Emirates First Class (A380)
Emirates First Class (A380)

Oh boy… here we go again.

Today, Lucky at One Mile at a Time discovered new fuel surcharges that are being priced into Emirates award tickets.

For some background, the best way to book Emirates used to be partners like Alaska. Then the partner award rates for premium cabins became astronomical, but Emirates removed most of their own fuel surcharges, making it actually easy to say that the best way to book Emirates premium cabins was Emirates own miles, which are easy to transfer from major points currencies.

Today, that changes again, with new fuel surcharges on routes to/from/via DBX incurring hundreds in new fuel surcharges. On a route like JFK-DXB-MLW one way, expect to pay $561 in fees one way, up from less than $200.

On a round trip, you’ll pay over a grand in fees now…

Luckily the fifth freedom routes (EWR-ATH and JFK-MXP) are spared for now…

Notably, should you fly FROM the Maldives (or other airports) to the US (i.e. you start your journey there), the fees drop way down to just $599 RT. Of course, that probably doesn’t help most of us much.

What isn’t making a ton of sense to me, though, is that two one ways come out to $924 in fees, whereas it’s giving me $1,249 for a round trip (and the same miles!)

Booking as a round trip adds almost $300 in fees.
It may be that if you found the saver fare class for a RT this would work in your favor but fair warning that you should check two one ways vs one RT if booking.

Capital One Venture X
Capital One Venture X: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 within your first 3 months. Get This Offer

Bottom Line

This pretty much stinks. I hope it’s an actual response to real rising fuel costs (which are near $100 a barrel now) and will come down later. But for now, it’s something you need to be aware of.

If you are considering the 5th Freedom Routes to Milan or Athens, book now as I have a feeling those will rise shortly.

HT: OMAAT

Thoughts?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group.

And if this post helped you, please consider sharing it!

You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.

I got "in the game" in 2003 and since then I've collected literally millions and millions of frequent flyer miles and hotel points. I've flown around the world in first class seats that would cost $29,000 using frequent flyer miles and a few bucks in tax. And I've stayed in some of the finest hotels - all for free! A few years ago I realized many of my friends actually thought I was paying for these!! So I started sharing my tips. It's long been a passion, but when I hosted a session on Miles and Points at the South by Southwest festival, my love of the game intensified and this blog was born.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here