Redeem Emirates Skywards Miles On FlyDubai At A Good Rate

A couple of weeks ago, Emirates made an exciting announcement when it comes to redeeming Skywards miles on FlyDubai. As I noted at the time, it seemed like redemptions weren’t live yet. I reached out to Emirates to get clarification on this, and now have an update…

Emirates Skywards improves FlyDubai award options

Emirates and FlyDubai are both owned by the government of Dubai, but are operated independently. If you ask me, a merger between the two airlines makes sense, but that’s neither here nor there. Over the years, the airlines have started cooperating more closely, though, given their largely complementary route networks.

For example, in 2018, FlyDubai discontinued its own OPEN loyalty program, and instead adopted the Emirates Skywards program. What’s annoying is that Emirates Skywards redemptions on FlyDubai have been an outright awful value, especially compared to redeeming on Emirates.

Up until recently, the only way to redeem Skywards miles on FlyDubai has been using the Cash+Miles feature directly through FlyDubai’s website, and the value just wasn’t good. For example, take a one-way FlyDubai business class flight from Dubai to Belgrade, with a fare of $1,726.

If I were to redeem my 69,179 Skywards miles toward the ticket, I’d save $540 off the cost of a ticket, as these are revenue based redemptions that get you well under a cent per mile. No thanks!

So there’s a positive update on this front — Emirates has announced that it’s now possible to redeem Skywards miles for Classic Rewards on all FlyDubai flights, across all cabins, subject to award availability. This complements the existing Cash+Miles redemption option.

This is awesome, because if there’s award space available, it means you’ll be able to book seats on FlyDubai at a much more attractive cost. The option to redeem Cash+Miles remains, but again, that’s not a very good value.

How to redeem Emirates Skywards miles on FlyDubai

If you go to emirates.com and do a search for award flights as usual, you’ll notice that FlyDubai flights don’t show up. So, how do you actually book these awards? Emirates has shared with me that you need to use the “live chat” feature on the website.

I was worried this would be complicated and that the live chat agents wouldn’t be familiar with this. But I gave it a try, and was pleasantly surprised. Anecdotally, I can report that FlyDubai business class award availability appears to be excellent. Every single flight I inquired about had business class award space.

So, what are redemption rates like? Based on what a live chat representative told me:

• A one-way Dubai (DXB) to Doha (DOH) FlyDubai business class award costs 18,000 miles plus 980 AED (~$267) in taxes and carrier imposed surcharges
• A one-way Dubai (DXB) to Belgrade (BEG) FlyDubai business class award costs 45,000 miles plus 1,620 AED (~$441) in taxes and carrier imposed surcharges

Obviously those surcharges are frustratingly high. I’m also not sure where exactly these mileage totals are coming from, since they don’t match Emirates’ typical one-way Classic Rewards pricing for business class (these rates are actually a bit lower).

But I’d consider this to be a hugely positive development, given how hard it is to otherwise get a good deal on FlyDubai business class. FlyDubai’s business class pricing is super high, so this is now the best way to secure a seat in the cabin. For context, the lowest one-way pricing I otherwise see in those markets is $1,150 and $1,726, respectively.

Bottom line

Emirates Skywards has finally introduced traditional award redemptions on FlyDubai, roughly seven years after the carrier adopted Skywards as its program. Up until recently, only Cash+Miles redemptions have been possible, and they haven’t represented a good deal.

I’m very happy to see this update. At least for now, these awards have to be booked via the “live chat” feature, and availability seems to be quite good, including in business class. However, get ready for steep carrier imposed surcharges.

What do you make of Skywards rolling out Classic Rewards on FlyDubai?