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A couple of days ago, OMAAT, discovered that Emirates First Class award tickets were no longer going to be available to non-elite members. This is a massive shift in policy and one that is confounding to say the least – especially because first class redemptions are still accessible to partners, namely Qantas and Aeroplan. How does that make any sense? It’s also weird since Emirates is so bling bling and loves the press that first class yields. Compare the social media impressions on EK first to say Air France or Lufthansa.
I’ve been fortunate enough to fly Emirates First Class numerous times and I think all but one time the plane with with empty seats and upgrades became available prior to departure. It seems that upgrades will still be possible to utilize without elite status, so the idea of first class not being possible to book by non-elites is really only partially true. And will this become a benefit to Skywards+ members? I just flew EK first on an upgraded business class flight booked with a 20% discount via Skywards+
You can see it here with the Emirates calculator
How you’ll be able to still book Emirates First Class
- Credit cards that give status as a benefit
- There are two Barclay Credit Cards
- $99 fee gives silver status for the first year
- $499 fee gives gold status for the first year
- Upgrade Awards
- I’ve used upgrades a few times to book Emirates First Class and this seems to still be accessible to non-elites.
- The biggest downside to this strategy is you’ll pay a lot more miles
- Booking with a partner
- Anecdotally you can still use Aeroplan and Qantas miles to book EK first class
- There are two Barclay Credit Cards
One way to get status would be to add one of these to your wallet and book during the first year you have status.
Overall – will this last?
I just don’t understand why they would want to implement this strategy. While flying Emirates First Class is an absolute treat, it costs A LOT of points and surcharges. For instance, for this past flight I took in First Class, my buddy Dave and I wanted a really fun ride home and we were willing to splurge. We flew business class from Mumbai to Dubai, and then first class from Dubai to Toronto. It set us back 180k miles and $1150 in fees. $200 more if you include the Skywards+ membership fee that allowed us to book the base business class flight that we upgraded for 70k miles.
The Etihad apartments from AUH to JFK are 200k miles ( first class is 160k ) and you’ll often find transfer bonuses ( Cap1 did a 40% bonus and Amex just ended a 20% bonus ). The fees are just $300 vs $1150.
My gut is that this policy won’t last long. Air France has a very selective policy on upgrading Into First Class… you need status and there are restrictions on upgrading award tickets. But Emirates isn’t Air France…Air France has very few planes with First Class and only has 4 seats in the cabin. Emirates has 14 on every single A380 – and just as a comparison, Singapore has just 6 suites in the same space. I’d guess most of these seats are being booked as upgrades or mileage redemptions and the cabin occupancy, and the revenue made off fees, will drop.
What do you guys think?
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market. It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner
Welcome Offer
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
Earn
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x points on gas and EV charging
- 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
- Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2x on all other travel
- 1x on everyday purchases
Benefits and Credits
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation and more
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 – a value of $156.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for 12 months when you activate by12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® , Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and it has great bonus categories and useful statement credits that not only enhance your travel, but help offset the annual fee.
One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3.
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