Surprisingly Great Miles Deals with Emirates Miles!

While doing some research I found 4 great airline award charts to make use of Emirates Miles that would make this 100% Capital One transfer bonus a killer deal.

For example, 48k miles roundtrip to Africa, 60k roundtrip to Asia, and 105k roundtrip to Asia in business class. A great use of Cap 1 miles for certain!

However, Emirates is also an Amex MR points transfer. So this post could be the beginning of my looking into a great Amex transfer opportunity… But I wanted to get this out quickly (and I’ll update tomorrow) since the Cap1 transfer bonus is only around through 3/24!

The only post (I saw) showing anything about redeeming these was Gary Leff’s (VFTW) Making The Most Of Emirates Cap1 Transfer Bonus, which is also where I heard about the bonus transfer (so see that post for details).

He found some good prices…

Flying between the US and Dubai runs:

• Economy: 72,500 – 82,500 miles roundtrip (plus taxes and fees)

• Business: 145,000 – 165,000 miles roundtrip (plus taxes and fees)

• First: 217,500 – 247,500 miles roundtrip (plus taxes and fees)

However, he also notes that the fees are very large from the US (and quite reasonable from Hong Kong, so maybe a better deal!).

The other however is that I couldn’t replicate the same prices on the Miles Calculator.

Still finding interesting but different deals.

For example, it shows NYC to Milan as 85,000 miles oneway in First Class!

But I wanted to take a minute to share a couple of partners to use Emirates Miles on and then share the struggles with the program.

Emirates Miles on Japan Airlines

Emirate’s Miles Japan Airlines Award Chart:

• “International Rewards allow one stopover, in addition to the final destination, at the connecting city”.

This is surprisingly a great award chart.

Is 70k the cheapest roundtrip to Australia? With a free stopover in Japan!

125k roundtrip in Business Class to Asia 1 (which is mostly China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Manila), Guam is a great deal as well.

And only 145k in Business Class to Asia 2… which includes Delhi (cheapest business class US to India?).

However, I have a huge suspicion that fuel surcharges will be passed on.

Korean Airlines

Prices (econ/biz) for North America to:

• Korea – 70k/105k
• SE Asia – 85k/125k
  • Koror, Guam,
• SouthWest Asia – 95k/140k
  • Maldives
• Oceania – 110k/165k

(Also probably the cheapest between Korea and the Middle East).

Focusing o the North America redemptions… Okay, now is US to Korea the cheapest business class roundtrip to Asia? 70k/105k are great prices.

However, I really have no idea if the fuel surcharges will be passed on, which would make or break this deal for me.

South African Airlines

Best Emirates Miles prices on South African Airlines:

• NYC to South Africa roundtrip – 100k/250k
• Hong Kong to South Africa roundtrip – 90k/250k
• DC to Dakar roundtrip – 48k/120k
• DC to Accra roundtrip – 80k/200k
• Accra to South Africa roundtrip – 36k/90k
• Mauritius to South Africa – 24k/60k

These are actually decent prices to fly a direct flight to South Africa (a great country to visit!), and AMAZING prices

Conclusion

Unanswered questions I hope to dig into when I have more time tomorrow and update (I’m sure some people out there already know without me calling (please?)):

• Are fuel surcharges passed on with partners as well?
• What about partner connections? Flying on Japan or Korean would be a lot easier for me if I can get to a hub.
• Some award charts allow oneways, but most don’t give any details about oneways. Given that all the T&Cs are different (copied from the airline?), I’m guessing it’s a possibility. But are oneways allowed on Japan or Korean for half price?

If the fees are not insane, I think Emirates could be the best use of Cap1 Miles… at least until the 100% promo is done. Because right now it is just 1:1 with the bonus, and it will return to a transfer rate of 1 Cap1 mile to .5 Emirates.

More to come!