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, 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 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.
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Deal #3: No Amex Points? No problem. Just Purchase the Points.
Any Amex cardholder with a Membership Rewards account can do this, which nets you up to 59% off, given that Amex Membership Rewards points cost 2.5¢ each (purchase limit 500,000 per year).
That brings a First Class ticket down to $4,475 round-trip, including award taxes at around $1,100, to Europe for a seat that otherwise goes for as much as $11,000. (But don't do this for Business Class, as Emirates often has better fare deals.)
More on the “Buy Miles to Fly in Style” Strategy here.
Deal #4: Save up to 36% with Amex Two-for-Ones
The American Express International Airline Program (IAP), available to Platinum and Centurion cardholders, offers a free companion ticket (plus taxes) with the purchase of a full-fare non-restricted ticket. The best deal is First Class (F class), as Emirates seldom discounts these seats, whereas it often offers Business Class deals to Europe for less than $3,000 (much less than via IAP).
The applicable First Class fares are typically high, but you can still save money. New York-Milan comes to $12,441 for two IAP tickets, $11,308 for the paid ticket and $1,133 in taxes for the free ticket, yielding a per-person cost of $6,220. That’s $3,563 (36%) less than the lowest published fare per ticket. Newark-Athens comes to $12,210 for two IAP tickets, yielding a per-person cost of $6,105. That’s $2,434 (28%) less than the lowest published fare.
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