Air Canada announced a new partnership with Emirates this past July which saw the codesharing part of it come to fruition in November and now we get the frequent flyer side of things! As of today, the reciprocal frequent flyer partnership between Air Canada Aeroplan and Emirates Skywards is now live. The key details are in the earning, redeeming and lounge access.
Reciprocal Earning
Aeroplan members will be able to earn Aeroplan points on Emirates flights worldwide, and similarly, Emirates Skywards members will be able to earn Skywards Miles on Air Canada flights worldwide. Emirates flights will not, however, count towards Aeroplan Elite status. Below is the accrual chart for earning Aeroplan points on Emirates flights.
Aeroplan earn rates on Emirates:
Reciprocal Redemption
As of December 7th Aeroplan members will be able to redeem Aeroplan points for Emirates flights, and similarly, Emirates Skywards members will be able to redeem Skywards Miles for Air Canada flights. Air Canada’s partnership arrangement with Emirates is very unique, and as a result, their Emirates redemptions will have their own dedicated chart, as outlined below.
Aeroplan redemption rates on Emirates:
Air Canada provided us with some additional details on Emirates redemptions:
- There are no carrier surcharges, just like all other Aeroplan partner redemptions — only the CA$39 partner booking fee applies
- Emirates redemptions will be fully combinable with Air Canada and our 45+ airline partners, and all current Aeroplan rules and flexibilities will apply – including routing rules, change/redeposit fees, stopovers
- Aeroplan members will be able to book Emirates flights online at aircanada.com, through the Air Canada mobile app, or via Aeroplan’s Contact Centre
- The distance bands on the Emirates chart apply worldwide, and are not specific to any geography
- For the opening weeks following launch our redemption pricing for Emirates Business and Economy Class may be lower than the amounts on our Emirates redemption chart (and remarkably similar to our partner redemption amounts). This is because the Emirates chart pricing isn’t loaded yet in our systems. It was more important to us to give our members the earliest possible access to these rewards
- Emirates First Class redemptions are coming soon. They will become available for redemption once the new Emirates chart takes effect in early 2023
A very popular route that people on both sides of the Atlantic like to redeem for is Emirates’ fifth freedom route between New York JFK and Milan. At 3,995 miles this will fall into the 2,001 to 5,000 range thus requiring 21,000 to 65,000 Aeroplan points for a one way economy class ticket. Business Class if 45,000 to 140,000 points and First Class you are looking at 110,000 to 325,000 points. Compare this to Aeroplan’s standard partner redemption rates for the same route and they are 35,000 points one way for economy, 60,000 business and 90,0000 for First Class.
So there is the possibility for economy and business class awards on Emirates to price lower than other partner airlines but the coveted Emirates First Class will cost you more. And that is this reward chart in a nutshell as Emirates First Class is such a sought after and expensive product the points pricing is set accordingly.
Reciprocal Lounge Access
Select elite members from Air Canada Aeroplan and Emirates Skywards will enjoy reciprocal lounge access benefits in Toronto and Dubai:
- In Dubai, Aeroplan Elite 50K, 75K and Super Elite members travelling in Economy Class with Emirates will enjoy complimentary access to the Emirates Business Class lounge along with one guest. This benefit will also extend to departing Air Canada flights later in 2023 when Air Canada relocates to Terminal 3, and until then, eligible Aeroplan Elite members will continue to have access to lounges in Terminal 1
- In Toronto, Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members travelling in Economy Class with Air Canada or Emirates will enjoy complimentary access to Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Café along with one guest. Additionally, for Emirates flights departing Toronto, Emirates Business Class will have access to Maple Leaf Lounges and the Air Canada Café, and Emirates First Class customers (and up to one guest on the same flight) will have access to the Air Canada Signature Suite
Wrapping it up
The Air Canada Aeroplan Emirates Skywards frequent flyer partnership is now live. Members from both program now have reciprocal earning, redeeming and lounge access benefits. Air Canada’s Aeroplan continues to be the world leader in airline partnerships and while all partnerships have a sense of excitement to them, this one is probably one of the more exciting of late for points and miles enthusiasts.
What is ideal about this partnership launching right away is that Aeroplan is technically offering ‘discounted’ reward flights on Emirates as the reward chart pricing isn’t loaded into their system just yet! So if things can work out for you to book these flights right away you really should do it!
If you are looking to boost your Air Canada Aeroplan points balance so that you can redeem for travel on Emirates be sure to check an Aeroplan co-brand card such as the American Express® Aeroplan®* Reserve Card (offering up to 85,000 points) or the TD® Aeroplan® Visa Infinite Privilege* Card (offering up to 105,000 points)