Last month, Air Canada plane make waves when it Expanding partnership with Emirates. As part of the partnership, Air Canada announced that planes members will soon be able to redeem Aeroplan points for Emirates first class, supposedly The most luxurious product in the sky. These redemptions officially launch today, just over a month after the initial partnership launched with economy and business class prizes.
Be prepared for first class rewards sticker shock, though, as the airline has also rolled out a new Emirates-specific rewards board. Up until now, economy and business class award tickets operated by Emirates cost the same as any other Aeroplan partner award ticket. Unfortunately, this new Emirates-specific rewards table means you may see higher prices on some award tickets.
Take a closer look at Aeroplan’s new Emirates awards chart and compare first class fares with Emirates Skywards.
Aeroplan Emirates Award Chart
As mentioned, Aeroplan has a special (more expensive) prize chart for Emirates flights. With scope in reward pricing groups, this rewards chart could make Emirates rewards more or less expensive than other partners’ flights in economy and business class, while first class rewards are almost always more expensive.
Here are the Aeroplan points you’ll need to fly Emirates, according to Aeroplan:
|
Flight distance (miles) |
Economy |
Business |
Firstly |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Up to 2,000. |
15,000 to 35,000 points. |
30,000 to 77,500 points. |
65,000 to 175,000 points. |
|
2,001 to 5,000. |
21,000 to 65,000 points. |
45,000 to 140,000 points. |
110,000 to 325,000 points. |
|
5,001 to 9,000. |
40,000 to 85,000 points. |
80,000 to 185,000 points. |
225,000 to 475,000 points. |
|
9,001 to 12,000. |
60,000 to 110,000 points. |
120,000 to 225,000 points. |
300,000 to 600,000 points. |
|
12,001 and up. |
85,000 to 150,000 points. |
180,000 to 300,000 points. |
400,000 to 750,000 points. |
Related: Best Ways to Maximize Air Canada’s Aeroplan
Redeem Aeroplan points for Emirates flights
Here’s a look at what the award chart means in practice by looking at some of the prize pathways. You will first see Aeroplan prices and can click the arrow next to the image to compare with Emirates Skywards prices for the same flight.
A few disclaimers before we dive in:
- Due to dynamic pricing, Aeroplan prices vary by day and route.
- Emirates prices some business class tickets lower when booked as part of a return ticket. We’ve compared both one-way and round-trip journeys across multiple compartments in the examples below.
Business and First Class from Dulles International Airport (IAD) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) one way
judgment: Book business class with Air Canada Aeroplan and first class with Emirates Skywards.
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Economy Class from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Dubai one way
judgment: Book with Air Canada Aeroplan. Note, Emirates economy bonus rate is lower than United Airlines.
First Class from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Dubai one way
judgment: Book with Emirates Skywards.
First Class from Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ) to Dubai One Way
judgment: Book with Emirates Skywards.
Business Class from New York to Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) one way
judgment: Book with Air Canada Aeroplan.
First Class from Milan to Dubai one way
judgment: Choose which one is best for you.
First Class from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Dubai round-trip
judgment: Book with Emirates Skywards.
First Class from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Dubai round-trip
judgment: Book with Emirates Skywards.
Related: Emirates First Class still impresses: Fully self-contained suites and unlimited caviar
bottom line
On direct flights from North America to Dubai, you could expect to spend up to 300,000 Aeroplan points per person one way — ouch. that’s a lot increase signup bonus and spend credit card just for one flight.
However, Aeroplan charges a portion of the taxes and fees that Emirates Skywards charges, regardless of which cabin type you choose. Alternatively, you can combine partners on the same Aeroplan award ticket and one more stop to a one-way award ticket for just 5,000 more points. For example, you can fly from Dubai to Warsaw, Poland with Emirates and connect from Warsaw to Chicago with LOT Polish Airlines.
Unfortunately, this marks the end of Aeroplan’s bargain rewards rates for Emirates’ business class when the two airlines began their partnership last month. In a statement to TPG, an Aeroplan spokesperson said: “[The previously lower award rates were because the Emirates award chart wasn’t] is not loaded in our system. It’s more important to us to give our members the earliest possible access to these rewards.”
