Emirates First Class To Dubai & Beyond For 2
Emirates first class award space isn't always the easiest to land if you want multiple seats but this is a great opportunity to book 2 seats from five airports.
I've included a little info on Skywards+ which could be worth signing up for to get a 20% discount on the award rate.
Now, let's get into it!
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Straight To The Points:
Routes: IAD/ORD/YYZ/SEA/SFO-DXB
Operating airline: Emirates
Class of service: First Class
Dates: August - November 2022
Seats available: 2
Cabin layout: 1-2-1
Book with (per person, one-way):
- Emirates Skywards:
- IAD/ORD/YYZ: 136,250 miles
- SEA/SFO: 155,000 miles
- JAL Mileage Bank:
- One-way (IAD/ORD/YYZ/SEA): 120,000 miles
- One-way (SFO): 135,000 miles
- Round-trip (YYZ): 165,000 miles
- Round-trip (IAD/ORD/SEA/SFO): 190,000 miles
- Qantas Frequent Flyer:
- YYZ: 149,800 miles
- IAD/ORD/SEA/SFO: 170,800 miles
Taxes/fees with Emirates Skywards (per person):
- One-way: ~$181 (~$200 from YYZ)
- Round-trip: ~$410 (~$385 from YYZ)
JAL Mileage Bank does not pass on most of the surcharges.
Bank transfer partners:
- Emirates: Amex, Bilt, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
- JAL: Marriott
- Qantas : Amex, Capital One, Brex, Citi, Marriott
Drop me an email if you book!
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DISCLAIMER: Please be aware that the COVID-19 situation and the resulting travel restrictions could prevent you from traveling. Additionally, please make sure you understand the cancellation, redeposit, and change fees required before booking with a particular program.
Travel Restrictions and Requirements
Travel restrictions change by the day. Please take a look at the US embassy site for your destination. Here's a link to the US Embassy site for the UAE.
Details
Emirates first class is known for being over the top. From the caviar to the Dom Perignon to the wine collection to the inflight showers to the inflight bar... I think you get the picture.
While some think the cabin features are a bit much, I haven't heard complaints about the experience. A few glass of Dom will make anyone pretty happy.
Currently, I see Airbus A380s on the routes to/from San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington Dulles. This means you'll have access to both an inflight bar and inflight shower.
Flights from Chicago and Seattle are currently scheduled to be operated by Boeing 777s. Neither have the new Game Changer suites at this time. Also note that the 777s do not have showers or the inflight bar.
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Available Dates
IAD-DXB
August: 8-11, 14, 15, 17-26, 28, 29, 31
September: 3-7, 9, 10, 13-29
October: 2-6, 9, 11, 12, 17-20, 23-27, 29-31
November: 1, 3, 6-10, 14-16
DXB-IAD
August: N/A
September: 12, 13, 16, 19-21, 23, 26-30
October: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 23-28, 31
November: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8
ORD-DXB
August: 15-17, 20-23, 27-30
September: 1, 3-7, 10-14, 17-21, 24-28
October: 3, 4, 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25
DXB-ORD
August: N/A
September: 13, 14, 20, 22, 26, 27, 29
October: 2-6, 10, 11, 25
November:
YYZ-DXB
September: 10-12, 16, 18, 19, 24-26, 30
October: 2, 9, 10, 15-17, 22-24, 29-31
DXB-YYZ
September: 17-19, 24-26, 28
October: 1-3, 5, 8-10, 12, 15-17, 19, 22-24, 26, 28-31
November: 2, 5, 6, 12, 14
SFO-DXB
August: 1-3, 5-9, 11-17, 21-23, 28-31
September: 2, 6-9, 12-14, 25-27
October: 4, 5, 11, 17, 18, 23-26, 31
November: 1, 2, 7
DXB-SFO
August: 28-31
September: 1, 4-7, 9-15, 20-22
October: 4, 5, 11, 25, 26
November: N/A
SEA-DXB
August: 2, 7-9, 14-16, 21-23, 28-31
September: 4-6, 11-13, 18-20, 25-27
October: 4, 5, 9-12, 16-19, 23-25, 30, 31
DXB-SEA
August: N/A
September: 12, 13, 19, 22, 24-30
October: 1-3, 5, 9-13, 18, 24-31
November: 1, 3-10
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Best Ways To Book
For most people, I think Emirates Skywards will be the easiest program to use as you can transfer points from Amex, Bilt, Brex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and Marriott.
A one-way award is 136,250 miles from Chicago, Toronto and Washington, DC while it's 155,000 miles from San Francisco and Seattle.
If you connect in Dubai, that will increase the rate. You can use Emirates' miles calculator to see how many miles you'll need.
If you book a round-trip ticket with a return in business class, the return leg will be booked at the business class award rate.
Emirates Skywards+
Emirates offers Skywards+ subscriptions. There are three tiers but one is of particular interest and that's the Classic option for $399 per year.
With this membership, you're entitled to a 20% discount on a Skywards Classic Reward once each year. If you book a round-trip first class ticket to Dubai for 272,500 Skywards, you'd save 54,500 miles. If you value Skywards at just 1 cent per mile, that's like paying $399 for to save $545.
If you book two round-trip first class tickets, you'd save 109,000 miles.
Personally, I think it's worth it but I know some earn more points than they know what to do with so there's no need pay a little to save miles.
Other Options
If you have JAL Mileage Bank miles sitting around or a ton of Marriott points, this could be a nice option. However, I doubt it's a feasible option for most.
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How To Book
I would search with Emirates' site to start:
- Visit Emirates' site
- Select "Log in to earn and spend Skywards Miles" and log in
- Check the box "Classic rewards"
- Enter your origin/destination
- Select your departure and/or return date(s) via calendar
- If booking one-way, check box "One-way" above calendar
- Check box for "My dates are flexible (-/+ 3 days)"
- Select number of passengers
- Select class of service
- Select date
- Select flight (make sure you select a flight operated by an A380)
If you know the exact dates you want to fly, you can search online with Japan Airlines or Qantas and book online.
Bottom Line
Whether you're looking for a relaxing beach vacation, to explore the Middle East, or to check out Sri Lanka (highly recommend it), Emirates first class is a seriously luxurious way to get there.
Happy booking and happy holidays!
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