Emirates to Launch Fort Lauderdale Service in December
Update 11/23/16: Emirates is now offering 10,000 bonus miles for a round-trip flight booked in any (paid) class when you register here, book by January 15 and fly by March 31, 2017. Additionally, passengers booked in business or first class will get an upgrade to Gold status (Special, Saver and Cash+Miles fares are excluded).
Emirates will fly to a total of 11 US cities when it begins its just-announced daily service to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) on December 15, 2016. The outbound flight from Dubai (DXB) departs at 3am local time and arrives in FLL at 10:25am. The inbound flight departs FLL at 8:20pm and arrives in DXB at 7:40pm (+1 day). The airline will operate a Boeing 777-200LR equipped with 8 first-class suites, 42 business-class seats and 216 economy seats on this route.
While at first glance it seems that Emirates would serve the larger Miami International Airport (MIA), the airline has a partnership with JetBlue that would compel Emirates to opt for Fort Lauderdale instead. JetBlue has a large presence at FLL and provides many connection opportunities for Emirates passengers throughout the US as well as the Caribbean and Latin America.
As of this posting, it's not yet possible to book award flights through Emirates' site or that of its partner, Alaska Airlines. But once you're able to book awards, you can expect to redeem miles with Emirates' various airline partners at the following rates:
Redemption rates for flights between Fort Lauderdale and Dubai:
| Program | Economy (miles) | Business (miles) | First (miles) | Transfer Partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan | 85,000 | 165,000 | 300,000 | Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
Emirates Skywards* | 72,500 | 145,000 | 217,500 | American Express Membership Rewards (1:1) Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
Korean Air SkyPass | 70,000 | 140,000 | 210,000 | Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1) |
JAL Mileage Bank | 60,000 | 100,000 | 155,000 | Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 96,000 | 144,000 | — | Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1) |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | 90,000 | 192,000 | 288,000 | Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1) |
Virgin America Elevate* | 45,000 | 100,000 | — | American Express Membership Rewards (2:1) Citi ThankYou Rewards (2:1) Starwood Preferred Guest (1:1) |
*Award rates from Orlando (MCO) to Dubai.
Due to the newness of this route, Fort Lauderdale is not yet listed as an option online for either the Emirates' Skywards program or the Virgin America Elevate program. Alternatively, we've listed the award rates from Orlando, an Emirates destination about 200 miles away from FLL.
If you want to pay cash for these flights, we're seeing reasonable rates in economy in January, with prices between $800 and $900 round-trip.
Step up to business class, however, and prices become much less reasonable — it'll cost you just over $6,000 round-trip.
Prices for first-class tickets are truly out-of-this-world, approaching $20,000 for a round-trip flight. (Pay close attention to that award chart higher up the page!)
Are you excited about Emirates' new route?
H/T: One Mile At a Time
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| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
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Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month