Emirates is a popular airline that offers a loyalty program called Emirates Skywards. With Skywards, you can earn and redeem miles for flights, upgrades, hotel stays, car rentals, and more. In this article, we will walk you through the steps of booking an Emirates flight with miles.
Step 1: Join Emirates Skywards
If you are not already a member of Emirates Skywards, you need to sign up for the program first. Membership is free, and you can join online at the Emirates website. Once you have signed up, you will receive a membership number that you will use to log in to your account and manage your miles.
Step 2: Earn Emirates Skywards Miles
To book an Emirates flight with miles, you need to have enough miles in your account. You can earn miles by flying with Emirates or its partner airlines, using co-branded credit cards, staying at partner hotels, renting cars, and more. You can also buy miles from Emirates or transfer them from other loyalty programs.
Step 3: Check for Availability
Before you book a flight with miles, you need to check for availability. Emirates offers award seats on a first-come, first-served basis, and availability can be limited, especially during peak travel seasons. To check for availability, log in to your Emirates Skywards account, and click on the "Book" tab. Then, enter your travel details, including your destination, dates, and number of passengers. If award seats are available, they will show up as an option.
Step 4: Choose Your Flight
Once you have found an available award seat, you can choose your flight. Emirates offers different classes of service, including Economy, Business, and First Class. The number of miles you need to redeem will depend on the class of service you choose and the distance of your flight. You can view the mileage requirements on the Emirates website or in your Skywards account.
Step 5: Book Your Flight
After you have selected your flight, you can book it using your miles. Follow the prompts on the Emirates website to complete the booking process. You may need to pay taxes and fees, which will vary depending on your itinerary. You can pay these fees with a credit card or with additional miles, depending on the rules of the award ticket.
Step 6: Manage Your Booking
Once you have booked your Emirates flight with miles, you can emirates manage booking online. Log in to your Emirates Skywards account, and click on the "Manage" tab. From there, you can view your itinerary, change your seat, upgrade your class of service, and more. You can also cancel or change your flight, subject to the rules of the award ticket.
Tips for Booking Emirates Flights with Miles
Book Early: Emirates award seats can be limited, especially during peak travel seasons. To increase your chances of finding availability, book your flight as early as possible.
Be Flexible: If you can be flexible with your travel dates, you may have a better chance of finding award seats. Try searching for flights on different days of the week or during different times of the day.
Use the Emirates App: The Emirates app makes it easy to search for award availability, book flights, and manage your booking on the go. The app is available for free download from Google Play or the App Store.
Take Advantage of Partner Airlines: Emirates is part of the SkyTeam alliance, which includes other airlines such as Delta, Air France, and KLM. You can earn and redeem miles on these partner airlines, which can help you reach your mileage goals faster.
Look for Promotions: Emirates occasionally offers promotions that allow you to book award flights at a discounted rate.