Dubai-based airline Emirates is renowned in the airline industry for the amazing premium-cabin products it provides to travelers. In fact, Emirates was ranked by SKYTRAX as having the fourth-best business-class product out of all airlines worldwide in 2024. So, if you’re looking to use your points or miles to book a luxurious business-class experience, Emirates should definitely be near the top of your list.

Emirates holds the distinction of having the world’s largest fleet of Airbus A380 aircraft. Each of these planes offers incredible business-class amenities, including lie-flat beds, an on-board lounge, regionally-inspired gourmet dishes and more.

However, because Emirates business class is such a coveted product, it can be difficult to find award availability. And, when Emirates business-class awards are available, they can often require a ton of points or miles. So, in this article, we’re going to tell you the best five ways to find Emirates business-class award availability at the best rates.

What to Expect in Emirates Business Class

Emirates has two different aircraft types that offer business class: the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. Generally, the Airbus A380 business-class product is considered to be superior due to unique features like an on-board lounge and bar. However, the 777 business-class product is still very modern and luxurious.

When flying in business class on an Emirates Airbus A380, you can expect spacious seats that recline into fully flat and comfortable beds, a state-of-the-art entertainment system, gourmet meals, complimentary Bulgari fragrances and amenity kits and a complimentary on-board lounge and bar with complimentary beverages. Of course, you can also have beverages delivered to your seat. Passengers ticketed in Emirates Airbus A380 business class are also entitled to Emirates business-class airport lounge access (subject to eligibility by class of travel and fare brand).

As previously mentioned, Emirates business class on Boeing 777 aircraft isn’t as impressive as the Airbus A380 business-class product. These aircraft don’t offer lie-flat beds in business class, nor is there an on-board lounge and bar. You do, however, have a personal minibar right at your seat and a great entertainment system. You’ll also enjoy delicious gourmet meals and complimentary beverages. Plus, business-class airport lounge access is also available with Boeing 777 Emirates business class (subject to eligibility by class of travel and fare brand).

Woman holding a passport while booking a trip on her laptop at home

Best Programs Through Which to Book Emirates Business Class

Emirates is not part of an airline alliance. However, it still has a fairly extensive list of airline partners. That said, Emirates business-class awards are very difficult to find through partner frequent flyer programs. For this reason, Emirates Skywards is typically going to be your best bet for booking Emirates business-class award tickets.

Emirates Skywards

In general, Emirates’s own frequent flyer program is the best program through which to book Emirates business-class award flights. Unfortunately, since Emirates business class is so highly regarded, you’ll most likely need to book your flight far in advance to find Emirates business-class award availability.

You should be prepared to spend a lot of Skywards miles. While the Emirates Skywards program doesn’t publish a fixed award chart, you can get an approximate rate for Emirates business-class awards by using the Miles Calculator tool on the Emirates Skywards website. When searching for rates using this tool, all transatlantic Emirates business-class routes seemed to cost at least 170,000 miles and upward (though certain routes like JFK-MXP and ATH-EWR can run 87,000 Skywards one-way in Business and 108,000 round-trip on Business Saver).

However, at the current time, transatlantic routes in Emirates business class can cost $2,500 and up each way, so you can still get good value by redeeming points and miles this way.

For example, we searched for a round-trip Emirates business-class flight from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB). Flights on this route are on Airbus A380-800 aircraft, which means they offer the better of the two Emirates business-class products. We were able to find a round-trip ticket on one of these flights for a total of 225,000 miles and about $1,720 in taxes and fees, which is a massive amount of both miles and cash.

Emirates award flight summary for roundtrip Business Class from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) in August 2025, totaling 225,000 miles and $1,720.71

However, this award flight would actually provide high value per mile because the cash price of the same exact flight on the same dates is about $10,444.

Cash fare for Emirates roundtrip Business Class flight from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) in August 2025, totaling $10,443.71

Thus, this redemption would provide a value of about 3.9 cents per mile, which is excellent. Plus, you’ll get the opportunity to experience one of the best business-class products in the airline industry.

Earning Emirates Skywards miles is very easy for U.S. consumers, as this program is a transfer partner of nearly every major U.S. credit card rewards program, including:

Bilt, Brex and Capital One allow you to convert points to Emirates Skywards at a 1:1 ratio, while Citi and American Express have a 5:4 transfer ratio.

Emirates also offers two co-branded credit cards to U.S. consumers: the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard® and the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard®. Both of these cards offer sizable welcome bonuses and everyday spending bonuses, which can help you quickly earn enough miles for a business-class award.

So, by earning a few welcome bonuses from credit cards, you could earn enough points to transfer to the Emirates Skywards program and afford a business-class flight.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Emirates business-class award flights can also be booked through the Air Canada Aeroplan program. Unfortunately, in the searches we conducted, these award flights didn’t tend to provide very high value per Aeroplan point. Nonetheless, if you have a large balance of points in this frequent flyer program, you may consider spending them on an Emirates business-class award.

We were able to find a one-way Emirates business-class flight from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) through the Aeroplan program for 435,900 Aeroplan points and 82 Canadian dollars (about $57) in taxes and fees. Once again, Emirates-operated flights on this route are on Airbus A380-800 aircraft (which has the top-tier business class).

Aeroplan award flight options for Emirates from New York to Dubai in August 2025 showing economy seats at 96.5K miles and business class at 435.9K miles plus CAD $82

If you were to book this flight with cash through the Emirates website, it would cost you about $4,557.

Emirates business class cash fare from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) on August 13, 2025, priced at USD 4,557.40

By booking this flight with airline points instead of cash, you would get a value of slightly over 1 cent per point, which isn’t great, especially for a business-class award.

So, if you have a large balance of Aeroplan points that you’re dying to spend, booking an Emirates business-class award isn’t a terrible idea. However, if you want to book an Emirates business-class award using credit card points, Emirates Skywards is a better program to transfer to than Air Canada Aeroplan.

The Bottom Line

For years, Emirates has been praised for the excellent business-class products it provides. When flying on Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft, passengers can expect comfortable lie-flat beds, complimentary Bulgari fragrances, gourmet meals and an on-board bar and lounge that will make you forget you’re on an airplane. When flying on Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft, you’ll enjoy a slightly lesser level of luxury. However, the business-class experience on both of these aircraft is still top-notch.

Due to this high degree of luxury, booking Emirates business class with points or miles has become fairly difficult. The only frequent flyer program through which you can consistently find Emirates business-class award space is Emirates Skywards. And, when booking Emirates business-class awards through this program, you can expect to get high value per point. However, since cash prices for these flights are so high, you can expect to pay a lot of miles and high taxes and fees.

Emirates business-class award flights can also be booked through the Air Canada Aeroplan program. But, you can expect to pay a ton of Aeroplan points and get unimpressive value per point. So, if you’re looking to book an Emirates business class flight with points or miles, we recommend sticking to the Emirates Skywards program.