Emirates and United Airlines agreed to launch a partnership last September and as of today, the partnership with reciprocal benefits has officially launched.
Emirates & United Airlines Officially Launches Partnership
As of today, Emirates and United Airlines’ partnership with reciprocal benefits are fully live and United launched non-stop daily flights from Newark(EWR) to Dubai(DXB), which for the first time in seven years, it will connect the carrier to the UAE once again.
Currently, Emirates is the only airline to connect the New York area to Dubai but now passengers will have the option to fly out from Newark on United as well. With United Airlines entering Dubai, passengers can then connect to their final destination with Emirates without any hassle.
While it is good news for passengers to get a single ticket and connect baggage to their destinations, the frequent flyer program partnership is fairly restricted.
Earning Miles on Emirates and United
Starting today, members from both frequent flyer programs can earn miles when traveling on United or Emirate. However, there is a catch.
In order to earn reciprocal miles on Emirates flights, United’s MileagePlus members must book a flight that connects the Newark to Dubai or Dubai to Newark route.
In order to earn reciprocal miles on United flights, Emirates Skywards members must book United flights that are marketed by Emirates. In other words, bookings made from United’s websites are not eligible when traveling solely on United.
You can earn Skywards miles on United Airlines or United Express operated flights when one of the segments has the Newark to Dubai route with a connection with Emirates.
Redeeming Miles on Emirates and United
The partnership between the two airlines also includes reciprocal award redemptions. Both frequent flyer programs can redeem on each flight but this too has a restriction, especially for United members.
United’s MileagePlus members can only redeem Emirates flights if their journey has a segment from Newark to Dubai or the other included and is limited to flights to Africa, the Middle East, and the South Asian Subcontinent.
On the other hand, Emirates can book awards on United flights without restrictions. Below is the award chart for Skywards members redeeming on United flights.
United MileagePlus Double Miles Promotion
To celebrate the commencement of the partnership, for a limited time, members can earn double miles when flying on eligible Emirates flights between March 26, 2023, and April 30, 2023.
My Take On Emirates & United Partnership
In competition-wise, I think the partnership between Emirates and United Airlines will feed traffic to more destinations across its networks however, I was a bit disappointed to see the benefits of the frequent flyer program were somehow weaker, especially for MileagePlus members than the Emirates-Aeroplan partnership since you would have to fly out to Dubai or Newark to get the benefits.
Since Alaska, American Airlines and JetBlue are growing their partnership with Qatar Airways, Emirates joining United will be strategically beneficial.
Summary
As of March 26, 2023, the Emirates and United Airlines’ partnership has officially launched and members from both programs are now able to enjoy reciprocal benefits to earn and redeem miles. However, the restrictions on mileage earning and redemptions were fairly disappointing as there are limitations on how you can earn reciprocal miles.
As mentioned by Pete in his review comments on April 29, 2023 – There is confusion on the baggage fee and transfer between the two. I purchased ticket from United from Newark to HYD and return. I am not sure what this partnership means but my ticket says, both will be charging $100 for each suitcase unlike all other partnerships. This means $400 per roundtrip per suitcase. Double charge to what we usually pay if we pick a better partnered flight. I had this VERY BAD experience previously also between United and Lufthansa. Very unfortunate that airlines like Emirates and Lufthansa are spoiling their reputation. I submitted a complaint to United almost 10days but have not heard anything back.
If you book a United and Emirates connection ticket you will lose money. Purchased a ticket from United and they said my 2 bags will be free till thee destination. Got charged $600 for my 2nd bag in Dubai. After calling United saying why didn’t they tell me about this 2nd bag charge, they simply saying sorry for the lack of communication.
Emirates could have picked a better partner. Was treated so badly by United after a misconnect coming out of SYD on a Business ticket. I’ve never flown them again and won’t voluntarily.