Emirates Skywards loyalty program: How to earn and redeem miles, elite status and more

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. While Emirates’ blingy first-class cabins and onboard bar and shower have caught the eye of almost every points and miles enthusiast, the carrier’s Skywards frequent flyer program has historically been an afterthought. Simply put, there have been cheaper ways to book …

May 14, 2025 - 16:06

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

While Emirates’ blingy first-class cabins and onboard bar and shower have caught the eye of almost every points and miles enthusiast, the carrier’s Skywards frequent flyer program has historically been an afterthought. Simply put, there have been cheaper ways to book Emirates award flights with miles that you could earn more easily.

Unfortunately, many of these alternative booking options have increased in price, so Emirates Skywards now offers some appealing options.

Plus, many of the best rewards credit cards partner with Emirates, which allows you to transfer points directly to your Skywards account.

Here is everything you need to know about Emirates’ loyalty program.

How to earn miles with Emirates Skywards

Emirates A380 aircraft — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

There are a number of ways to earn Emirates miles — not just by flying, but also through the carrier’s various partners.

Earn miles via credit cards

As with most airlines, the fastest way to earn a meaningful number of miles is to leverage the right credit card welcome bonus and transfer options.

Skywards miles are among the easiest to earn, as Emirates is one of the only airlines to partner with all the major transferable points currencies at a 1:1 rate, except for Wells Fargo Rewards.

Beginning July 27, the transfer rate from Citi ThankYou Rewards will decrease by 20%, which means that for every 1,000 ThankYou Rewards points you transfer to Emirates, you’ll receive 800 miles. On this same date, Chase and American Express will “temporarily suspend” transfers to Skywards.

The following cards all currently offer strong welcome bonuses that you could easily convert to Skywards miles:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): Last chance: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first three months from account opening. This offer ends May 15 at 9 a.m. EDT.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 bonus points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases with the card in the first three months of card membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after spending $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel in the first three months of card membership. You can earn one or both of these offers; offers end June 30.
The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your card in the first six months of card membership.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees): Earn 90,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

However, as transfers are irreversible, be sure that transferring your rewards to Emirates makes the most sense before doing so.

Earn miles by flying Emirates

If you’re a frequent international traveler, you could also earn miles by crediting flights on Emirates or one of its partner airlines to your Skywards account. Emirates awards miles based on the distance flown, the cabin, the fare class and whether you hold elite status with Skywards.

Emirates has four cabins to choose from: economy, premium economy, business class and first class. These cabins are then divided into fare classes.

Economy: Special, Saver, Flex and Flex Plus
Premium economy: Flex Plus
Business class: Special, Saver, Flex and Flex Plus
First class: Flex and Flex Plus

There’s no earnings chart published anywhere, so you’ll have to rely on Emirates’ miles calculator to see how much you’ll earn. For example, if you book a round-trip economy class (Special) ticket from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Dubai International Airport (DXB) and have no elite status, you’d earn 1,800 miles.

Emirates premium economy cabin — BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY

Earn miles on partner flights

Emirates partners with the following airlines, allowing you to earn Skywards miles when you credit flights on those partners to your Emirates account:

Aegean Airlines
Air Canada
Air Mauritius
Azul
Bangkok Airways
Condor
Copa Airlines
EasyJet (spend partner only)
FlyDubai
Garuda Indonesia
Gol Airlines
Japan Airlines
Jetstar
Korean Air
Malaysia Airlines
Olympic Airlines
Qantas
South African Airways
TAP Air Portugal
United Airlines

With all partners, your earn rate is based on your flight distance and the fare class you book. Unfortunately, Emirates’ partner accrual charts aren’t especially generous, with all partners capped at 1 and 2 miles earned per mile flown, even for premium cabins.

Earn miles with rental car and hotel partners

There are several ways to earn Emirates miles beyond flights and credit cards, starting with the airline’s numerous rental car partners. Emirates partners with most of the major car rental companies around the world, allowing you to earn either a fixed bonus per eligible rental or bonuses of up to 6 miles per dollar spent.

Normally, you’re better off booking hotels directly to make sure you earn hotel points and have your elite benefits honored. But if you travel less frequently, you might decide that booking with a third party and earning airline miles is better. Emirates partners with several major booking platforms and individual hotel chains, including (but not limited to) Hyatt, InterContinental, Hilton and Atlantis, The Palm.

Earn miles with retail and lifestyle partners

You can boost your Skywards balance by shopping online at the Skywards Miles Mall, which offers up to 120 miles for every $10 spent. You can also earn miles through select retailers, including GetYourGuide, Arabian Adventures, The Bicester Collection, the Skywards Everyday app and more. (Earning rates differ from retailer to retailer, so check the rates here.)

Pool miles

Instead of transferring miles between accounts, Emirates’ My Family program lets you and up to seven family members (including children) create a joint My Family account to combine miles. Every time you fly with Emirates, you can select how many miles to credit to your My Family account, with the remainder going into your Skywards account.

This can be a great way for couples and families to combine their efforts and save up miles for awards faster.

Emirates Skywards elite status

Emirates A380 onboard bar — ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Emirates offers four elite status tiers in its Skywards loyalty program, starting from Blue (general members) up through top-tier Platinum. You can qualify either by earning a set number of tier miles or taking a certain number of flights each year:

Blue: Entry-level member
Silver: 25,000 tier miles or 25 flights
Gold: 50,000 tier miles or 50 flights
Platinum: 150,000 tier miles and take at least one qualifying flight in business or first class

All elite members (i.e., Silver and above) receive complimentary lounge access in Dubai and priority check-in. Meanwhile, Gold and Platinum members receive perks like guaranteed seats on full flights and priority baggage delivery. Platinum status also provides worldwide first-class lounge access. Each tier comes with a mileage bonus, too: Silver members earn 30% bonus miles, Gold members earn 75% bonus miles and Platinum members earn 100% bonus miles.

How to redeem Emirates miles

Emirates A380 business class cabin — ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Redeem miles for Emirates flights

Given that Emirates is not a member of one of the three major airline alliances, your dream Skywards redemptions may be for Emirates-operated flights.

Emirates flies from its hub in Dubai to hundreds of destinations worldwide and has enjoyed incredible success serving as a connecting hub for passengers flying between Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America.

Since Emirates doesn’t publish an award chart, you’ll need to check the airline’s Miles Calculator to search prices for each route you want to travel. Note that this calculator claims to indicate the number of miles you’ll earn on Emirates flights, but it also displays the redemption rates when you click “Spend” at the top.

For example, you could fly from JFK to DXB on a one-way Economy Saver fare for 30,000 miles or opt to book the Economy Flex Plus fare for 50,000 miles.

Emirates currently operates two fifth-freedom flights from the U.S, flying an Airbus A380 daily between JFK and Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) and a Boeing 777-300ER daily between Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and Athens International Airport (ATH). This can be a fun way to get to Europe if you don’t wish to fly to Dubai.

You can book one-way awards on either route at the following rates:

Economy Saver: 17,500 miles
Business Saver: 87,000 miles
First Flex Plus: 102,000 miles

Skywards members may only redeem miles for Emirates first-class flights if they hold Platinum, Gold and Silver status. Anyone can still book Emirates first-class awards with Qantas points without any elite status.

Skywards currently does not offer premium economy awards despite operating a premium economy cabin on many flights.

Unfortunately, fuel surcharges on most Emirates flights booked through Skywards are quite high. A round-trip flight from the U.S. to Dubai typically includes roughly $450 in taxes and fees for economy, while business- and first-class award tickets will cost over $1,700 in surcharges.

Thankfully, the European routes detailed above are still reasonable, only adding a few hundred dollars in taxes and fees.

Redeem Emirates Skywards miles for partner awards

United aircraft on tarmac — ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY

You can redeem Skywards miles on all of the airline partners described. Fortunately, Emirates does publish a simple, distance-based award chart for all partners. Here are the costs one-way, per person.

These prices are largely in line with other loyalty programs. For example, United charges from 27,200 miles in economy or 80,000 miles in business class to fly from the U.S. East Coast to the U.K. If you are looking at round-trip flights to Europe, then you’ll be charged less for the Emirates-operated fifth-freedom flights listed above.

You can book Qantas first-class flights with Skywards. To view mileage pricing, you can access the partner award chart here.

Bottom line

Emirates first class remains one of the most aspirational bucket list items for many award travelers. That hasn’t changed in recent years. These premium awards are generally easiest to book with the carrier’s Skywards program, especially with many U.S. credit card transfer partners to pick from.

That said, these flights require many miles and have hefty fuel surcharges, so be sure to check the total costs for your desired dates before going all-in with Emirates Skywards.