The Qantas-Emirates partnership not only unlocks dozens of destinations across the UK and Europe as one-stop flights via Dubai, it also lets Qantas Frequent Flyers earn points and status credits when travelling with Emirates.

But there’s a catch – and it’s a big one.

Depending on which two letters which appear before your Emirates flight number – either EK or QF – you could either be earning a full-sized serve of Qantas points and status credits, or significantly fewer points and no status credits.

Here’s what you need to know before booking your next Emirates flight to Dubai or beyond.

How the Qantas-Emirates codeshare works

Central to the Qantas-Emirates alliance is a codeshare agreement, which in plain English means that Emirates flights can carry a Qantas flight number – one that starts with the letters QF – in addition to Emirates’ own EK flight number.

For example, here is a potential Emirates booking showing on the airline’s website from Sydney to Milan, on flights EK415 (Sydney-Dubai) and EK091 (Dubai-Milan).

Make the same enquiry on the Qantas website and you’ll see the exact same Emirates flights, only this time carrying Qantas flight codes, as QF8415 and QF8091 (top tip: all Qantas flight numbers in the 8xxx series are codeshares).

That booking can be made through Qantas or a travel agent, and it’s the exact same flight, the same plane and service, the same everything – with the exception of how many Qantas points and status credits you’ll earn.

Earning Qantas Points on Emirates flights

While you can earn Qantas Points on an Emirates flight booked under an EK flight number, it’s much less than what you can earn on the same flight booked as a QF8xxx codeshare.

Here’s a practical example for booking a one-way Emirates flight from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane to anywhere in Western Europe (which covers a dozen countries, including the UK).

Emirates EK flight number:

  • earn 11,500 Qantas Points in premium economy
  • earn 13,125 Qantas Points in business class

Qantas QF flight number:

  • earn 12,400 - 17,000 Qantas Points in premium economy (depending on the type of fare)
  • earn 18,600 - 21,700 Qantas Points in business (depending on the type of fare)

Earning Qantas status credits on Emirates flights

However, you can forget about any pocketing any Qantas status credits on an Emirates flight booked with its native EK flight number.

The Emirates partnership is one where no Qantas status credits are earned on the Gulf carrier’s “own marketed” flights, unlike other Qantas partners such as American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Malaysia Airlines. 

But if you book those Emirates flights through Qantas, carrying those QF8xxx flight numbers, you’ll earn the same number of status credits as if this was actually a Qantas flight.

Revisiting the Western Europe example from earlier, here are your status credit earning rates for a one-way flight:

  • earn 140 - 160 status credits in premium economy (depending on the type of fare)
  • earn 280 - 310 status credits in business (depending on the type of fare)

Note that these QF8xxx flights are normally not eligible for Qantas double status credits promotions, which are typically restricted to “Qantas marketed and operated” flights.

But if a DSC offer permits the broader category of “Qantas marketed” flights – that is, flights sold by Qantas but operated by another airline – then earning double status credits on an Emirates flight (as long as it carrid a QF8xxx number) is on the table.

Other differences for Qantas’ codeshared Emirates flights

From a points and status credits perspective, you can appreciate why savvy Qantas frequent flyers make sure they look for and book that QF8xxx flight.

That said, there are some other differences worth calling out.

Emirates’ chauffeur drive service for first and business class passengers is only available if you are booked under the EK flight numbers.

The same goes for the Dubai Connect service, which provides complimentary hotel accommodation, transfers and meals if there’s a long stopover between flights at Dubai.

And while fares can nominally be the same between Emirates and Qantas, it’s not unknown to see fares on the Emirates website which are quite a bit cheaper than the same flight through Qantas.

But when it comes to status perks for Qantas Frequent Flyers, the same core benefits – such as lounge access and a higher checked luggage allowance – apply regardless of if your ticket carries an EK or QF flight code.