Emirates Skywards - Enquiry regarding miles for upgrade.

hello guys,have been a silent observer to this forum for a long time and i must i really appreciate the work being put in and help that is generated.

i am travelling dubai-london-newyork.

1st question: what is emirates partner airlines from heathrow to new york.

2nd: if we use that partner airlines can we use our skyward miles to upgrade in that and how much would the approximate miles required for upgrade from eco to business on the partner airlines from london to newyork?

thank u guys.

1st question: what is emirates partner airlines from heathrow to new york.

The US-based partner airlines are United and Continental.


2nd: if we use that partner airlines can we use our skyward miles to upgrade in that and how much would the approximate miles required for upgrade from eco to business on the partner airlines from london to newyork?

Continental redemption details:
http://www.skywards.com/partner_details.aspx?id=tcm:431-479913&SkinID=1-Partner%20Airlines

United redemption details:
http://www.skywards.com/partner_details.aspx?id=tcm:431-479946&SkinID=1-Partner%20Airlines

hello guys,have been a silent observer to this forum for a long time and i must i really appreciate the work being put in and help that is generated.

i am travelling dubai-london-newyork.

1st question: what is emirates partner airlines from heathrow to new york.

2nd: if we use that partner airlines can we use our skyward miles to upgrade in that and how much would the approximate miles required for upgrade from eco to business on the partner airlines from london to newyork?

thank u guys.

Docebzz, firstly welcome to FT and the EK forum.

The challenge will be with upgrading out of LHR to JFK (or EWR if CO) is one of status (or lack of).

As you can appreciate, the transatlantic route is very competitive and heavily traveled and if you stop by the UA forum you will quickly understand the pain and anguish that elites are experiencing on gaining both upgrades between LHR and the Big Apple and the lack of award availability.

If you were wanting to redeem Skywards Miles for a J or F seat, then you will be competing with Mileage Plus members and you will need to look for XC or XF space (UA's terminology). The EK/UA award chart says you'll need 105,000 miles for an award.

If you haven't yet used Expert Flyer, I would encourage you to sign up for the free-trial version. This is a very useful tool and depending on what version you ultimately use, you can set it to scan for award availability on any airline, and then it will send you an email if and when it finds a seat(s).

You can also do a search over on the UA forum and will be presented with so much data and pages and pages of content, that you may very well just lose the will to live!

So we can be of more help to you, why don't you let us know the dates of travel, and whether or not you are a member of UA's or CO's program.

Also, what status are you on Skywards? Not that it will make much difference if you are traveling on a partner airline (such as UA/CO) but to some of the mileage run fools on this site (me included :D), some might suggest that you stick to EK for your entire itinerary.

True, there is back tracking if you do this - but more miles for you, and possibly an op-up. Or at least the chance to experience the A380 given that EK have now gone to 2 flights a day to JFK.

It prices out to be approx $750 for a DXB-LHR return and around the $1500 mark for a DXB-JFK return on the A380, but YMMV.

Let us know if you need anything else. While we may not be the biggest forum on FT, we are definitely the smartest and best looking ;)

You can't use Skywards miles to upgrade on a flight not on EK metal, even if it is a codeshare, as far as I am aware. You can upgrade on DXB-LHR though, and if you're on the A380, it's pretty good value at 25k miles.

Welcome to FT!

Thanks guys for the input.

@eightblack i would love to fly emirates all the way,but i dont think emirates flies from london to newyork?:confused:

Thanks guys for the input.

@eightblack i would love to fly emirates all the way,but i dont think emirates flies from london to newyork?:confused:

Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my post. What I am suggesting is that you fly DXB-LHR-DXB, and then a separate ticket for DXB-JFK-DXB. It means back tracking to DXB from LHR - but you'll find that this concept isn't regarded as "luncacy" by many members on this forum.

Think of the tier miles. Think of the RDM's. And the cost may be comparable. If you have the time, it might be do-able. Your significant other may have other ideas though ;)

Never tried doing that, I'll check what the price is for that.Thanks for the help,btw I am single ready to mingle.:D

I'm not sure eightblack's advice represents the best value for money though. Two separate tickets will price out like buying them separately, which will set you back enough for something like WT+ or PE on BA/VS. I don't know then if the additional miles are worth it, when you could just fly a higher class. It might make some sense if you're not traveling out of DXB though.