Air Canada Restricts Emirates First Class Awards, Adds Premium Economy Redemptions - Live and Let's Fly
Home»Air Canada»Air Canada Restricts Emirates First Class Awards, Adds Premium Economy RedemptionsAir Canada Aeroplan is restricting first class award redemptions on Emirates to align with Emirates’ own. . .
Home»Air Canada»Air Canada Restricts Emirates First Class Awards, Adds Premium Economy RedemptionsAir Canada Aeroplan is restricting first class award redemptions on Emirates to align with Emirates’ own policy for Skywards members while also adding the option of redeeming for premium economy awards. Aeroplan Restricts First Class Awards On Emirates To Mirror SkywardsAlready in place without notice, Aeroplan has added two restrictions to first class awards on Emirates “consistent with Emirates’ Skywards program rules. ” Those include both an elite status requirement and an age restriction:First Class cabin rewards will only be available to members with Aeroplan 35K status or higher at the time of redemptionAll travellers booked in First Class must also be at least 9 years of age(It’s not clear me to me whether the First Class age policy run afoul of Canadian law, but that’s not my concern today. )It seems clear to me this was a change that Emirates insisted upon, though it’s not a huge loss for flyers considering the outrageous rates Aeroplan charged for Emirates First Class…a special pricing chart that discerning travelers would be wise to avoid in all but the rarest of circumstances. > Read More:Emirates Bans Young Kids From First Class…But Only When Redeeming Miles> Read More:Qantas Makes Emirates First Class Awards Harder And More ExpensiveAeroplan Adds Premium Economy Redemptions On EmiratesBeginning on July 21, Aeroplan Members will be able to redeem points for travel in Emirates Premium Economy. With this addition, Emirates will become the first Aeroplan partner to offer flight rewards in all four cabins: First Class, Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy…hopefully something that will come to more carriers. The award chart has not been published yet, though I would not except cheap prices for anything on Emirates. Emirates premium economy cabin looks wonderful…something I would absolutely consider, especially for a daytime flight. CONCLUSIONAeroplan is restricting Emirates First Class awards to its elite members and also banning children under nine from first class bookings, consistent with Emirates’ own program restrictions (which only apply to mileage redemptions, not revenue tickets). Starting next week, Aeroplan will also allow members to redeem miles for travel in Emirates Premium Economy cabin. The best way to score Emirates First Class is still to book business class (with miles or money) and then upgrade using Skywards Miles on the day of travel (a first-come, first-served race to the airport check-in counter). That “loophole” may be the next to go, but it makes a lot more sense than burning an outrageous amount of miles with Aeroplan. Did you take advantage of first class awards on Emriates using your Air Canada Aeroplan miles?