Air Canada and Emirates Partnership Is Now Live [Earn/Redeem Miles]

Airlines around the world have spent the last few years furiously inking partnerships with each other. These connections allow travelers to book itineraries more seamlessly — and they tend to create some pretty solid redemption options for those with points and miles to spend.

One of the most recent tie-ups in the industry is between Air Canada and Emirates, who announced their new partnership in July 2022. Now, that partnership has gone live, so let’s take a look at what this means for you.

Air Canada and Emirates Partnership

Most airlines are a part of the 3 major airline alliances: Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and Oneworld. Air Canada is currently a member of the Star Alliance, though Emirates has thus far opted to remain independent. Instead, it’s chosen to create a slate of individual partnerships with a wide variety of airlines, including Japan Airlines, JetBlue, TAP Air Portugal, and Qantas.

Air Canada joining the fray is a good thing for multiple reasons:

• Customers will be able to book a single itinerary that encompasses both Air Canada and Emirates flights
• Checked baggage will be automatically transferred between the 2 airlines
• The possibility of earning and redeeming miles on either airline

It’s always great when you don’t have to pull out your baggage and schlep it to the counter to be re-checked, but the most interesting point here is that customers can now earn and redeem miles on flights with either airline.

What Does Redeeming Miles Look Like?

Since Emirates isn’t part of an airline alliance, redeeming miles for its flights has always been somewhat of a challenge. This is due in part to Emirates Skywards restricting award inventory, but also because it’s very unpredictable when it comes to fuel surcharges. In fact, just in the last year alone, the airline has changed these fees 3 times. It also increased the price of award flights.

Air Canada’s Aeroplan program did some good things in 2019 when it gave itself a thorough revamp, including adding the ability to add a stopover for just 5,000 points.

The new partner award chart for Emirates is live, and although it doesn’t necessarily represent a great use of your Aeroplan points, the most exciting thing here is that you’ll be able to redeem Aeroplan points for first class flights on Emirates:

Aeroplan points are also very easy to earn, thanks to partnerships with 5 different transferable point currencies: American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy. All of these currencies transfer to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio with the exception of Marriott Bonvoy which transfers at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.

Note that Emirates heavily restricts its first class awards for partners — most partners are only able to redeem miles for economy or business class flights. The fact that Aeroplan points can now be used for these flights is huge!

Hot Tip: Don’t want to use your Aeroplan points? Check out other best ways to book an Emirates first class ticket with your points and miles.

Final Thoughts

Air Canada and Emirates launching a partnership is good news for passengers. Along with the ability to book codeshare flights and create single-ticket itineraries, the ability to earn and redeem your miles on these airlines represents a valuable use of miles — especially if you’re looking for first class.