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With long-haul flights from four Australian capitals, Emirates is one of the largest foreign airlines serving Australia. And better yet, Emirates flights are among the many options for spending your Qantas Points.
However, it’ll soon be harder to book Emirates First Class. From 18 February 2026, you’ll need Qantas Silver status or higher to even see the seats. A child age limit of 9 years is already in place.
Those Qantas Points can take you across the Tasman aboard Emirates’ Sydney-Christchurch flights. Or perhaps, from Melbourne to Singapore. Or from Australia to places even further afield via Dubai: Emirates’ home hub.
In this guide, we explore the newly updated ways to use your Qantas Points on Emirates flights. Just be mindful of the carrier charges imposed by Emirates, which can be hefty on long flights in premium cabins.
Find Emirates First Class reward seats on our calendar
Our seat alert subscribers now have access to an interactive calendar that shows Emirates First Class availability on popular routes at a glance. Updated whenever our seat alerts go out, this will help you narrow down specific dates at a glance.
The Emirates route network and fleet
From Australia, Emirates offers non-stop flights between the following cities:
- Sydney and Dubai
- Sydney and Christchurch
- Melbourne and Dubai
- Brisbane and Dubai
- Adelaide and Dubai
- Perth and Dubai
From Dubai, Emirates offers onward connections to many major airports around the world. You can explore the carrier’s full global network on its website. Flights from Melbourne to Singapore also continue onwards to Dubai.
These are operated by a mix of Emirates’ Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 jets. Business Class is available on every flight, while First Class is available on most departures – including all flights from Australia. You just won’t find First Class on the refreshed Boeing 777-200LRs, or a small collection of two-class Airbus A380s.
Emirates First and Business Class products
Emirates First Class remains among the best in the world. There isn’t much difference between the physical suite on the Airbus A380 and standard Boeing 777 . However, the latter does lack the onboard shower and bar found on the A380.
The trade-off is that most Boeing 777s have only eight First Class seats, compared to almost twice as many (14) on the A380. It’s quite common to receive more attentive service on older aircraft.
But having said that, Emirates’ newest First Class experience is found only on selected Boeing 777 flights. This entails a private suite with a door stretching from the floor right up to the ceiling. The catch? It flies to very few destinations. And with only six First Class suites on these flights, securing one with points can be tough.
On the whole though, Business Class is where there’s the biggest difference. The Airbus A380 is set up in a 1-2-1 configuration, and all beds are lie-flat.
Conversely, most Boeing 777s have angled-flat seats in a much more cramped 2-3-2 configuration. Some do have a refreshed 2-2-2 layout in Business, but that’s hardly industry-leading. If you’re aiming for Business Class, the Airbus A380 is certainly the way to go.
Complimentary Chauffeur Drive not available on reward bookings
If you haven’t travelled overseas in recent years, here’s a handy reminder. Emirates’ complimentary Chauffeur Drive service is no longer offered when travelling on a reward ticket. That is, on a flight booked using Qantas Points – or other reward points such as Emirates’ own Skywards Miles.
This was previously a great perk of booking Emirates compared to other airlines. But since March 2019, Emirates has restricted this to passengers travelling on eligible cash fares only.
Qantas Points pricing for Emirates flights
Emirates is a key joint venture partner for Qantas. Previously, the points pricing for Emirates flights when using Qantas Points was the same as if you were flying with Qantas on the same route.
From 31 March 2026, Emirates will go onto its own points table. Unfortunately, that does mean an increase in the points required for reward flights compared to current rates.
You’ll need to look at the Qantas Points Classic Flight Rewards tables to see the full list of reward costs. Our link takes you directly to the ‘Emirates’ pricing section that kicks in from 31 March 2026.
The simpler way to calculate points pricing, though, is to use Qantas’ own points calculator, which you can find here. Here are some of the price points for the key routes mentioned above:
| Route | Economy Class | Business Class | First Class |
| Sydney-Christchurch | 20,700 pts | 43,600 pts | 65,300 pts |
| Perth-Dubai | 36,200 pts | 98,400 pts | 147,700 pts |
| East Coast Australia-Dubai or Perth-Dubai-Rome | 48,200 pts | 130,100 pts | 195,400 pts |
| East Coast Australia-Dubai-Europe/USA | 63,500 pts | 166,300 pts | 249,400 pts |
| Route | Economy Class | Business Class | First Class |
| Sydney-Christchurch | 22,800 pts | 46,000 pts | 78,400 pts |
| Perth-Dubai | 39,900 pts | 108,000 pts | 177,300 pts |
| East Coast Australia-Dubai or Perth-Dubai-Rome | 53,100 pts | 143,000 pts | 234,500 pts |
| East Coast Australia-Dubai-Europe/USA | 69,900 pts | 182,900 pts | 299,300 pts |
With Emirates, it can absolutely make sense – in terms of travel time and routings – to fly beyond Dubai. That’s true for connections to Europe and Africa (especially North and Central African countries). In particular, connections from Australia’s west coast to North or South America can also be logical.
For the longest multi-flight itineraries (9,601-15,000 miles), you will spend a maximum of 166,300 Qantas Points in Business Class or 249,400 Qantas Points for Emirates First Class up to 30 March 2026.
From 31 March 2026, those numbers become 182,900 Qantas Points in Business Class or 299,300 Qantas Points for Emirates First Class.
That includes itineraries (with only transits under 24 hrs, not stopovers) such as:
- Sydney – Dubai – New York
- Melbourne – Dubai – London
- Perth – Dubai – Rio de Janeiro
Taxes and fees are, unfortunately, rather on the high side. But compared to paying full fare for a Business or First Class ticket, these redemptions still deliver some effective savings.
Qantas American Express Ultimate
- Sign-up Bonus:
- Up to 100,000 bonus Qantas Points¹
- Rewards Earn Rate:
- 1.25 Qantas Points earned per $1 on eligible everyday purchases. 2.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent on selected Qantas products and services in Australia. 0.5 Qantas Point per $1 at government bodies in Australia. After a total of 100,000 Qantas Points is earned in a calendar year, the everyday earn rate will change from 1.25 to 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent.
- Annual Fee:
- $450 p.a.
- Offer expires
- 5 May 2026
- Earn 70,000 bonus Qantas Points when you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, plus an additional 30,000 Qantas Points when you spend a minimum of $1 on your Card within 90 days of paying your second year annual Card Fee¹. (Offer ends 5 May 2026. New Amex Card Members only. T&Cs apply.) This card includes an annual $450 Qantas Travel Credit, two Qantas Club Complimentary Lounge Invitations after eligible Qantas spend each year, complimentary international travel insurance, and Qantas Wine Premium Membership (valued at $99). Earn 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 on everyday spend, 2.25 on Qantas purchases, and 0.5 on government payments. The annual fee is $450.
When shouldn’t you use Qantas Points to fly with Emirates?
Depending on the route
While booking reward flights on Emirates can be a great experience, it may not always be the best option.
A good example is on flights between Australia’s east coast capitals and the US west coast. Journeys from Sydney to Los Angeles, for instance, are much more efficient straight over the Pacific, rather than backtracking across the globe via the Middle East.
Depending on the cash price
There are certainly times when it can make sense to use your points for an Economy Class flight. But if that’s your goal, it always pays to check the asking price of an equivalent paid fare to match your itinerary.
You may find times when Economy Class tickets are on sale at a very generous price. And as paid fares include all taxes, fees and surcharges, the price you see is the price you pay. Whereas when spending Qantas Points, you always part with those points, plus a separate payment for taxes, fees and surcharges.
A quick mental sum can help you decide whether a specific Economy Class redemption is worth it. Look at the price it’d cost to buy that itinerary with cash, and subtract the dollars you’d need to pay on the side if booking the same thing using points.
The difference between those two figures becomes your ‘cash saving’ when using points. Are the points you’re spending worth saving that amount, or do you feel it isn’t worth it, and your points could be better spent another time? Only you can decide!
At Point Hacks, we usually focus our efforts on using points for Business and First Class instead. That’s because while Business Class reward flights often cost around double the points of Economy, the equivalent cash fares are generally more than twice as expensive.
That means you’re getting greater value out of each point. And certainly, flying up front is leaps and bounds more enjoyable than travelling down the back.
When other partner airlines cost less
Speaking of cash, the carrier charges levied on reward bookings with Emirates are among the highest in the industry. Of course, if Emirates is the only airline with available reward seats when and where you need to travel, you won’t have much choice if you want to book using points.
But when you do have a choice, don’t just look at how many points it might cost to fly with a different airline. Also look at how many dollars you’ll need to pay on the side.
For example, from Australia to Europe, it costs the same number of Qantas Points to fly with Emirates as it does to book with Malaysia Airlines. And while there are still fees and charges to pay when booking with Malaysia Airlines, they’re typically far less than you’d pay with Emirates on a comparable itinerary.
Depending on your journey, other airlines might bring even greater savings. Using Qantas Points with airlines such as Finnair and Japan Airlines will often attract less in fees on the side. But again, the options available will depend on where you’re flying, when, and what reward seats are on offer.
If you have a choice, that’s great – but when you don’t, Emirates is still an option, albeit with the higher carrier charges.
Can I use my Qantas Points to upgrade my Emirates ticket?
No, you cannot use Qantas Points to upgrade Emirates flights purchased with cash. You also can’t use Qantas Points to ‘upgrade’ a reward ticket.
But when you’re flying on a reward booking, don’t forget that you may be able to change your ticket instead.
For instance, in the past, I’ve booked Emirates Business Class using Qantas Points, when I couldn’t find a First Class reward seat. Yet when I later noticed a First Class reward seat open up on the same flight, I was able to call Qantas and have the ticket repriced and reissued in First Class.
This meant spending extra Qantas Points, of course – but only the difference between the Business Class and First Class Classic Reward rates. While it’s not a true ‘upgrade’, it’s an option when you’ve booked one cabin using Qantas Points and a higher cabin becomes available before you fly.
How to research and book Emirates flights using Qantas Points
Ready to search for and book your Emirates flight using Qantas Points? Thankfully, Qantas.com is generally an excellent way to find and book Emirates reward flights.
Emirates reward seats generally appear online up to 330 days before departure. Occasionally, they may appear even further in advance. Qantas’ website can technically display flights up to 353 days before departure, after all. But as Emirates uses a different backend booking system, it’s generally closer to 330.
To save time, we prefer searching by going straight to the Qantas.com multi-city search tool here, regardless of whether we’re searching for a multi-city itinerary. Make sure you check the box Use points – Classic Flight Rewards only.
You’ll also be prompted to log in with Qantas Frequent Flyer account credentials. Then you can start seeing flight results.
In this example, I’m looking at Sydney to Dubai. On this date, two flights have Economy Class availability (not surprising) and only the earlier departure has Business Class seats. First Class is absent, meaning there is no award availability in that cabin on that date.
From here, if you have enough Qantas Points in your account, you can then get a quote for the taxes and fees along with the required points. If you don’t have enough points in your account yet, give Qantas a call to find out and scope out the additional costs so you’re fully prepped.
Summing up
Using Qantas Points to book Emirates flights is quite simple when there’s reward seat availability. For other programs, the Gulf carrier has steadily been removing the ability to redeem points and miles for its First Class cabins. But you can still use Qantas Points for First Class: albeit with high carrier surcharges.
Targeting your points-earning strategies and redemption goals towards Emirates flights to New Zealand, Europe or even the US can be a great way to go. Again, while the fees can be high, so too are cash ticket prices. So while booking Emirates using Qantas Points may not have the value it once had when co-payments were minimal, it’s still a way to unlock valuable savings. Especially if you’d have otherwise booked a cash ticket up front.
Although many of Qantas’ other partners have lower carrier fees, the breadth of Emirates’ network still makes it worth considering for your next trip. That said, if you can find a reward seat on another airline with lower fees to pay on the side, even better.
Have you had any great experiences using your Qantas Points on Emirates? Let us know in the comments!
Current updates by Hannah Tomasoni. Supplementary images courtesy of Emirates.
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hi there – ive just tried to book a flight (melb/syd/perth) to europe and there are no emirates flight options appearing anywhere – including to dubai – the syd/christchurch emirates flight on first has also dissappeared ….. has anyone had any luck? am i missing something?
“You just won’t find First Class on the refreshed Boeing 777-200LRs” – yes you will, if you look for Dubai – Europe on eligible route 🙂 was lucky enough to fly on QP to Europe on new 777 FC
Hi Al, Emirates’ new First Class is on selected Boeing 777-300ERs. The Boeing 777-200LRs (a different aircraft type) which have been refurbished instead only have a two-class configuration, so they don’t have First Class at all. It’s the plane that Emirates will fly to Adelaide from later this year, which tops out at Business Class. (On the plus side, Business Class on the 777-200LR comes in a 2-2-2 layout rather than 2-3-2 as on most of Emirates’ other Boeing 777s.)
Love Emirates 1st class… even though the high carrier charges do hurt a bit, the overall value is well worth it. I flew return Perth – Dubai – Seattle in Feb 2023, and in July 2023 my wife and I flew Kuala Lumpur – Dubai – Frankfurt – Dubai – Male – Dubai – Kuala Lumpur all in 1st class – all with Qantas FF points. A380 with the shower is the most amazing experience. Hoping to jag one of the new upgraded 777 suites this year on our next trip.
Qantas up to its usual smoke and mirrors trickery. First class award Melbourne to Dubai only avail for one adult – disappears once you put two adults in. Note there are several days available in Jan 2025 which all disappear into thin air if you put two adults in. Asked in the past before and told because there is only one less and I believed them. Virgin not exactly angels either but they don’t sink to the depths of Qantas and way more generous with their award options. I don’t Qantas has any intention of changing their ways as far as the service to their customers goes.
Hi James, it’s Emirates that controls which flights to make available for booking using Qantas Points, as well as the number of reward seats to release. Qantas has no direct control over this, although from previous conversations, of the seats that Emirates does make available to Qantas members, about 80,000 to 100,000 seats are booked by QFF members every year – many of which are in premium cabins.
Looks to me like “don’t bother” unless you are a Platinum…being Gold doesn’t cut it anymore. I’ve got several hundred thousand with no way to use them and I’ve tried, trust me. Only way is J-F upgrades (if you can), but even so, these are scarce. Everyone gets the reward J seats anyway and forget about Y / PE to J or F, it’s not happening…not like I would ever book them long haul international anyway.
Besides; not being able to get anything until you get out of Australia and can get a reward seat from another port in Asia etc. kind of defeats the whole object of a long haul flight on points a bit.
QFF used to be a good scheme to redeem points for upgrades and/or flights. Not anymore.
And as for some people that recommend you book a flight and hoping that a return flight opens while you are over there, that’s just asking for trouble to get stranded somewhere. Additionally, some countries take a very dim view of that because there’s no onward journey so they assume you’re not leaving…hello USA.
Better off just burning them on getting a decent wine collection or something else, because you’ll never get to use them where you really want – in the sky.
Hi, I’ve been looking last few days at different times of the day to go away around August next year to Europe. Looks like there is just nothing coming up with Emirates (plus also Qatar and Cathay) to get out of Melbourne. Has increased flight demand mean there aren’t award seats now???
What to do with all my points!
I’ve been looking at flights to Europe for August next year – don’t care which airport.
Nil Availability of anything in a First class cabin and quite restricted availability in business.
Also looking for premium cabin flights from Europe (again searched multiple cities & dates) any day after the 10th of April next year. The Qantas “where can I go” tool is useless – shows fares available but they don’t appear at the booking end.
Eventually found an EK flight out of Frankfurt – 159000 points but the 1278euros was painful. compared to 55000 & 236 euro for economy out of Barcelona. Such is life for comfort.
I think high carrier surcharges are worth paying when Emirates still has A380s, showers and one of the world’s best First Class products. Trying it at least once in a lifetime shouldn’t hurt.
We flew Emirates Melb -Perth to Glasgow in May this year on reward Business Class seats. We had booked these pretty much a year before though. At the time of booking we were on an A380 and excited. Having used points for the same flights a couple of times previous, we knew what to expect. Very comfortable seating plan and either individual seating pods or the comfortable double in the middle for couples, and of course the walk up bar. Unfortunately Emirates changed the aircraft to a 777 after booking and it really was quite different. No bar and much less comfortable seating situation. Not really complaining. A bed is still my priority for a long haul flight and that is of course there, but the A380 is the pick of the crop if you can get it.
Thoughts on how to booking one-way fares? I can search Perth to Dubai as a return flight or one-way just fine, but one way flights from Dubai to Perth generate an error code #4002 using the multi-city flight and normal search
I have the same issue, Qantas says if you have an error it’s because of different legs with partners and to call them. Tried that, waited an hour only to be told that they can’t do it either and that they have flagged it with ‘IT’. Very disappointing service of late.
Hey guys,
Thanks for the tips, have been following you for a while.
I’ve been saving Qantas points for years and have ended up with 650,000. Hoping to book Maldives for my honeymoon however the points options are outrageous. Do you have any ideas?
Cheers!!
Based in Perth by the way
Hi Matt,
Thanks for this article. Has there been an update? The reason I ask is when I now search for flights to Europe, I no longer get any EK flights as an option!
I get options even via the US but no EK flights. Has something changed? I am bronze but before Covid, I could see all options.
Your advice would be appreciated.
Hi Greg, answering for Matt who doesn’t write for us anymore. Emirates is still an option for Qantas Points. Unfortunately, reward seats between Australia and Dubai are more or less non-existent at the moment, due to decreased flight schedules and higher travel demand.
If you started your search from Singapore or somewhere else in Asia that Emirates flies to, you may find some options there.
The Qantas Multi city search engine just doesn’t work. As soon as I select the Classic Rewards option and then enter the details of the flights it fails (“Generic Error” what ever that means). I tried for 3 hours, but it just doesn’t work. I am sure you are genuine in your intentions when you say, booking Qantas reward flights is easy, but sadly, that is far from my experience.
I am trying to book Aug-Sep flights Sydny to Zagreb, then Athens to Sydney, wanting Classic rewards flights in business class (at least on the way back), using either Qantas, Emirates or Qatar. But nothing works quite like it says in these guides. Any advice?
Sounds like calling Qantas would be the best thing to do in this case.
Yiu can’t book EK flights through Qantas for so many months of the year that this article should be pulled. There is no availability and on several routes reward seats have never been released.
Hi Tess, while Australia-Dubai availability isn’t great at the moment, there are still plenty of other Emirates reward seats on other routes you can book on with Qantas Points (such as the Dubai-Madrid route we recently wrote about).
What time are emirates reward seats released. As per your other guides it says 12 GMT but I’ve been logging on daily to the Qantas site before and after this time and can’t seem to see a pattern in release for EK flights. I just booked business class PER-MXP via Doha on Qatar as could see the flights released each day at exactly 12 GMT 360 days from departure but I can’t seem to see a pattern of release for Emirates ? I know some guides say it varies from 330-335 days days before departure but any insight on release time would be great !
From the data points I’ve read, Emirates award seats are released to Qantas members in batches every few days 330-339 days before departure at 9am AEST.
How do I go about booking a Business Classic Rewards seat, SYD – DUBLIN return as a bronze QFF holder? I have enough points, only the flights aren’t released yet, as in, I can book there and back within 2 days of each other, but I want to book the return flight one month later and there are no seats available, I assume because I am a bronze member with FF.
Can I book a single rewards seat there and keep logging in daily to find a return flight when they become available as seats are released?
I know it will cost more in taxes, that’s fine, but what if I can’t find a return flight, then I have to purchase the return full fare and looking at the price, it seems like the one way ticket and return tickets are the same price. EG return is $1300 AUD but a single ticket back from DUB-SYD is 900EU
How do I book a business flight both ways with the classic rewards seats sucessfully?
Hi Cleo
There is no guarantee that reward seats will be available on the day that you wish to travel, which is why you need to be as flexible as possible.
One option is what you have suggested. That is to secure the outbound reward flight and book the return flight at a later date when the award (hopefully) becomes available. This will create 2 separate bookings, but that won’t be a problem. As you have highlighted though, the risk is that an award flight does not open up, and be left purchasing a one-way international fare that is usually very expensive and generally priced the same as a return leg.
Another option is to purchase an eligible Economy return fare (ie not Saver) and try your luck at upgrading, however, given your Bronze status, this could result in your upgrade not clearing.
A third option is to utilise the services of 3rd party platforms that can alert you when an award seat becomes available. These platforms include Expert Flyer” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>Expert Flyer, Award Nexus and KVS Tool.
You failed to mention the little ‘i’ for information that sits next to the F&J Class seat icon in the availability table which when you hover says that certain sectors are not available in the premium cabin for the entire journey. This is cheeky and I notice that most often it is the longest sector (e.g Bne-Dxb) that you end up Y/C and the shorter section (e.g. DxB – Cai) is in the premium cabin.
Was one of the impacted customers (MEL-SIN-DXB-FCO) but had Qantas moving me and wife from EK407 to EK409, now not only we’re flying direct from MEL to DXB without a layover in Singapore, still on the A380. 🙂
I guess if you’re upset about the changes, phone Qantas immediately, no harm to ask.
Note: Im a WP (3+ years), wife SG (2+ years). not sure if that means anything on the Emirates side.
PS: The flip-side is, what if they upgrade the 777 to the latest suites…. :S
Hi,
I’m currently looking at flying JFK – DXB – MEL in EK first class next year. Likely fly September/October as waiting for the necessary Qantas points to clear by early November.
Availability from JFK is great but very little on the DXB – MEL (or DXB – SYD) 330 days ahead in late August…should I anticipate better availability in September with the end of European school holidays?
Thanks
Technically, that period should have less travel demand but Emirates premium cabin availability has really tightened up of late. I would suggest continuing to check for Emirates seats on your desired dates but also considering Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and other partner airlines to increase your chances of securing a seat.
The difference between an A380 economy seat and a (10-abreast) 777 economy seat is stark.
My wife and I just got back from Europe. Used QFF point for Emirates First Class to Manchester via Dubai. 777 to Dubai, then 380 to Manchester. Both flights were fantastic but I preferred the 380 as we used the bar and shower. Service was fantastic (apart from one case being lost).
Just booked our 2019 trip, again using QFF points to travel First Class, this time to Madrid.
The only downside is the $1250 in Qantas surcharges. Cannot believe the cheek of Qantas. We flew back from Europe with Qatar using AAdvantage points and the fees were only $140. The First Class lounge at Doha is ranked No.1 and certainly lives up to it. It is like a five star hotel.
Hi all,
I’ve been reading about Lifemiles and Qantas points.
I’m hoping for some advice.
I’m looking at 4 return tickets Adelaide to Frankfurt in February next year.
Of course, I’m wanting the best way financially to get there.
For those that travel frequently..
What is the cheapestt route to get there??
Would buying lifemiles be best?
I’ve looked into points, but with the additional cost, I’m not sure it seems worthwhile.
Is there a website where I can purchase frequent flyer points to my advantage?
Any help would be gratefully accepted.
Cheers
Posting this in our Questions section will hopefully garner more responses.
Thanks for the article.
Are there any ways of getting around the high fees when using qantas classic reward upgrade?
For example, emirates first class sydney to rome return is 384000 QFF points, but with an additional $1300 cost.
Doesn’t seem like a good use of points.
Not much you can do. You’ve already chosen to fly back from one of the cheaper European airports—read more here.
Emirates redemptions through Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan and JAL Mileage Bank result in lower taxes and fees but if you are stuck with Qantas Points, then that doesn’t really help.
Hi there!
Probably a very simple question, however can you tell me … can you use Qantas Ff points, to Upgrade an economy ticket on emirates. We have booked direct with emirates an EK flight from Melb – Dubai … and hoping to upgrade, but I was told this isn’t possible? Thanks!! Lucy
You can only use your Qantas Points to upgrade on Qantas-operated flights, so no.
qantas does not fly out of Perth to Bali, it flicks you to Jetstar which is pathetic
Keith, is there any way to find out when an EK flight will be available to book as a Rewards Flight using Qantas Points? I thought that they become available 9 months out from the date of the flight but realise it is always subject to the number of rewards seats Emirates decides to release on each particular flight. Just wondering if you’ve found there’s a standard timeframe in your experience?
From my research, Qantas releases its own award seats 353-354 days before departure but Emirates could be a bit later around the 340-day mark.
Good uses of EK on a QF award ticket? 18mths ago did return trip to Europe as QF award. Could not get J award to Dubai ex SYD (only Y on EK as it happened), but yes to J on EK to Milan/Malpensa. The chauffeur drive seemed to be available despite fact an award flight, and web queries seemed to confirm this. Did not believe it would actually happen. But after walking out of bag area to EK chauffeur office I was in back of a Merc limo in about 5 mins direct to my hotel in downtown Milan. After about 23 hours, having left SYD @6am and local time was now 8.30pm this was one of the most wonderful things ever!
That award trip also featured F on CX from Zurich to HKG which was best sleep on a plane (but not long enough as sector only 11 hrs).
As to F on EK, did it once on the (late lamented) EK A380 SYD-AKL. Paid for this with cash for the 120SCs, as it was barely more than J, which was itself only little more than double Y price, so great cost-benefit ratio. I was not sybaritic enough to try the shower for the hell of it (query available?). The food was only OK, not luxe, the service was identikit EK hosties and nothing special. The hilight of the trip was however having a glass of Paradis cognac – allegedly the most expensive in the sky @$700 a bottle! I knew to ask for it, as not listed, and not sure it continues now?
I cannot see EK SYD-CHC continuing now either, despite assurances. “‘No demand” for MEL & BNE probably means not enough for J to pay for the rest of the plane. EK now flies direct AKL-Dubai so sure that was real reason why they dropped SYD-AKL. But are there enough cashed up Kiwis to keep that one going either? J on a B737 cross Tasman is pretty pathetic, even if the A330 J product is nice, but only limited 2 per day normally. It means QF get to gouge us more price wise as (mostly) B737s fill up cheap seats and price goes up. EK was always full of budget Kiwis taking the cheapest price.
Thank you for sharing your experience and thoughts, Michael!
hi Keith,
Thanks for the article. I recently tried to upgrade flights from Perth-Dubai-Rome using Qantas points and was informed by Qantas that points cannot be used for codeshare flights. Since all flights via Dubai are codeshare with Emirates, I figured we would never be able to use our amassed points for overseas travel. Was this information incorrect?
That is the case for upgrades on Emirates using Qantas Points, but you can use your Qantas Points to book flights outright with Emirates – just not to upgrade an already booked cash fare. Look or ask for info about “Qantas Classic Awards”.
Flown this route many times, particularly the sin-bne return.
Always busy, full flights.
Hard to fathom why they would can it Emirates?
Singapore Airlines are salivating this one!
Trying to use points for Emirates Upgrades? – there are a lot of limitations
I have booked Business Class for Adelaide-Melbourne-Dubai-Milan with Oslo-Dubai- Adelaide return.
The only upgrade available to 1st Class is the Melbourne-Dubai leg, none of the others are available (I know it doesn’t exist on the Adelaide-Melbourne leg)
Hi Keith
I always enjoy your articles. What a great website!
Just a quick question. I have used QF points for my EK Business class SYD-AKL trip for October but now it has been changed to QF flight.. Do you think Qantas will still charge me 6000 QF points as a cancellation penalty? Since the main purpose of this trip is to be on 380 and receive fantastic EK service, I am not interested in Qantas 332 service…
Thanks Keith!!
HI Keith, WE have a huge number of QFF points but the Qantas site shows no availability for when we want to fly. When I go to the ExpertFLyer site it comes up saying that Emirates has 7 business reward seats available! The flight we want is a codeshare is there anyway of securing the seats using the Qff points??? or only if they show on the Qantas site??? Thanks in advance
Hi Viv,
You might get more responses if you post this in our Questions section where many others will be able to answer.
Cheers!
While its great to see Qantas upgrading their Auckland flights. Its sad to see the possibility of travelling in First Class to Auckland disappearing 🙁 I guess Christchurch is still an option, though I do wonder how long before that disappears too.
I knew it was too good to be true. I booked first class tickets for the wife and I on the A380 SYD to AKL November this year using IHG points. Finally a good use of these points I thought but now a quick look at our booking and I see we’ve been bumped to a 737.
Hi Keith, Can you only book thru the Qantas website or can you redeem point say on the Qatar or Cathay Pacific sites. Traveling from Perth it seems there are never any seats available on the Qantas FF site.
Remember if you are building a Oneworld multi-city itinerary then Emirates flights do not count within the 140k/280k/560k point cap. I’ve fallen into this trap many times!
Hi,
We are a family of 3 and hoping for a European Christmas, looking for flights Melb-London in Dec which is available but nothing return in Jan. Was hoping to return around Jan 21st. Am I clutching at straws as at this point all economy reward seat flights start again in Feb?? Happy with either Qantas or a partner airline at this stage.
Thanks
I’d imagine you should be able to find something in January, but you may need to look at a partner – look at Qatar, Malaysia Airlines or Emirates, for example – and stopover in an intermediary hub.
Hi Kieth,
I have been looking for a 2018 departure to LHR in April May and for some reason there seems to be zero Emirates, looked on several routes to emirates destinations.
There seems to be some availability earlier.
Do you know if they are just not putting first class availability 50 weeks out to see demand ??
Last trip there was plenty availability this far out but now it has changed as even QF has no First class that far out??
Hi,
I want to use my Qantas points from Tokyo (Narita) to Dubai on Airbus A380 First Class. But it doesn’t have availability for the points for both business and first class. Can I call Qantas to book over the phone in this case? I’m just putting an example of 10 January 2018 this morning. Thank you
Generally what you can see online is what is bookable when it comes to Emirates flights booked with Qantas Points, and a phone call won’t help too much. That said, it can’t hurt either, and maybe they will suggest an alternative option for you.
I recently booked flights to Dubai using Qantas FF points on Emirates for March 2017 to meet up with a cruise to Europe. The points for business class were 96,000 pp + $800 in fees & taxes.
Our return was booked using Lifemiles which were on sale with a 140% bonus!! Will be flying back business class from Milan via Heathrow (thus avoiding the UK departure taxes) with Brussels Airlines and ANA Heathrow to Sydney via Narita, 170,000 Lifemiles points (which cost $3200 to buy) + $414 in taxes & fees for two passengers.
Many thanks to Keith as I have been an avid reader of Points Hack for a few years now and it was his articles that inspired me to accumulate, buy and use points to get business class tickets for less than the price of economy.
My tactics have all been learnt from Keith and I use AA Advantage miles (purchased during sales), Lifemiles (also purchased during sales) and Qantas points earned from various credit card sign up bonuses and spending.
Thanks to Keith my wife now insists on travelling Business Class whenever we travel!!
Have tried using the qantas site spending points before with very limited success.
Thanks to this article will try again with Emirates
I’m flying to Europe next year and I’m looking at doing the trip using my QANTAS points. Does anyone know if you can fly Sydney -> Dubai business and then Dubai -> London economy? Looking at the Qantas.com multi-city search tool it seems it lets you select the business and economy fares but I thought someone might have some experience with this.
Yes, you can definitely do this – just stitch together the itinerary you want/can find on Qantas.com using the multi city search tool.
Thanks Keith, have been learning a great deal from all your posts as well as benefitting from all tips re credit cards and general bonuses. Had no idea! Much appreciated
I believe best use of points is using them for upgrades to business from economy or premium economy.
It appears that you cannot use Qantas points to upgrade on Emirates though?
Upgrades are a good value use of points, but the biggest downside to upgrades is that they aren’t confirmed, and are prioritised according to status. We’ve written about the rules behind Qantas Point upgrades here, and they are super complex. As a result, you could save your points for ages hoping to get an upgrade, but if flying on a flight where there aren’t any upgrades available, the points become worthless for that use case.
Struggling to find EK (J) award availability out of Aus in May next year to get to Europe. Am I searching too far out?
Thanks Keith always enjoy these beginner guide
Thanks for the feedback, appreciate it!