🛫 Best Emirates Skywards credit cards in the UAE (2025 guide)
- Kacper Duda
- Sep 3
- 4 min read
Flying Emirates often? The right credit card can mean free lounge access, instant status upgrades, and tens of thousands of bonus miles. If you play it right, those perks can be worth far more than the annual fee.
Many airline credit cards promise to make the flying experience better through airline-related perks. We took a good look at all 14 Emirates Skywards cards available in the UAE and what value they offer (don’t worry, we’ll cover Etihad soon, too).
Read on to find out:
How airline credit cards can make flying better
The best Emirates Skywards card available across our 3 categories
If airline credit cards are definitely a good choice for you
In the news: Only 6 months until we wave goodbye to bank OTPs. But what’s replacing them?
Airline credit cards - what are they?
Airlines and banks often team up to offer co-branded credit cards that offer you frequent flyer perks. These range from earning miles as you spend, silver or gold status, and the benefits that come with that, and other travel perks (such as lounge access or airport transfers).
With Emirates, silver status gets you access to the business lounge in Dubai, bonus Skywards miles for your flight, priority check-in and boarding, free seat selection, and additional weight allowances (all even when flying economy). Gold extends the business lounge benefit globally and improves on other perks.
Best Emirates Skywards cards out there
The best choice is nuanced and depends on what you need from the card (and how much you’re willing to spend on annual fees). We designed the following 3 categories to help you make sense of what’s available.
🥇 Best overall value - a balanced mix of perks vs annual fee
Automatic silver status in year 1 (need to spend USD 2.5k with Emirates to keep it in year 2)
Welcome bonus of 25,000 Skywards miles
Good earning rates for miles when you spend with Emirates, and decent on other spend
Annual fee: AED 1,500
🚩 Best for earning airmiles - highest rewards if you spend big
Very good earning rates when you spend with Emirates, but also elsewhere
Automatic silver status with no conditions
Annual fee: AED 2,100
🪙 Cheapest route to status - Silver or Gold perks at the lowest cost
Automatic silver status in year 1 (need to spend USD $2.5k with Emirates to keep it in year 2)
Welcome bonus of 10,000 Skywards miles
Annual fee: AED 1,049. Free for first year under current promo until 30/09 if you spend AED 30k on it in the first 6 months.
Gold status once you spend USD 5k with Emirates, automatic silver to start with
Welcome bonus of 50,000 Skywards miles
Very good earning rates when you spend with Emirates, but also elsewhere
Annual fee: AED 4,500
There are other options in the market, and some of the cards lost out on thin margins. When doing your research, make sure you understand year 2 conditions for keeping status, spend categories on which you only earn restricted Skywards miles, and minimum spend requirements to get the (sometimes lucrative) welcome bonus miles.
If you think another card is better, let us know by replying to this email - we’d love to hear your opinion.
Does an Emirates card really suit you?
In general, airline cards are not for everyone. You’ll need certain behaviours before you can maximise the value you get from them. We’ve come up with a quick checklist you can run through to help you decide:
🔲 Be a frequent flyer, almost solely flying Emirates
🔲 Assign high value to airline status and the benefits it brings (e.g., dedicated check-in, lounge access, extra luggage)
🔲 Good at finding reward flights and planning trips in advance to utilise them
🔲 Added bonus: You also fly on business and can use the credit card to pay & reclaim expenses
If you didn’t tick most of those boxes, you’ll probably get more value from a flexible travel card instead. These still come with travel perks (lounges, FX discounts, cashback on flights and hotels) but without tying you down to one airline.
Careful though…
Under the covers, airline cards are still normal credit cards issued by your bank. You will need to have a good credit history and pass credit checks. Most importantly, the usual credit card rules still apply: Pay it off in full every month, never miss a payment, and make sure you re-evaluate the value you get from the card year to year (especially as some of these attract hefty annual fees).
IN THE NEWS - Only 6 months until we wave goodbye to bank OTPs. But what’s replacing them?
Not long ago, we wrote about the Central Bank mandating UAE banks to move away from OTPs in favour of more secure authentication methods. That deadline is now only six months away, and you might be asking what the impact may be to you?
In short, if you get OTPs today to log into your banking app, authorise transfers or credit card purchases, things will change for you. You will most likely be asked to log into your banking app (using biometrics and/or passwords) and approve the transaction there. Don’t worry, we expect banks will issue comms when the changes come in. Find out more about what changes are coming in this Khaleej Times article.
Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that this email does not constitute financial advice. Any choices you make you are solely responsible for. We always aim to provide highest quality, independent views but do your own research to ensure you’re comfortable with any changes you make to your personal finances.