Can you earn Avios if you fly with Emirates?

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Can you earn Avios points if you fly with Emirates?

Normally, flights on Emirates are not eligible for collecting Avios or tier points, since Emirates is not part of the oneworld alliance and does not have any formal codeshare or joint venture agreements with British Airways. However, there are a few exceptions to this. In this article we’ll look at what the rules are when it comes to earning Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points on Emirates flights – because it CAN be done!

Though Emirates doesn’t have a codeshare agreement with British Airways, it does have a codeshare in place with Qantas, the Australian airline, on certain routes.

Since Qantas is part of oneworld, you will be able to earn Avios and Executive Club tier points on these flights, as per the British Airways terms and conditions:

[You can earn Avios and tier points on] Flights marketed by Qantas or Qantas Airlines affiliates and operated by Qantas, a Qantas affiliate, BA, another oneworld carrier, or another third party under a codeshare agreement

You can see the text on this page of ba.com under the Qantas section.

This makes it a good opportunity for those who are part of British Airways Executive Club to experience an Emirates flight without neglecting your Avios and tier points balance!

To make this work you MUST book your Emirates flights with a Qantas QF flight number, not an Emirates EK flight number. When you make the booking you will be able to identify the flights that are operated by Emirates – but they will still have a Qantas flight code, starting with prefix QF.

Qantas and Emirates only codeshare on a limited number of flights. These are primarily from Europe to Dubai and from Dubai to Asia. A few years ago my wife did this, flying to Singapore from London on Emirates. She earned Avios and tier points on all legs – this article explains it.

You can’t book Emirates flights with a QF flight number on the Emirates website. Some, but certainly not all, routes can be booked on the Qantas website. In general you will need to use a third party such as Expedia or a travel agent. Try it out – go to expedia.co.uk, search for a flight from London to Singapore, put in ‘Qantas’ as your preferred airline and it will offer you the Emirates flights with a Qantas flight number. These are the ones you need to earn Avios and British Airways Executive Club tier points on Emirates.

The number of Avios you will earn depends on your fare class, but you can see how many Avios you will earn on Qantas flights here.

(This article is part of our ‘BA Q&A’ series which explains how British Airways Executive Club works. You can see all of our ‘BA Q&A’ articles here. )

(Head for Points is the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website with 1.8 million monthly page views. Want to learn more about earning and spending Avios? Click here to read our latest news stories, click here to join our email list and click here to read our ‘Avios Redemption University’ series.)

How to get 20,000 Avios from Amex Gold or 30,000 Avios from Amex Platinum (December 2021 offer)

The sign-up bonus on American Express Preferred Rewards Gold converts to 20,000 Avios and the card is free for the first year. You can apply here.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

You don’t qualify for the Amex Gold bonus if you have a British Airways American Express card. You DO qualify for the bonus on The Platinum Card, which converts into 30,000 Avios. You can apply here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

If you have your own small business, the best way of earning Avios is via the Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa. It has a sign-up bonus which converts to 10,000 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also look at the British Airways Accelerating Business card, because it currently has a limited time offer of 60,000 Avios when you sign up by 14th November. You can apply here.