Amex Flexibility and Emirates Availability, This Bucket List Flight Is Open

February 2021
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Emirates luxury made possible (and affordable) with FCF’s analysis


Last month we took a deep dive into

As we mentioned last month, Emirates’ hub, Dubai, is now open to tourists. You just have to present a valid negative Covid PCR test taken no more than 96 hours before departure.

Also, there’s an important date approaching fast: as of April, Emirates will no longer offer its First Class award space to partners. So if you have Alaska or Marriott points and want to fly Emirates, you should lock in your booking soon.

Current Emirates routes between the U.S. and Dubai: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC.

Coming soon: Dallas to Dubai resumes its service March 2 with Business Class until October 31, when it begins service with a three-cabin aircraft offering First Class.

Seattle to Dubai resumed service February 2 with Business Class until March 28, when it begins service with a three-cabin aircraft offering First Class.

San Francisco to Dubai resumes service March 3 with a three-cabin aircraft offering First Class.

First Class Opportunities with Miles & Points

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Business Class Opportunities with Miles & Points

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Use Emirates Opportunities Well Beyond Dubai

From the perspective below, Dubai is the center of the world, with Emirates offering flights to bucket list destinations such as Tanzania, the Maldives, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Mauritius, to name a few.

Comparing Amex Points, Alaska Airlines Miles, and Japan Airlines Miles

To put these in perspective though, some of these flights can cost more than $24,000 if you pay for them in cash.

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These routes all use the existing B777 aircraft apart from New York-Dubai, which has the new B777 featuring just six seats in First rather than the current eight. From March 28, this aircraft will be replaced by the A380, with a handful of days’ availability for free award seats for up to two people on the return flight from Dubai as we alerted you here. Space on these flights is constantly changing (to say the least!) so keep your eyes peeled, check back regularly, and be ready to jump on ‘em fast.

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[["First Class","Depart","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Boston to Dubai","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, Oct., Nov.<\/span>","Nov.","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, Sept. to Nov.<\/span>","Oct.","Nov."],["Chicago to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct.<\/span>","April, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept., Dec.<\/span>","March, Sept., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct.<\/span>"],["Dallas to Dubai","","Nov.","","Nov.","",""],["Houston to Dubai","Dec.","April, July, Oct.","Aug., Sept., Nov.","Sept., Dec.","April to June, Oct.","Nov."],["Los Angeles to Dubai","April","","","May","",""],["New York to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April,<\/span> May","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March,<\/span> April","March","","",""],["San Francisco to Dubai","","March","","March","",""],["Seattle to Dubai","April, May, Aug. to Nov.","","","May, Sept. to Dec.","",""],["Washington, DC to Dubai","April, May, Oct., Nov.","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Aug., Sept.<\/span>","","May, June, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.,<\/span> Oct.","",""],["Newark to Athens","","Sept., Dec.","Oct., Nov.","","Oct., Dec.","Nov."]]
<small>*Months in <u>black</u> at least one seat available; <span style="color: #6699cc;">in <u>blue</u> at least two seats</span>.</small>
[["Business Class","Depart","#colspan#","#colspan#","Return","#colspan#","#colspan#"],["#rowspan#","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month","4 to 8 Days Per Month","9 to 12 Days Per Month","13+ Days Per Month"],["Boston to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">May<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, Dec.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, Aug. to Nov.<\/span>","","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">June, Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March to May,<\/span> June, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct. to Dec.<\/span>"],["Chicago to Dubai","","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Aug.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, April, Sept. to Nov.<\/span>","","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">June<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March to May, Sept. to Dec.<\/span>"],["Dallas to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">July, Sept., Oct.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, Aug., <\/span>Sept., Oct., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, April to June, Sept., Oct.<\/span>","March",""],["Houston to Dubai","April,<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\"> July, Oct., Nov.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Aug.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, April<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">June, Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">May, Oct., Nov.<\/span>"],["Los Angeles to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, May, Sept., Oct.<\/span>","May, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Aug.,<\/span> Oct., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April,<\/span> Aug., Sept.","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Dec.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Sept.,<\/span> Oct., <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April to June,<\/span> Sept., Nov."],["New York to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">May<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">May<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March,<\/span><span style=\"color: #009966;\"> April, Aug. to Oct.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">Dec.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">April, June<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March, April,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #009966;\">May,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">June,<\/span> <span style=\"color: #009966;\">Sept. to Nov.<\/span>"],["San Francisco to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April<\/span>","April","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Nov., Dec.<\/span>","March, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, May<\/span>","March"],["Seattle to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, May,<\/span> Aug.","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Feb., March,<\/span> April","Feb., March","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Feb, April<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Feb., March,<\/span> April",""],["Washington, DC to Dubai","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">May<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">April, Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March,<\/span> April, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Nov.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">March,<\/span> April, <span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">May, Sept. Dec.<\/span>","March, May, Sept.","<span style=\"color: #6699cc;\">Oct., Nov.<\/span>"],["Newark to Athens","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">Nov.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">Oct.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">July to Sept.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">Nov.<\/span>","","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">July to Oct.<\/span>"],["New York to Milan","","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">Dec.<\/span>","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">July to Nov.<\/span>","","","<span style=\"color: #009966;\">July to Oct.<\/span>"]]
<small>*Months in <u>black</u> at least one seat available; <span style="color: #6699cc;">in <u>blue</u> at least two seats</span>; <span style="color: #009966;">in <u>green</u> at least four seats</span>.</small>
[["First Class Round-Trip","Amex partner Emirates currency cost","Partner Alaska Airline miles cost","Partner Japan Airline Miles cost"],["Boston to Dubai","217,500","300,000","165,000"],["Chicago to Dubai","217,500","300,000","190,000"],["Dallas to Dubai","247,500","300,000","190,000"],["Houston to Dubai","247,500","300,000","190,000"],["Los Angeles to Dubai","247,500","300,000","190,000"],["New York to Dubai","217,500","300,000","165,000"],["San Francisco to Dubai","247,500","300,000","190,000"],["Seattle to Dubai","247,500","300,000","190,000"],["Washington, DC to Dubai","217,500","300,000","190,000"],["Newark to Athens","135,000","360,000","135,000"]]
[["Business Class Round-Trip","Amex partner Emirates currency cost","Partner Alaska Airline miles cost","Partner Japan Airline Miles cost"],["Boston to Dubai","145,000","165,000","110,000"],["Chicago to Dubai","145,000","165,000","130,000"],["Dallas to Dubai","165,000","165,000","130,000"],["Houston to Dubai","165,000","165,000","130,000"],["Los Angeles to Dubai","165,000","165,000","130,000"],["New York to Dubai","145,000","165,000","110,000"],["San Francisco to Dubai","165,000","165,000","130,000"],["Seattle to Dubai","165,000","165,000","130,000"],["Washington, DC to Dubai","145,000","165,000","130,000"],["Newark to Athens","180,000","210,000","85,000"],["New York to Milan","180,000","210,000","80,000"]]