How I booked an Emirates Airbus A380 first-class award without elite status, and how you can, too

When I saw the recent news that Emirates had decided to restrict first-class awards to elite Platinum, Gold and Silver members of its Emirates Skywards loyalty program, I thought my dream of flying this aspirational product with onboard bars, showers and unlimited caviar was over.

I have never held, and will likely never hold, any Skywards elite status. Couple this with multiple credit card programs "temporarily" suspending points transfers to Skywards, and I was chalking this up to a "should have booked it when I could" lesson of earning and redeeming points and miles.

However, there's still an easy way to book Emirates first class, and it ultimately helped me achieve my dream after all. Here's what you should know about it.

Related: Emirates first class still wows: Fully enclosed suites and unlimited caviar

We are in the golden age of Qantas points

Learning that Skywards was adding restrictions to its own members' ability to book first-class awards, I naturally assumed they would add similar restrictions to partner airline programs. After all, if an entry-level Skywards member cannot book an Emirates award, why let an entry-level member of another loyalty program do so?

But so far, that hasn't happened.

The best partner programs to book Emirates awards have traditionally been Air Canada's Aeroplan program and Qantas Frequent Flyer. Aeroplan recently began pricing Emirates awards dynamically, and while Aeroplan still has access to first-class awards, these are priced up to 750,000 Aeroplan points per flight, which is not a good deal.

However, Emirates first-class awards are still readily available to all Qantas members using Qantas points, with similar rates and fees, taxes and surcharges as Skywards charges its elite members.

Using my secret weapon, Seats.aero, I easily found multiple nonstop flights from North America to Dubai International Airport (DXB).

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Here's an example of some flights available in late September and early October of this year, when the summer temperatures in the Middle East become milder.

Qantas currently charges the following rates for Emirates first-class awards, one-way, per person:

• Flights 0 to 600 miles in length: 29,000 points
• Flights 601 to 1,200 miles in length: 43,500 points
• Flights 1,201 to 2,400 miles in length: 64,500 points (this includes Emirates' new service from Florida to Colombia)
• Flights 2,401 to 3,600 miles in length: 89,800 points (this includes most routes from Europe to Dubai)
• Flights 3,601 to 4,800 miles in length: 107,700 points (this includes Emirates' fifth-freedom routes between North America and Europe)
• Flights 4,801 to 5,800 miles in length: 149,800 points (this includes departures from the Northeast to Dubai)
• Flights 5,801 to 7,000 miles in length: 170,800 points (this includes all other U.S. departures, including from the West Coast)

Related: A review of Emirates business class on the Airbus A380 from New York to Milan

I jumped on this great availability and pricing, booking an Emirates first-class flight from London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) to DXB on the Airbus A380 around two weeks before departure for 89,800 Qantas points plus 572 British pounds, which is about $775 and includes the compulsory Air Passenger Duty tax for all departures from the United Kingdom.

Stay tuned for a full report of my bucket-list flight, but let's just say it exceeded my already high expectations.

Another reason right now is such a great time to consider Qantas points is that for bookings made from Aug. 5 onward, Emirates flights will be priced according to the Qantas award chart (rather than the partner award chart), meaning rates (and surcharges) will mostly increase as follows:

• Flights 0 to 600 miles in length: 29,000 points (no change)
• Flights 601 to 1,200 miles in length: 43,600 points (up by 100 points)
• Flights 1,201 to 2,400 miles in length: 65,300 (up by 1,200 points)
• Flights 2,401 to 3,600 miles in length: 102,600 points (up by 12,800 points)
• Flights 3,601 to 4,800 miles in length: 123,100 (up by 15,400 points)
• Flights 4,801 to 5,800 miles in length: 149,800 points (down by 2,100 points)
• Flights 5,801 to 7,000 miles in length: 170,800 points (no change)

Even though some Emirates first-class award flights from the U.S. booked with Qantas points will decrease slightly for bookings made from Aug. 5 onward, we don't know how long Qantas Frequent Flyer members will have access to such generous Emirates first-class availability.

After all, as this access is better than what's offered to entry-level Skywards members, I wouldn't be surprised if Emirates decides to reduce the number of first-class seats available to partner airline programs like Qantas.

How to earn Qantas points

Qantas points are easy to earn, as Qantas Frequent Flyer is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

Here are some of the best credit card welcome offers available right now that you could leverage to transfer to Qantas at a 1:1 rate:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
• American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases in the first three months of card membership.
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 on purchases in the first six months from account opening.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
• Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.

Bottom line

If you want to book Emirates' fabulous first-class product with points and miles and don't have elite status in Emirates' own Skywards loyalty program, this is a great time to look at the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.

Given that entry-level Skywards members no longer have access to these seats, I'd argue availability through Qantas Frequent Flyer has never been better.

The generous award availability may not last, and with most Emirates first-class awards increasing in price for bookings made from Aug. 5 onward, now is the golden age of Qantas points, transferable from Amex, Capital One and Citi.

Related reading:

• The best ways to book Emirates first-class award tickets with points and miles
• Emirates adds new offerings to first class as award tickets face new restrictions
• Just enough bling: A review of Emirates' new premium economy on the A380 from Dubai to London
• Emirates' first revamped 777 takes off with 'A380-inspired' cabin — including premium economy