HOW TO BOOK EMIRATES BUSINESS CLASS WITH MILES AND POINTS

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If you’ve been a longtime Instagram follower of mine, you know I love flying to Europe and that I typically fly economy. When you’re traveling on points with a family, you really have to make those points stretch. My motto has always been “two flights are better than one.”

Well, after my teen and I flew Emirates A380 business class from JFK to Milan using miles and points, it changed my mind on how we fly in the future. It was wonderful, and I want each of you to experience it.

One of the best things about Emirates is that you don’t have to fly all the way to Dubai to experience its business class. Emirates operates two fifth-freedom routes between the U.S. and Europe.

Fifth freedom flights are flights that don’t originate or end in the airline's home country. These flights allow us to book this top-rated business class seat without flying to Dubai. For this post, I’m focusing on JFK to Milan (MXP) and Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH)

HOW WE BOOKED emirates business class with points

I originally wrote this post after we booked our first Emirates business class flight in 2022 for travel in 2023. Since then, I’ve flown Emirates again in 2024 and 2025, so I’ve continued to update this guide as award pricing, transfer partners and booking options have changed.

For our first trip, we found a ton of Emirates business class award availability for the following summer. I was able to find three business class seats and immediately booked them. If you’ve been using miles and points for a while, you know sometimes you have to “book first, ask questions later” when you find a great award deal!

At the time, I booked our Emirates business class flights for just 72,500 Emirates Skywards miles plus $103 per person, each way. Emirates award pricing, fees and transfer partners have changed quite a bit since then, so you won’t find that same redemption today. Below, I’ll show you how to earn the miles, find an available seat and book an Emirates business class flight today.

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I was lucky enough to fly Emirates business class on the A380 for the third time in July 2025

HOW TO EARN emirates skyward miles

One of the easiest ways to earn Emirates Skywards miles is by earning flexible credit card points and transferring them to Emirates. You do not need an Emirates credit card to earn miles to book an Emirates business class flight.

Several major transferable points programs currently transfer to Emirates Skywards:

• American Express Membership Rewards: 5:4

• Citi ThankYou Points: 5:4

• Capital One Miles: 4:3

• Bilt Rewards: 1:1

Keep in mind that most of these programs no longer transfer to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio. That means you may need to transfer more credit card points than the number of Emirates Skywards miles required for your flight.

When I originally booked our first Emirates business class flights in 2022, I transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles to Emirates. Chase has since removed Emirates as a transfer partner, so you can no longer transfer Chase points directly to Emirates.

Emirates has also increased the number of miles and fees required to book these flights since I originally wrote this post. When I first booked Emirates business class, I paid 72,500 miles plus $103 each way. Last summer, I was lucky enough to fly Emirates again. When I booked in 2025, the redemption was 87k miles plus $105.

Today, an Emirates business class award from JFK to Milan award flight starts at 59,000 points for a Saver award up to 87,000 Skywards miles each way, with fees around $434. (If you’re looking to fly Emirates to Dubai, the fees are over $1,000 each way on award flights).

But there are other ways to book Emirates business class without transferring points directly to Emirates. Two options are Air Canada Aeroplan and Japan Airlines Mileage Bank.

You can fly Emirates business class on the A380 for 59k points on a Saver award

BOOKING EMIRATES THROUGH AIR CANADA AEROPLAN

You can sometimes book Emirates business class through Air Canada Aeroplan for fewer miles and lower fees. These award seats have become very difficult to find (I almost deleted this section because they have become so rare), but it’s still worth checking before transferring points directly to Emirates.

One advantage of Aeroplan is that you can transfer points from several flexible points programs, including:

• Chase Ultimate Rewards

• American Express Membership Rewards

• Capital One Miles

STACY’S TIP: BOOK EMIRATES THROUGH JAPAN AIRLINES

Another way to book Emirates business class that can save you a lot of miles is through Japan Airlines Mileage Bank. We’ve seen availability this summer go from very good to almost dismal. I leave it here in this blog post because I still think it’s worth checking.

First, I recommend paying $9.99 for one month of seats.aero. Instead of searching Japan Airlines one date at a time, go to seats.aero and use the “Explore Qantas” feature to search for Emirates business class availability on Qantas (I enter JFK and MXP in the search window) and select “Direct Flights” only.

Why Qantas? Both Qantas and Japan Airlines are Emirates partners. If you find an Emirates business class flight that can be booked with Qantas Points, there’s a good chance that same flight will also be available through Japan Airlines.

Once you find a flight, log into your Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account and search the same route and date to confirm the seat is available before transferring any points.

You can transfer points to Japan Airlines from:

• Bilt Rewards: 1:1

• Capital One Miles: 4:3

• Citi ThankYou 1:1

This can be an especially good way to book Emirates because Japan Airlines may require fewer miles than booking the same flight directly through Emirates.

On seats.aero, click “Explore>Qanta” and search the JFK-MXP route to find availablity

IMPORTANT: CREATE YOUR JAL ACCOUNT NOW

There is one big quirk you need to know about Japan Airlines. New JAL Mileage Bank accounts can have a waiting period of up to 60 days before you can redeem miles for award flights.

So even if you aren’t ready to book Emirates yet, I recommend creating your free Japan Airlines Mileage Bank account now. You don’t want to find the perfect Emirates business class award seat and then realize you can’t book it.

cards that earn points for emirates business class flights

The easiest way I’ve found to earn enough miles for Emirates business class is with a credit card that earns transferable points. Right now, Bilt Rewards, Citi ThankYou, American Express Membership Rewards and Capital One Venture miles all transfer directly to Emirates Skywards.

Here’s what you’ll get when you transfer:

• Bilt: 1,000 points = 1,000 Emirates miles

• Citi: 1,000 points = 800 Emirates miles with eligible cards

• American Express: 1,000 points = 800 Emirates miles

• Capital One: 1,000 miles = 750 Emirates miles

Those transfer ratios make a difference. If you find an Emirates business class flight for 87,000 Skywards miles, you’d need 87,000 Bilt points, 108,750 Citi or Amex points, or 116,000 Capital One miles to book it. You’ll also need to pay the taxes and fees shown when you search.

Capital One Venture cards are one way to earn miles for an Emirates flight. These are the cards that earn miles that transfer to Emirates:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Business Credit Card

As a reminder, always find the award seat first and confirm the total miles and fees before transferring points. Once you transfer them, you can’t move them back to your credit card account.

HOW TO SEARCH for emirates business class flights with points

You can search for Emirates business class award flights directly on the Emirates website or use an award search tool like seats.aero. I like using a search tool when my dates are flexible, but I always go back to Emirates to confirm the flight before transferring any points.

Here’s how to search on Emirates:

1. Create a free Emirates Skywards account (Make sure your name matches the name from the flexible points program you will be transferring points from) and log in.

2. Enter your route and travel date. I usually search one way at a time.

3. Select “Classic Rewards” to see flights you can book with miles.

4. Choose business class and look for an available award seat.

5. Check the total miles and taxes and fees before transferring any points.

Emirates Business Class Routes to search:

• JFK - MXP (NYC - Milan)

• EWR - ATH (Newark, NJ - Athens)

If Milan or Athens aren’t in your plans, that’s ok. The goal is to fly business class across the pond. It’s super easy to book a cheap intra-Europe flight or hop on a train to almost anywhere once you get there.

Once you find availability on the Emirates website, you can transfer your points

HOW TO BOOK an emirates business class flight with points:

1. Find an available business class award flight and confirm award availability on Emirates. (This means that if seats.aero is showing an available flight, that you go to the Emirates website to confirm that it’s actually available.)

2. Log in to your transferable points account, such as Capital One, and choose Emirates Skywards as your transfer partner.

3. Transfer the miles you need for the flight. Make sure your name matches on both accounts, and remember that transfers can’t be reversed.

4. Head back to the Emirates website (you may need to refresh your screen). Once the miles appear in your Skywards account, you can book the flight.

5. Choose your seats and save your confirmation number.

I always confirm the award seat before transferring points. When I booked our flights, the miles arrived right away, but I wouldn’t count on every transfer being instant.

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YOU CAN READ MY REVIEW OF OUR EMIRATES A380 BUSINESS CLASS EXPERIENCE IN THIS POST!

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tips for booking your emirates business class flight

Check roundtrip pricing. Before you book two one-way tickets, search for a roundtrip Saver award, too. It may require fewer miles, but you’ll need award seats on both flights. Compare the total miles and fees before deciding which way to book.

Check the change and cancellation rules. When my husband needed surgery, we had to cancel one of the three one-way tickets I’d booked. Emirates was wonderful to work with, and we received his miles and fees back within 30 days. The rules depend on the award fare you book, so check them before you pay. Classic Flex Plus awards currently allow changes and refunds before travel without a fee. Classic Saver awards have different rules and may have fees.

Look at the aircraft before choosing your seat. The New York (JFK) to Milan flight is listed on an A380, which is the double-decker plane with the onboard bar that we loved. Newark (EWR) to Athens is listed on a Boeing 777. The business class layout can vary on Emirates’ 777s, so I’d check your exact flight on aeroLOPA and look at the seat map Emirates shows during booking before picking your seat.

Happy Travels!

Want more ideas on how to use your points? See how you can fly to Europe for just 15k points each way here!