How to Get Free In-Class Upgrades to Hawaii on American, Delta, and United

April 2017
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Save up to 28% using miles, up to 36% paying cash, or 59% by buying miles—similar deals for Business Class, too.

Stop free-associating: Flying Emirates does not just mean going to Dubai. The airline also flies New York-Milan, a route on which it flies the A380 (see all Emirates A380 routes here), and by the way, it upped capacity greatly on the route, as well as launching new Newark-Athens service, which uses a B777.

FCF’s Top Four Deals to Book Emirates to Europe

Deal #1: Transfer Starwood Points to Japan Airlines to Fly Emirates

Japan Airlines (JAL) charges only 100,000 miles for both Emirates routes to Europe in First Class and only 65,000 for Business Class.

It takes only 80,000 Starwood Points, transferred to JAL, for First Class and 55,000 for Business Class, given the 25% transfer bonus, which nets a savings of 30,000 miles. JAL’s Emirates inventory is often the same as Emirates’ own.

Think about it for a moment: American, Delta, and United all charge more than this (60,000 miles) deal for coach! Which means this approach nets you a free upgrade—actually you’re saving 5,000 miles—in addition to flying Business Class for the price of coach.

Deal #2: Transfer Amex Points to Emirates Miles

New York-Milan and Newark-Athens cost 135,000 miles round-trip in First Class and 90,000 in Business Class with Emirates miles.

It takes less than 24 hours to transfer 135,000 Amex points to Emirates Skywards Miles to redeem for the $9,000+ First Class ticket, a return of nearly seven cents per point.

Sweet Redeem Survey: Emirates Business and First Class to Europe

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[["Airline\n","Route\n","Departure Flight\n","Days of Operation\n","Return Flight\n","Days of Operation\n","Aircraft\n"],["American\n","Dallas - Honolulu\n","AA5\n","Sun to Sat.\n","AA102\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","B767-300\n"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","AA123","Sun to Sat.\n","AA8\n","Sun. to Sat\n","B777-200\n"],["#rowspan#","Dallas - Maui\n\n","AA7\n\n\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","AA6","Sun. to Sat.\n","B767-300\n\n"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","AA119","Fri., Sat., Sun.\n","AA116\n","Fri., Sat., Sun.\n","#rowspan#"],["Delta","Atlanta - Honolulu\n\n","DL837","Sun. to Sat.\n","DL836\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","A330-300\n"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","DL1105","Sun. to Sat.\n","N\/A","#colspan#","B767-300"],["#rowspan#","Los Angeles - Honolulu\n","DL1284","Sun. to Sat.\n","DL1283\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Minneapolis - Honolulu\n","DL1469","Sun. to Sat.\n","DL1492\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","A330-300\n"],["#rowspan#","Salt Lake City - Honolulu\n","DL1105","Sun. to Sat.\n","DL1104\n","Sun. to Sat.\n","B767-300\n"],["#rowspan#","Chicago - Honolulu\n","UA219\n","Sun. to Sat. \n","UA218","Sun to Sun.\n","B777"],["United","Denver - Honolulu\n","UA328","Sun. to Sat.\n","UA383\n","Sun. to Sat. \n","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","San Francisco - Honolulu\n\n","UA300","Sun., Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri., Sat.\n","UA724\n","Mon., Thurs., Fri.\n","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","#rowspan#","UA1175","Mon., Thurs., Fri.\n","UA396\n","Sun. to Fri. \n","#rowspan#"],["#rowspan#","Washington, DC - Honolulu\n","UA145","Sat.\n","UA144\n","Sat.\n","B767-400\n"],["#rowspan#","Newark - Honolulu\n","UA15","Mon. to Sun.\n","UA14\n","Mon. to Sun.\n","B767-300\n"]]
<small>*Always recheck aircraft type at the time of booking as aircraft can change by the week. FCF research is based on flights for the week of April 16, for example, as it’s impossible to check every route over the next 11 months.</small>