Emirates redemption

[memesweeper]

I have a flight to Dubai booked. Cash, flexible, Premium Economy on Emirates.

F award availability has come up on the same date from STN, and looks like I can snag a return in J or F too. Trouble is, no miles. I can send over the required from Amex MR, however, there is a slim chance I may need to cancel/change. This presents me with a dilemma because Emirates miles expire after three years – I may end up with 150k of orphaned points.

I can’t see any Amex partner that offers the ability to book on Emirates.

Guess I’ll have to wait for the very last minute for booking and hope the seat remains available. Or am I missing a trick?

[Carlos]

I thought F availability was only available 3 days before the flight?

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

You can use Emirates miles to book hotels. But in reality you won’t find it hard to find J space

[memesweeper]

Carlos wrote:

I thought F availability was only available 3 days before the flight?

Nope — flight is within a month but not three days.

[memesweeper]

Answering my own question, Qantas is a partner of Amex MR and Emirates, and their miles don’t expire.

[Rob]

Check taxes and mileage required first though …

[memesweeper]

Thanks @Rob … it’s horribly complicated… I’ll plan properly tomorrow if I can. I’ve also noticed award availability on Emirates is more generous than offered to Qantas

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

Emirates TFCs have exploded this year; as bad as BA now. Ex-EU is no saving either. Sad times. My Amex transfers to EK are over.

[memesweeper]

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

Emirates TFCs have exploded this year; as bad as BA now. Ex-EU is no saving either. Sad times. My Amex transfers to EK are over.

They are indeed horrible for an award booking. 24k for an upgrade from PE to J looks reasonable, however.