Last edit by: eponymous_coward
Emirates award guide using Alaska Airlines miles. Note that Alaska Airlines cannot book EK F any longer- it's just J or Y. F awards were ceased on 3/31/2021.
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
Only AS and EK can be used for the award.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK, EWR)
Washington DC (IAD)
Fort Lauderdale
Orlando
Canada
Toronto
Mexico
Mexico City (via Barcelona)
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Note: EK flies DXB-HKG-BKK but otherwise it is DXB-final stop
Europe
Note: EK flies JFK-MXP-DXB and EWR-ATH-DXB but otherwise routing will be via DXB
*If region is not listed on chart it's not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Routing Rules:
All trips must start or end in North America.
One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award.
No fees for changes/cancellations prior to 60 days from departure.
Only AS and EK can be used for the award.
North American Gateway Cities:
West Coast
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Central
Chicago
Dallas
Houston
East Coast
Boston
New York (JFK, EWR)
Washington DC (IAD)
Fort Lauderdale
Orlando
Canada
Toronto
Mexico
Mexico City (via Barcelona)
Award Chart Links*:
Middle East & Africa
Asia
Note: EK flies DXB-HKG-BKK but otherwise it is DXB-final stop
Europe
Note: EK flies JFK-MXP-DXB and EWR-ATH-DXB but otherwise routing will be via DXB
*If region is not listed on chart it's not available.
Perks
Chauffeur Drive NOT Available
Car service is not available for all Business Class and First Class passengers on Alaska Airlines ticketed award tickets on Emirates flights (as of Jan 2015). The chauffeur will not confirm if you use the EK website for this, though the website makes it look you can make a reservation.
Lounges
Access is available for all passengers traveling in Business and First Class. Not all cities have lounges and many may be operated by a Partner. There have been some reports of people having an issue accessing the Dubai lounges as the tickets may appear in their system as non-revenue employee travel. This is not as much of a problem as it used to be but in case it comes up please advise the lounge attendant that you are on an Alaska Airlines award.
Dubai Connect
AS Awards on EK do not qualify for Dubai Connect, which is the service that offers the free hotel.
Tricks to find Transoceanic availability
Instead of performing a blanket, i.e. SEA-DXB search, perform: SEA-MED.
Madinah is a destination that is only served by EK. Consequently, if there is availability, only EK will show up in the calendar results.
Consolidated Emirates (EK) Awards Availability/Booking/Routing (2016 and Later)
#46
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,990
Thanks for your response. Yup. Strange. It would be pretty bad if as well as doubling the necessary miles they devalued the experience. Sort of seems unnecessary. I'm hoping that this is an outpost blip and that things wouldn't have changed in DXB. The lounge attendants in SIN did make a couple of phone calls and were adamant that we didn't have access...
Did you have lounge access printed on your boarding card? Boarding passes that I have seen online often do (I obviously don't know if AS miles were used. ). Mine doesn't.
I also was given a meal voucher (we have a long transit). Did you get one printed automatically?
Did you have lounge access printed on your boarding card? Boarding passes that I have seen online often do (I obviously don't know if AS miles were used. ). Mine doesn't.
I also was given a meal voucher (we have a long transit). Did you get one printed automatically?
#47
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: ANC
Programs: AS; Hyatt; Bonvoy
Posts: 1,718
Did you have lounge access printed on your boarding card? Boarding passes that I have seen online often do (I obviously don't know if AS miles were used. ). Mine doesn't.
I also was given a meal voucher (we have a long transit). Did you get one printed automatically?
It was early 2015 (IIRC) that the chauffeur drive service dropped off of redemption tickets. My hope is that lounge access does not also go by the wayside.
#49
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: SF
Programs: UA MM, AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTP, HH Dia
Posts: 1,132
I had lounge access in both SFO and DXB 2 weeks ago. I think this is an anomaly-- lots of reports of AS awards looking similar to non-rev staff tickets to less experienced check-in agents. DXB should be able to tell the difference. SIN may have less experience on this front.
#50
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 91
Good News to report - absolutely no problems getting into the lounge in DXB. The attendants were completely welcoming and knew all about Alaska awards as previously noted.
She reprinted our boarding passes so that they now had lounge access printed at the bottom. I mentioned that we were denied access in Singapore and she apologized and said we should have spoken to a supervisor.
We had of course asked the lounge attendant to call her supervisor when we were refused entry in SIN and the response was an adamant no. I should mention that we got our boarding passes from an airside transfer desk, and not from the regular Emirates check-in.
I don't know quite what to recommend to others who want to be certain of lounge access in an out-station. Maybe it would have helped to have left the airport and got our boarding passes reprinted the regular way?? Maybe it would be worth getting email confirmation from Emirates CS before leaving?
In our case, we had access to a lot of decent lounges in SIN with priority pass, and we were only really concerned with lounge access in DXB (15 hrs layover ). In the end, and fearing the worst, we booked into the airport hotel - which in fact was the best thing we could have done.
(The meal voucher was for DXB- I think because of the long layover....).
She reprinted our boarding passes so that they now had lounge access printed at the bottom. I mentioned that we were denied access in Singapore and she apologized and said we should have spoken to a supervisor.
We had of course asked the lounge attendant to call her supervisor when we were refused entry in SIN and the response was an adamant no. I should mention that we got our boarding passes from an airside transfer desk, and not from the regular Emirates check-in.
I don't know quite what to recommend to others who want to be certain of lounge access in an out-station. Maybe it would have helped to have left the airport and got our boarding passes reprinted the regular way?? Maybe it would be worth getting email confirmation from Emirates CS before leaving?
In our case, we had access to a lot of decent lounges in SIN with priority pass, and we were only really concerned with lounge access in DXB (15 hrs layover ). In the end, and fearing the worst, we booked into the airport hotel - which in fact was the best thing we could have done.
(The meal voucher was for DXB- I think because of the long layover....).
#51
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,990
Good News to report - absolutely no problems getting into the lounge in DXB. The attendants were completely welcoming and knew all about Alaska awards as previously noted.
She reprinted our boarding passes so that they now had lounge access printed at the bottom. I mentioned that we were denied access in Singapore and she apologized and said we should have spoken to a supervisor.
We had of course asked the lounge attendant to call her supervisor when we were refused entry in SIN and the response was an adamant no. I should mention that we got our boarding passes from an airside transfer desk, and not from the regular Emirates check-in.
I don't know quite what to recommend to others who want to be certain of lounge access in an out-station. Maybe it would have helped to have left the airport and got our boarding passes reprinted the regular way?? Maybe it would be worth getting email confirmation from Emirates CS before leaving?
In our case, we had access to a lot of decent lounges in SIN with priority pass, and we were only really concerned with lounge access in DXB (15 hrs layover ). In the end, and fearing the worst, we booked into the airport hotel - which in fact was the best thing we could have done.
(The meal voucher was for DXB- I think because of the long layover....).
She reprinted our boarding passes so that they now had lounge access printed at the bottom. I mentioned that we were denied access in Singapore and she apologized and said we should have spoken to a supervisor.
We had of course asked the lounge attendant to call her supervisor when we were refused entry in SIN and the response was an adamant no. I should mention that we got our boarding passes from an airside transfer desk, and not from the regular Emirates check-in.
I don't know quite what to recommend to others who want to be certain of lounge access in an out-station. Maybe it would have helped to have left the airport and got our boarding passes reprinted the regular way?? Maybe it would be worth getting email confirmation from Emirates CS before leaving?
In our case, we had access to a lot of decent lounges in SIN with priority pass, and we were only really concerned with lounge access in DXB (15 hrs layover ). In the end, and fearing the worst, we booked into the airport hotel - which in fact was the best thing we could have done.
(The meal voucher was for DXB- I think because of the long layover....).
The airport hotel is really the best option with a 15 hour layover
lounge access I had a feeling it was a one off
#54
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 25
Do each of these one-way awards have valid routings?
JFK-DXB-MLE MLE-CMB (stopover: MLE)
JFK-DXB-MLE CMB-DXB-HKG (stopover: MLE; open jaw: CMB)
SIN-MEL-AKL-SYD-DXB-MXP-JFK (stopover: DXB)
JFK-DXB-MRU MRU-DXB-CDG (stopover: MRU)
Except for one of the above, I'm only planning a few hours layover in DXB so it wouldn't count as the stopover.
JFK-DXB-MLE MLE-CMB (stopover: MLE)
JFK-DXB-MLE CMB-DXB-HKG (stopover: MLE; open jaw: CMB)
SIN-MEL-AKL-SYD-DXB-MXP-JFK (stopover: DXB)
JFK-DXB-MRU MRU-DXB-CDG (stopover: MRU)
Except for one of the above, I'm only planning a few hours layover in DXB so it wouldn't count as the stopover.
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,391
All of your routings are pretty garbage, try to mess with the rules routings. I take it you're planning to do lots of HUACA?
The stopover generally gets done in DXB. MLE-CMB is a cheap 60 minute flight.
Not an open-jaw, which is AAA-BBB//CCC-DDD on a full round trip. That's a land segment.
Let me guess, you're planning a blog post on how you flew EK F for $100? You might find that AS agents are on to this trick now thanks to some bad publicity from a blogger, and realize that they need to make sure redemptions don't go into Australia (which AS isn't supposed to allow for EK redemptions).
LOL, this isn't US Airways with completely incompetent agents who don't understand geography. On what planet is backtracking 5000 miles after your destination in MRU a "one way award"? One that's flat?
The stopover generally gets done in DXB. MLE-CMB is a cheap 60 minute flight.
Not an open-jaw, which is AAA-BBB//CCC-DDD on a full round trip. That's a land segment.
Let me guess, you're planning a blog post on how you flew EK F for $100? You might find that AS agents are on to this trick now thanks to some bad publicity from a blogger, and realize that they need to make sure redemptions don't go into Australia (which AS isn't supposed to allow for EK redemptions).
LOL, this isn't US Airways with completely incompetent agents who don't understand geography. On what planet is backtracking 5000 miles after your destination in MRU a "one way award"? One that's flat?
Last edited by eponymous_coward; Apr 13, 2016 at 11:28 pm
#56
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Somewhere over the rainbow
Programs: Airline Free Agent, Bonvoy Platinum, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 3,811
Do each of these one-way awards have valid routings?
JFK-DXB-MLE MLE-CMB (stopover: MLE)
JFK-DXB-MLE CMB-DXB-HKG (stopover: MLE; open jaw: CMB)
SIN-MEL-AKL-SYD-DXB-MXP-JFK (stopover: DXB)
JFK-DXB-MRU MRU-DXB-CDG (stopover: MRU)
Except for one of the above, I'm only planning a few hours layover in DXB so it wouldn't count as the stopover.
JFK-DXB-MLE MLE-CMB (stopover: MLE)
JFK-DXB-MLE CMB-DXB-HKG (stopover: MLE; open jaw: CMB)
SIN-MEL-AKL-SYD-DXB-MXP-JFK (stopover: DXB)
JFK-DXB-MRU MRU-DXB-CDG (stopover: MRU)
Except for one of the above, I'm only planning a few hours layover in DXB so it wouldn't count as the stopover.
#57
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 25
If it's 2 open jaws for a round trip, then what's the point of doing that if I can just book 2 separate one way awards and get the same result?
I assumed it could be done because I read about someone doing it to FCO and back to MRU and SIN.
#58
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: 718
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Platinum, IHG Diamond
Posts: 967
But am I allowed to choose as a stopover a different location?
The wiki says "One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award."
If it's 2 open jaws for a round trip, then what's the point of doing that if I can just book 2 separate one way awards and get the same result?
The wiki says "One open jaw and one stopover allowed on each one-way award."
If it's 2 open jaws for a round trip, then what's the point of doing that if I can just book 2 separate one way awards and get the same result?
I do not think AS gives open jaws for one-way awards. On the contrary though, you do get 2 stopovers and "2 openjaws" if you booked a RT ticket but it is identical to booking 2 different one-ways each with a stopover.
#59
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Mountain Time Zone
Programs: AS Million Miler/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/ IGH Ambassador
Posts: 5,990
All of your routings are pretty garbage, try to mess with the rules routings. I take it you're planning to do lots of HUACA?
The stopover generally gets done in DXB. MLE-CMB is a cheap 60 minute flight.
Not an open-jaw, which is AAA-BBB//CCC-DDD on a full round trip. That's a land segment.
Let me guess, you're planning a blog post on how you flew EK F for $100? You might find that AS agents are on to this trick now thanks to some bad publicity from a blogger, and realize that they need to make sure redemptions don't go into Australia (which AS isn't supposed to allow for EK redemptions).
LOL, this isn't US Airways with completely incompetent agents who don't understand geography. On what planet is backtracking 5000 miles after your destination in MRU a "one way award"? One that's flat?
The stopover generally gets done in DXB. MLE-CMB is a cheap 60 minute flight.
Not an open-jaw, which is AAA-BBB//CCC-DDD on a full round trip. That's a land segment.
Let me guess, you're planning a blog post on how you flew EK F for $100? You might find that AS agents are on to this trick now thanks to some bad publicity from a blogger, and realize that they need to make sure redemptions don't go into Australia (which AS isn't supposed to allow for EK redemptions).
LOL, this isn't US Airways with completely incompetent agents who don't understand geography. On what planet is backtracking 5000 miles after your destination in MRU a "one way award"? One that's flat?
I think your right another "blogger" or someone who will post up!! I thought the new redemption would rid ourselves of this crap.
AS will only allow a stopover in DXB which is of course EK's hub.
#60
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: SEA, but up and down the coast a lot
Programs: Oceanic Airlines Gold Elite
Posts: 20,391
By all means play the HUACA game (who knows, you might win) but I think you will find backtracking won't work, you don't get to have land segments, and your stopover needs to be in DXB.