Emirates Frequent Flyer? 6 Reasons To Join Skywards In 2024

Emirates, one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates, offers some generous rewards for frequent flyers through its loyalty program, Skywards. The program is so popular that more than 300,000 members join each month, and Skywards has in excess of 30 million members in total. There’s even a secret tier called iO that is reserved for only the most distinguished Emirates guests.

If you’re yet to join Skywards, there are a million reasons to do so. Here are six of the best.

1

You can earn and spend points on other airlines

Emirates has partnered with more than 15 airlines in the Skywards program. But you can also use points with non-Skywards airlines.

Here are a few popular carriers that Emirates has partnered with in the Skywards program. The table also shows how many Skywards Miles one is likely to earn for each mile flown.

Photo: Emirates

Some airlines, such as easyJet, have not partnered with the Skywards miles program for earning but are spend partners. As such, you can’t accrue any points for flying easyJet, but you can redeem Skywards miles for flights with that airline.

Related

How To Spend Emirates Skywards Miles

Miles can be used for Emirates flights, upgrades, and more.

2

You can use points for retail purchases

Skywards miles earned can be used to shop for products from brands such as Adidas.

Emirates recently announced that the points gathered in the Skywards program could be used for global retail purchases. This was done in conjunction with Vlaudynmax in a program known as the “pay with points /miles” redemption offering. Members of the SKywards program can access the ‘Spend Online’ section at Skywards Miles Mall, giving them the option to spend on everyday things.

Divisional Senior Vice President of Emirates Skywards, Dr. Nejib Ben Khedher, was buoyant about this new offering:

“We’re pleased to be expanding our partnership with Valuedynamx to offer members more opportunities with Skywards Miles Mall, and a chance to spend miles with some of the most popular brands in the UAE, US, UK, Australia and India. We look forward to continue working closely with our partners to ensure we always deliver a seamless end-to-end customer experience, and to setting new standards for reward experiences.”

Photo: Emirates

Some of the brands that have partnered with Emirates in the global retail purchases offered by the Skywards program include:

• Adidas
• Red Lobster
• AMC Theatres
• NFLShop.com

3

You get distance-based earnings

Emirates Skywards is based on the miles flown rather than the fare you have paid.

Most airlines have loyalty programs that are revenue-based. This means that the miles or points earned are based on the fare you have paid for the ticket. In contrast, the miles/points awarded under Emirates Skywards are based on the flight distance and booking class.

This means passengers can earn more points even while traveling in lower-priced cabins. You can also expect to earn miles on sale fares in premium cabins, as these earn more miles/points than the economy cabin.

Photo: Emirates

Blue Tier is the entry-level status for Emirates’ Skywards program. After meeting the following requirements, members can achieve Silver, Gold, or Platinum elite status.

• Silver: Take 25 flights or earn 25,000 Tier Miles
• Gold: take 50 flights or earn 50,000 Tier Miles
• Platinum: earn 150,000 Tier Miles

Unlike the Silver and Gold status, you can’t earn the Platinum elite status simply by flying.

Related

The Different Tiers Of Emirates’ Skywards Program

With three tiers, Skywards has plenty of benefits at each level.

4

You can pool miles with other people

You can pool all the miles family members earn to get rewards faster.

After taking a trip with your family on Emirates and earning Skywards Miles, you can pool all the miles together and enjoy the rewards faster. The Skywards Miles earned by the following family members can be pooled together:

• Domestic Partner i.e., husband, wife
• Son/ Step-Son
• Daughter/ Step-Daughter
• Grandson/ Granddaughter
• Brother / Sister
• Father/ Step-Father
• Mother/ Step-Mother
• Father-in-Law
• Mother-in-Law
• Domestic Helper

Related

How To Earn Emirates Skywards Miles

While flights will be your primary source, Emirates has plenty of partners globally too.

The Skywards Miles earned in any of the following ways can be pooled together:

• Flying with Emirates, flydubai, or any other airline partner.
• Spending with Emirates’ lifestyle partners, hotel, bank, car rental, and retail.
• Transfers from conversion partners.

Photo: Emirates

A’ My Family’ account must be created to take advantage of pooling the miles of a family member. This should be done by The Family Head. Any person above 18 years of age can register as the Family Head. The pooled Skywards miles will be valid in the My Family account for three years. The pooled miles can be used for:

• Classic Reward Flights and flights booked using Cash+Miles.
• Upgrade Rewards at check‑in while traveling with the Family Head.
• Attending Skywards Exclusives events.
• Donate miles to support benevolent causes
• Spending with retail and lifestyle partners

Skywards miles can be spent on attending some of the best events in football and cricket.

The Skywards Exclusives program allows members to participate in some of the most wonderful sporting events worldwide. This year, these include:

• Men’s T20 World Cup 2024
• International Test Match
• Genesis Scottish Open

According to Emirates, the Skywards program allows you to “Spend your Miles or join the auction for special event tickets, exclusive invitations and more.”

Photo: Rebius | Shutterstock

In addition to the events listed above, the miles earned through the Skywards program can also be used to access concerts in the UK. Emirates has also partnered with AC Milan and Real Madrid – two footballing giants. Real Madrid openly expresses their love for the airline:

“ Real Madrid and Emirates have been together since 2011, and it was in 2013 that Emirates became part of our shirt, as Main Partner. And our journey with Emirates as our Main Partner could not have started in a better way. The Champions League, the competition that brings together the best teams in Europe took the centre stage in our first year of this historic partnership. After a few years without being able to lift the trophy, the arrival of Emirates led the way. We achieved the coveted title, winning the long-awaited “La Décima”.”

The Skywards program also allows fans to cheer for Real Madrid or AC Milan at the homes of these two clubs.

6

Skywards+ has some more added benefits.

Additional baggage allowance, access to airport lounges, and various bonuses and discounts are on offer on Skywards +.

Emirates also offers some great value when you have signed up with Skywards+. According to Emirates,

“Subscribers have a choice of three packages with increasing benefits and advantages, including bonus Miles, flight rewards, airport lounge access and more.”

Skywards+ has three packages: Classic, Advanced, and Premium. These are priced at $399, $699, and $999 per year. These three programs offer a 20% bonus Skywards Miles, alongside preferential Cash+Miles rates. You can also earn 10,000 bonus miles on Emirates Vacations with these.

Photo: Emirates

Perks of the Classic program include:

• 2 single-entry airport lounge passes for you or your guest
• A checked-in baggage allowance of an additional 10 kg
• Preferential Cash+Miles rates
• Earn 10,000 bonus Miles with Emirates Vacations

Perks of the Advanced program include

• 20% discount on upgrade rewards
• 20% discount on classic rewards
• 5 single-entry airport lounge passes for you or your guest
• A checked-in baggage allowance of an additional 10 kg

Perks of the Premium program include:

• 20% bonus tier miles
• 20% discount each on upgrade rewards and cash rewards
• 10 single-entry airport lounge passes for you or your guest
• A checked-in baggage allowance of an additional 10 kg

For more of the perks available on Skywards, check out the Simple Flying guide below. Will you be joining this year?

Related

Emirates Skywards’ Program: What Are The Hidden Perks?

Despite its lack of alliance membership, there are some good parts to the program.