With the Qantas-Emirates alliance set to take flight from March 31, throughout this week Australian Business Traveller is featuring articles to summarise key changes introduced due to the historic partnership.
The Qantas-Emirates alliance delivers new ways for Qantas Frequent Flyers to earn and burn their points, but there are some traps for unwary travellers.
Here’s what you need to know before booking with either Qantas or Emirates from March 31.
Maximise your points: book a QF flight
While you can earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points on Emirates flights, you’ll get the biggest haul by travelling with Qantas – such as the flagship QF1 Airbus A380 service from Sydney to London – or by booking an Emirates flight under its Qantas flight number.
The first bit’s is straightforward enough: it’s exactly how you may already do things today, albeit with your new stopover being Dubai rather than Singapore.
The second is a new wrinkle in the frequent flyer fabric, with Qantas codesharing on Emirates’ flights – in plain language, that means a QF flight number is listed against an Emirates flight.
For example, the evening Emirates flight EK413 from Sydney to Dubai also carries the Qantas flight number of QF8413 (as it happens, all four-digit Qantas flight numbers beginning with ’8′ are actually Emirates flights).
This is more than just marketing: it makes a substantial difference to the number of frequent flyer points you earn.
If you book this as an Emirates flight, with the EK413 flight number stamped on your e-ticket, you’ll earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points at a relatively low partner airline rate of 1 point per mile with a cabin bonus of 25% in business class and 50% in first class.
For flying Sydney-Dubai with Emirates in business class, that means 7,488 Qantas points (one way) plus your 25% cabin bonus of 1,872 points – for a total of 9,360 points.
But if you book the exact same Emirates flight under its QF8413 flight number, through Qantas or a Qantas travel agent, it carries the same weight as if you were flying on one of Qantas’ own jets and delivers a full serving of Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
This sees your business class cabin bonus doubled to 50% (first class is a lush 100%), so your 7,488 points are catapulted to 11,232 points.
More importantly for Qantas Frequent Flyer members, there’s also an additional bonus based on your status: 50% for Silver, 75% for Gold and 100% for Platinum.
So if you’re carrying a Gold card the tally jumps by a further 5,616 points to reach 16,848 points; for Platinum travellers, it peaks at 18,720 points, or twice what you’d have earned if your ticket was booked on the Emirates EK413 version of the same flight.
No status credits on EK flights
Speaking of status credits, that’s another caveat for the flight code.
Emirates flights carrying the EK number don’t earn any Qantas status credits, so you’ll be stalled at your current Qantas Frequent Flyer level.
Book on the Qantas version of the same flight and you’ll collect status credits – in the case of Sydney to Dubai in business class, that’s 180 status credits each way.
Considering the relative pitfalls of accidentally being booked to travel on an Emirates flight under its native EK flight number rather than the point-laden QF equivalent, our example may beg the question: why would you want to catch EK413/QF8143 instead of one of Qantas’ own flights to Dubai?
It’s because the daily Qantas flights to Dubai are timed to continue on to London, just as they currently do on the Kangaroo Route via Singapore.
If you’re going anywhere other than London, your onwards flight will be with Emirates, and those flights typically leave in the early morning or afternoon.
In the case of EK413/QF8413, this reaches Dubai at 5.30am and dovetails neatly into Emirates’ morning flights from Dubai to Europe just a few hours later – resulting in a much shorter layover at Dubai International Airport than if you travelled on Qantas’s own QF1 which arrives at 12.35am.
Using Qantas points for Emirates reward flights…
Free ‘reward’ flights are also on the menu, with the number of points needed spelled out in the Qantas Partner Classic Awards table.
To trade in your Qantas Frequent Flyer points on an economy seat with Emirates will cost the same as for a Qantas flight, starting at 800 points for 600 miles.
As a practical example, flying Sydney to Hamburg via Dubai (a distance of 10,518 miles) will cost 64,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points one way.
However, unlike Qantas, Emirates doesn’t offer premium economy seating – so if you want a comfier seat and more legroom than Emirates’ economy class you’ll have to make the jump to 128,000 points one-way.
But no upgrades on Emirates…
You can’t use your Qantas points to apply for an upgrade on any Emirates flight, even if it carries a QF flight number.
Upgrades are valid only if you’re flying on Qantas’ own aircraft (and under a QF flight number).
So while you can try your luck at upgrading to premium economy, business or first class on one of the Qantas flights to Dubai, for the onwards leg with Emirates you’ll be stuck in the seat you bought.
Also read
- Qantas Frequent Flyer access to Emirates lounges – what you need to know
- Qantas: new flights and times for Singapore after March 31
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About David Flynn
David Flynn is the editor of Australian Business Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
Email: david@ausbt.com.au
Twitter: @djsflynn
Qantas Frequent Flyers: maximise your points on Emirates flights
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