One Emirates First Class Award Can Get You Two Suites, A Shower, And A Free Dubai Hotel

Here’s an award that many of you will want to take advantage of just for the experience of the thing: combining the Emirates Airbus A380 suite with a shower and their even better ‘Game Changer’ first class into a single award, saving miles in the process, and even getting a free hotel stay in Dubai.

• Brussels – Dubai can be booked in that Game Changer suite with floor-to-ceiling doors, but costs 120,000 miles one way.
  
• A connecting flight like Dubai – Singapore or Mauritius only adds 43,000 more miles and can be booked in an Airbus A380 first class, which gets you a shower and onboard bar.
  
• And if your routing requires an overnight in Dubai, they’ll pick up the hotel.

The cost of the award will include not just points but also surcharges, and those vary quite a bit by destination. Hong Kong costs for instance will generally be low by Asian destination standards.

Emirates 777 ‘Game Changer’ First Class

You can use Emirates Skywards to book a one-way itinerary through Dubai where the two long segments are on different First Class products. And two flights are better for ‘collecting’ both products. One very long First Class flight might be better for most purposes (but isn’t going to get you non-stop between the same cities on Emirates).

Dubai Connect is available even on award tickets when you’re redeeming Emirates miles. If your Dubai connection is at least six and at most 26 hours, and you are booked on the shortest available connection, you can get the free hotel booking thrown in. Emirates may use Copthorne Hotel Dubai, Le Méridien Airport Hotel Dubai, JW Marriott Marquis, or another hotel.

In order to book Emirates first class awards using Skywards miles, you need to have at least Silver status in the program. First Class Classic Rewards also require passengers to be at least nine years old.

Emirates A380 First Class Suite

You can get this status with an Emirates credit card from Barclays. The initial bonus offer is going to make getting the card worth it in that first year, and the basic $99 annual fee card comes with a year of Silver (while the $499 Premium Mastercard gives Gold status in the first year). There are also status matches and challenges.

Most programs have devalued Emirates transfers. Emirates simply doesn’t like randos flying their premium products using miles, even as they set up deals to sell their miles.

• Chase dropped Emirates as a transfer partner.
  
• American Express Membership Rewards now transfer to Emirates at five-to-four (1,000 : 800)
  
• Capital One transfers one thousand miles to seven hundred fifty Emirates miles (1,000 : 750)
  
• Citi ThankYou transfers to Emirates at five-to-four (1,000 : 800) for Strata Premier and Elite customers
  
• However, Bilt Rewards remains 1:1.

Business class to first class upgrades can still be a better strategy. Skywards business class awards can be upgraded, eve day of departure at the airport and even on board (if there’s a last minute no show) passengers can upgrade to first class with Skywards miles. There are no capacity controls at check-in and beyond, all empty first class seats become available for upgrade. This still requires Silver status or higher (and passengers aged nine or older).

If the goal is just to try Emirates first class, short fifth freedom flights paid for with cash can be better still. You can fly Bangkok – Hong Kong in first class on the Airbus A380 for less than $1,000. It’s only about three hours, but long enough for a shower, visit to the bar, a caviar sampler, and an opportunity to throw back some premium wine and spirits.

Given the short flight, make sure to board early, tell the crew immediately that you are going to want a shower, and take the first slot. You’ll still get caviar and first class service but not necessarily a Bulgari amenity kit.

Emirates A380 Shower Suite

Qantas allows Classic Flight Rewards on Emirates and has access to first class but requires their own members to have Silver status or higher to redeem for first, and has a separate more expensive award chart for Emirates that went into effect March 31.

If you’re looking for the Emirates Boeing 777 First Class ‘Game Changer’ the one you want is the six seat layout with floor-to-ceiling doors. Aircraft swaps are a risk, too.

For the Airbus A380, shower access is the distinctive feature. For the Game Changer, it’s the seat itself. Either way you get fantastic food and soft goods.

Finding The Game Changer First Class

There are still only nine Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with Game Changer First. Recently these have been cycling through:

• A6-EQH: Dubai–Tokyo Haneda 312 / Tokyo Haneda–Dubai 313; Dubai–Geneva 83 / Geneva–Dubai 84; Dubai–Zurich 85 / Zurich–Dubai 86.
  
• A6-EQI: Dubai–Chicago 235 / Chicago–Dubai 236; Dubai–Riyadh 815 / Riyadh–Dubai 816.
  
• A6-EQJ: Dubai–London Heathrow 31; Dubai–Geneva 89 / Geneva–Dubai 90.
  
• A6-EQK: Dubai–Geneva 89 / Geneva–Dubai 90; Dubai–Tokyo Haneda 312 / Tokyo Haneda–Dubai 313; Dubai–London Stansted 65 / London Stansted–Dubai 66; Dubai–Zurich 85 / Zurich–Dubai 86.
  
• A6-EQL: Dubai–Chicago 235 / Chicago–Dubai 236; Dubai–Riyadh 815 / Riyadh–Dubai 816.
  
• A6-EQM: Dubai–Zurich 85 / Zurich–Dubai 86; Dubai–Brussels 183 / Brussels–Dubai 184; Tokyo Haneda–Dubai 313.
  
• A6-EQN: Dubai–Rome 95; Dubai–Nairobi 719 / Nairobi–Dubai 720; Dubai–Geneva 89 / Geneva–Dubai 90; Bahrain–Dubai 836.
  
• A6-EQO: Dubai–Geneva 83; Dubai–Zurich 85 / Zurich–Dubai 86; Dubai–Cochin 530 / Cochin–Dubai 531.
  
• A6-EQP: Dubai–London Stansted 65 / London Stansted–Dubai 66

In general targets are Tokyo Haneda; Geneva; Brussels; Melbourne; Chicago; and sometimes Riyadh, with London Stansted and Zurich seeing the aircraft as well. Focus on the seat map to confirm and recognize that this plan can change.