Emirates is one of the world’s top airlines and their First and Business Class products are amongst the best out there.
Qantas Frequent Flyer members are lucky to be able to use their points for redemptions on Emirates, as the airline is not part of any of the major alliances.
‘Fifth-freedom routes’ represent a novel opportunity to redeem your Qantas Points when you are nowhere near Emirates megahub in Dubai. Basically, a fifth-freedom flight is one operated by an airline between two countries that it is not registered in (Qantas’ Singapore – London flight fits into this category).
The products
Emirates A380 & 777 First Class
Whether you are flying on the Airbus A380 or Boeing 777, you will basically get the same product: a private suite, dining whenever you like, over-the-top bling and generally excellent customer service.
The A380 also features an onboard bar and five-minute hot shower, however, note that often the shower facilities are not available on some of the shorter flights like Sydney – Christchurch.
Emirates A380 Business Class
This product is not the most cutting-edge anymore—compared to, say, Qatar Airways’ excellent Qsuite—but it still offers a lie-flat seat with direct aisle access for every passenger.
On these shorter routes, it will often be most spacious, stylish and comfortable way to travel.
Emirates 777 Business Class
Most of the Emirates Boeing 777 fleet has Business Class set up in a 2-3-2 configuration, which is far from comfortable. If you couple that with the fact that the seats do not recline to lie-flat, you will see why I have left this option out of the table below as it is not a redemption to aim for.
Lounges
Emirates has one of the most consistent lounge products in the world and in most ports, you will generally have a quiet space to work in, the option to have a shower and the chance to grab a bite to eat before your flight.
If you are departing from Sydney or Melbourne, however, I would strongly recommend accessing the superior Qantas International First Lounge instead of the Emirates Lounge.
Fifth-freedom routes & pricing
Emirates operate a number of these type of flights around the world. Here are some of the best redemptions with their pricing in Qantas Points:
The last three routes in the table below are not-as-cheap redemptions to/from Australia but are still relevant to our readers.
| Route | Aircraft | First Class | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong - Bangkok | A380 | Not offered | 24,000 points + $60 |
| Larnaca - Malta | 777 | 36,000 points + $270 | Angled-flat seat |
| Sydney - Christchurch | A380 | 54,000 points + $134 | 36,000 points + $134 |
| Rio de Janeiro - Buenos Aires | 777 | 54,000 points + $37 | Angled-flat seat |
| Sydney - Bangkok (ends 31 May 2019) | 777 | 90,000 points + $334 | Angled-flat seat |
| Melbourne - Singapore | 777 | 90,000 points + $326 | Angled-flat seat |
| Brisbane - Singapore | 777 | 90,000 points + $335 | Angled-flat seat |
All redemption figures are for one-way travel and taxes are an approximate conversion to AUD.
All of these flights can be booked through the Qantas website except the Larnaca – Cyprus one, for which you will need to search for availability on the Emirates Skywards website and then phone Qantas to book.
Summing up
We are lucky in Australia to have a number of Emirates services not only to/from Dubai but to New Zealand and Southeast Asia too. There are also options to use your Qantas Points on Emirates fifth-freedom flights in a few other parts of the world.
Make sure to compare Emirates’ award availability, redemption pricing and taxes against other Qantas partners operating on the same routes, e.g. Cathay Pacific between Hong Kong and Bangkok and LATAM between Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, but you may well find that flying the Gulf carrier in a region nowhere near the Middle East may be your best option.
You may also be interested in reading about the cheapest ways to fly Cathay Pacific First Class using Qantas Points.
Have you used your Qantas Points for travel on any of the routes above? Or do you have any other suggestions for good-value Emirates fifth-freedom flights? Share in the comments below!
Looking for more inspiration for how to spend your hard-earned frequent flyer points?
Here is a comprehensive list of all of our Best Uses of Points guides. There may be some overlap but each guide has its own twist.
Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Best uses of Qantas Points
- ‘Ultimate’ uses of Qantas Points
- Best uses of 60,000 Qantas Points
- Best uses of 80,000 Qantas Points
- Best uses of 100,000 Qantas Points
- When it makes sense to use your Qantas Points for domestic travel in Economy (and when it doesn’t)
- Best uses of Qantas Points from the East Coast
- Best uses of Qantas Points from Perth
- Reader responses: what is the best use of Qantas Points?
- Seven of the cheapest Qantas Points redemptions for luxurious Emirates flights
- The cheapest ways to fly Cathay Pacific First Class with Qantas Points
Velocity Frequent Flyer
- Best uses of Velocity Points
- Best uses of 80,000 Velocity Points
- Best uses of 100,000 Velocity Points
- Five flight redemptions that maximise your Velocity points balance
American Express Membership Rewards
Asia Miles
KrisFlyer
Etihad Guest
- Best uses of Etihad Guest miles
- Etihad Guest vs Velocity for Virgin Australia flights comparison guide
Hi
I think there is another flight missing from this list – Emirates flies from New York to Milan as well
Hi Ben
Thanks for letting us know. I have updated the guide with this route.
I could be wrong but i thought i looked up NY to Athens and there appears to be First Class tickets on that one (A380)… it was a quick lookup and i didn’t do anything with it, so i could be wrong.
Yep, that’s another fifth freedom flight. I’ve actually removed the Milan and Athens to NYC flights from this list as they aren’t necessarily cheap redemptions, which is the focus of this article. Note that the Athens – NYC flight is operated by a 777 (not an A380).
Hi. We have flown a couple of times in first class Emirates from Sydney to Christchurch. Both times the shower was available for use. The last flight in September we had the whole cabin to ourselves. For occasional travellers like ourselves this is a great route to get a taste of the first class product. Definitely agree with recommendation to use Qantas First Class Lounge in Sydney rather than Emirates lounge, although both times at check in the agent pushes the Emirates lounge.
Recently I redeemed the Sydney – Bangkok route using Qantas points, and found the tax and fees have gone up to $338 one way.
Apologies—I got that wrong. Figures now updated.
Did a quick search and Mel-Singapore business class redemption payment comes to over $300.
Other Carrier Charges $240.00
Safety and Security Charge $4.14
Passenger Services Charge – Intl $21.44
Passenger Movement Charge (PMC) $60.00
Total per Passenger $325.58
Am i doing something wrong? Or is it because of status?
Apologies—I got that wrong. Figures now updated.
Great read. Just wanted to query the taxes on the SYD to BKK flight which I’m looking to book soon – $93 stated above, however when I look on the Qantas website I get $334. Am I missing a trick?
Apologies—I got that wrong. Figures now updated.