the travel bucket list of many globetrotters.
How to earn elite status?
If you still want to nab First Class award seats with Emirates, the most straightforward way is to earn elite status with Emirates:
- Skywards Silver: earn 25,000 Tier Miles or take 25 flights
- Skywards Gold: earn 50,000 Tier Miles or take 50 flights
- Skywards Platinum: Earn 150,000 Tier Miles and take at least one qualifying flight in First or Business Class
Those are steep requirements for most American travelers, except those regularly flying with Emirates to the Middle East.
Photo: Courtesy of Emirates
Fortunately, Emirates offers two co-branded credit cards in the U.S. in partnership with Barclays, which can help you achieve Skywards elite status more easily:
1. Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard: This card has a $99 annual fee and provides complimentary Silver status for the first year. To maintain Silver status for subsequent years, you need to spend at least $20,000 on the card each year.
2. Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard: This card comes with a $499 annual fee and grants complimentary Gold status for the first year. To retain Gold status in the following years, you must spend at least $40,000 annually on the card. If you do not meet this spending threshold, your status will be downgraded to Silver.
Loopholes
However, there are still some ways to grab First Class award seats without Skywards status.
The redemption restrictions apply only to first-class award seats but not to upgrades. So, non-Skywards elites can purchase or even redeem miles for business-class seats and then use miles to be upgraded to first-class on the day, provided there’s space.
Additionally, members of some partner programs, including Air Canada’s Aeroplan and Qantas’ Frequent Flyer, continue to have access to first-class redemptions, albeit at higher prices than Emirates loyalists.
