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Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard – Full Review
Jarrod West
Jarrod West
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Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 7 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in o...
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Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard
U.P. Rating
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
The Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard®might seem a bit unconventional, especially to U.S.-based flyers. But for those who fly often with the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, or who are trying to earn as many points as possible towards an Emirates first class redemption, the Emirates World Elite card might make sense for you.
Card Details
Card Snapshot
Welcome Bonus & Info
Enjoy Emirates Silver tier membership during your first year, and retain your tier status by spending $20,000 each card membership year.
Earn 30,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Earn 3 Skywards Miles for every $1 spent on emirates.com or at the Emirates Sales office.
Earn 2 Skywards Miles on eligible travel purchases and earn 1 Skywards Mile on all other purchases.
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as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect
our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
” System
1116+ Expert Credit Card Guides
Great Card If
You are a regular Emirates flyer
You want a card that will help you earn Emirates elite status
Don’t Get If
You want a card that earns transferable points or miles
You seldom fly with Emirates
The Ideal Cardholder
The Emirates World Elite card is best suited for travelers who fly often with Emirates, especially those who travel with the airline often enough to get value out of Emirates’ elite status and the card’s other benefits.
Emirates World Elite Card Benefits
Automatic Skywards Silver Status
For your first year of card membership, you’ll automatically receive Emirates Skywards Silver status, the low-level status in the Skywards program. But despite there being 2 higher loyalty levels in the Skywards program, Silver status still provides solid benefits like:
Free seat selection
Priority boarding
Excess baggage allowance
Access to any Emirates Business Class Lounge in Dubai
25% bonus miles on Emirates flights
Skywards Silver status usually requires you to earn 25,000 Tier Miles or take 25 flights with Emirates in a calendar year, so receiving complimentary status is definitely a great benefit. If you want to extend this status beyond the first year, you’ll have to meet those requirements or spend $20,000 on the card each year.
Discount on Mile Purchases
If you’re planning to purchase some Skywards Miles for yourself to put towards your next award ticket, you’ll receive a 25% discount off the purchase price when you pay using your card.
Keep Your Skywards Miles From Expiring
Usually, your Skywards Miles are valid for 3 years from the date you earned them. But by holding the Emirates World Elite card, your Skywards Miles will never expire.
How To Use Skywards Miles for Max Value
Award Tickets
Unsurprisingly, one of the best ways to redeem your Skywards Miles is towards award flights with Emirates. Since Emirates doesn’t publish an award chart, it can be difficult to track down exactly how many miles you’ll need for a specific award.
Obviously, the number of miles an award ticket will cost is based on the route you’re flying and what cabin class you want to fly in, but you can use the Miles Calculator on the Emirates site to give you an idea of how many miles you’ll need.
Cash + Miles
When you find yourself short on the number of miles needed for an award ticket, Emirates offers a solution via Cash + Miles bookings. While this may seem convenient, it is not particularly great value, because every 2,000 miles you redeem results in a $16 discount off the cash price of the ticket.
This gives you a value of 0.8 cents per mile, which is over 27% lower than our 1.1 cent valuation of Skywards Miles.
Flight Upgrades
Already paid for your flight with cash but want to upgrade your ticket to the next cabin class? You can do that using your Skywards Miles! Prices for an upgrade start at 9,000 miles per direction, but the cost varies dramatically based on your route and ticket type.
However, it almost always makes more sense to book the actual ticket in the cabin you want with miles outright, but if you’re really trying to stretch out your mileage balance, then this could make sense.
Hot Tip: When upgrading with Skywards Miles, you can only jump up 1 cabin class, like from economy to business, or business to first. So make sure you’re aware of this before booking your original ticket.
Skywards Exclusives
Emirates allows you to redeem your miles towards unique experiences and events, like concerts, or sporting events, or travel experiences. This certainly seems cool on paper, and it is nice to have the option, but you’ll usually get a pretty poor value when redeeming your miles this way. So you’re better off paying for the experience in cash, and using your miles for a free ticket there!
Bottom Line: In almost every case, your best bet when it comes to redeeming your Skywards Miles will be towards award tickets if you want to get the highest value possible.
How To Earn More Skywards Miles
Emirates Purchases
The top bonus category for the Emirates World Elite card is naturally Emirates purchases, allowing you to earn 3x miles per $1 spent, so you’ll want to make this card your top choice when purchasing Emirates tickets.
Travel Purchases
You’ll also earn 2x miles per $1 on all other eligible travel purchases made with the card. This includes hotel stays, rental cars, cruises, and even airfare from another airline.
All Other Purchases
Your Emirates World Elite card earns 1x mile per $1 on all purchases outside of the above categories. These non-bonused purchases are an okay option if you’re trying to work towards qualifying for Emirates status, but otherwise, you’re better off opting for a card that offers a better rewards rate for non-bonused purchases like the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Amex Membership Rewards Cards
Emirates is an American Express transfer partner, so using the best Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards is a great way to be able to boost your Skywards Miles balance if need be — especially since American Express has some great credit cards.
Take the American Express® Gold Card, for instance, which offers 4x points per $1 at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1x after that) and on U.S. supermarket purchases (up to $25,000 per calendar year). Since Membership Rewards points transfer to Emirates at a 1:1 rate, this is effectively like earning 4x Skywards Miles per $1 on these purchases!
Hot Tip: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is our top pick for those getting started with points and miles thanks to its low annual fee, high-value points, and great bonus categories like travel, dining, supermarket, and select streaming service purchases.
Marriott Bonvoy Your World Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy Cards
Emirates and Marriott have partnered to offer travelers the Your World Rewards program that allows you to earn Skywards Miles on all of your Marriott hotel stays, and Marriott Bonvoy points when you fly with Emirates.
Plus, you can use Marriott Bonvoy credit cards to boost your Emirates balance, as the airline is a 3:1 transfer partner of the Marriott program.
Hot Tip: You get a 5,000-mile bonus when transferring at least 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to an airline like Emirates, allowing you to receive a total of 25,000 Skywards Miles for these transfers.
Alternative Cards to the Emirates World Elite Card
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
The Emirates Premium World Elite card is a premium card with premium perks and a premium price tag.
The Emirates Premium World Elite card is a premium card with premium perks and a premium price tag.
Earn 40,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
40,000 miles
$499
21.24%, 25.24% or 29.99% Variable
Why We Like This Card
The information regarding the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Emirates is widely considered to be one of the most luxurious airlines in the world, so it is no wonder why the airline offers its own luxury credit card with an annual fee of $499, as well.
You might be wondering how an airline credit card alone could be worth such a high annual fee, especially one that is not a major U.S. airline. But for those who actually do fly with Emirates often, the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard® can be the perfect option thanks to all of the benefits that the card provides.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Earn 3x miles per $1 spent on Emirates purchases
Earn 2x miles per $1 spent on travel purchases, including airfare, hotel stays, and car rentals
Earn 40,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 90 days.
Enjoy Emirates Gold tier membership during your first year, and retain your tier status by spending $40,000 each cardmembership year.
Earn 3 Skywards Miles on eligible Emirates purchases. Earn 2 Skywards Miles on eligible travel purchases and earn 1 Skywards Mile on all other purchases.
Earn 10,000 anniversary bonus Skywards Miles after spending $30,000 on purchases each cardmembership year.
The Skywards Miles you earn will not expire as long as your cardmembership account remains open.
There is no limit to the number of Skywards Miles you can earn as long as your account remains open, active, and in good standing.
Receive 25% savings when you Buy or Gift Miles. Receive a 25% savings when you Buy Skywards Miles for yourself or Gift Miles.
Priority Pass Select lounge access provides unlimited access to over 1,300 lounges worldwide for the primary cardmember and their guest(s).
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit. Receive an automatic statement credit for the cost of one Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee every 5 years – up to $120, as of October 1, 2024.
No foreign transaction fees on international purchases.
Complimentary online access to your FICO Credit Score lets you keep an eye on your credit score and get alerts when we learn that your score has changed.
$0 Fraud Liability protection means you’re not responsible for charges you did not authorize.
Financial Snapshot
APR: 21.24%, 25.24% or 29.99% Variable
Foreign Transaction Fees: $0
If you’re an avid Emirates loyalist who flies with the airline all the time, then you’d likely get even more value out of the Emirates Premium World Elite card.
While both cards have the same bonus categories, the Emirates Premium World Elite card charges a whopping $499 annual fee, you’ll get enhanced perks like complimentary Skywards Gold Status (instead of Silver), a Priority Pass Select membership, a Global Entry credit, and 10,000 anniversary miles after spending $30,000 in a cardmember year.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
100,000 points
$2,000
$95
19.99% - 28.24% Variable
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.
Good to Excellent
Why We Like This Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the best travel rewards cardson the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.
Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.
Pros & Cons
Pros
5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
2x points on all other travel worldwide
Cons
$95 annual fee
No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
If you’re not totally committed to Emirates and want a card that charges a similar annual fee to the Emirates World Elite card but earns transferable points, then you should consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
With it, you’ll earn 5x points per $1 on travel purchases through Chase Travel, 3x points per $1 on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, plus 2x points per $1 on all other travel purchases.
The card also offers perks like trip delay protection, baggage insurance, rental car insurance, a DoorDash DashPass membership, and a $50 annual hotel credit. You’ll also get a 25% bonus when redeeming your points through Chase Travel, or you can transfer them to one of 14 airline and hotel transfer partners — including Emirates!
