How Much Are Emirates Skywards Miles Worth?

How much Emirates Skywards Miles are worth depends on how you redeem them. For example, they may have a value of 1 cent or lower per mile if you use them to pay for an economy ticket with Emirates, and you may get upward of 2.5 cents per mile for business class tickets.

You earn miles each time you fly with Emirates, flydubai or any of the program's airline partners. As you move up the membership ladder, you can earn miles faster. You may also earn miles by using a co-branded Emirates Skywards credit card and by spending with the program's hotel, car rental and other partner merchants.

When it comes to how to use Emirates Skywards Miles, you may redeem them for flight tickets with Emirates, flydubai or any of the program's airline partners. You can also redeem them with Emirates' partner merchants, which include hotels and car rental companies.

There is no official Emirates Skywards redemption chart that lets you see at a glance how much your miles are worth. Economy award flights typically offer a value of 0.8 cents to 1 cent per mile, while you may get 2.4 cents to almost 3 cents per mile for business class awards. Fortunately for members, this frequent flyer program no longer charges the steep fuel surcharges on award flights that it was infamous for in the past.

Most other popular airline loyalty programs offer better value than the Emirates Skywards program when it comes to flying economy class. Nevertheless, this program is well-liked, especially by flyers who wish to redeem miles for the airline's famed business class seats and enjoy a more luxurious flight experience.

Earning Skywards Miles is relatively simple. You earn them when you fly with Emirates, flydubai or the program's airline partners. You may also earn miles when you use a Barclays Emirates Skywards credit card and spend with the program's partner merchants.

Joining the Emirates Skywards program is straightforward, and you may do so online. There is no fee to become a member. The information you need to provide to complete the application includes your name, email address, phone number and country/territory of residence. Once you enroll in the program, you can earn and redeem miles in several ways.

To move from one Emirates membership level to the next, you will need to earn a minimum number of miles or take a minimum number of flights each year. Members enjoy various benefits as they move from one tier to the next, including earning bonus miles, getting seat upgrades and more.

Barclays offers two co-branded Emirates Skywards credit cards that allow you to earn Skywards Miles through category-based spending. Both offer new cardholders bonus miles via spend-based welcome offers. And the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard gives you an opportunity to earn bonus miles each year.

Members of the Emirates Skywards program earn miles each time they fly with Emirates, flydubai or any of the program’s airline partners. But the number of miles you earn depends on your fare class, fare type and route. If you plan to fly with Emirates or flydubai, you can use the airline’s miles calculator to get a good idea of how many miles you will get for any upcoming trips.

The number of miles you earn through the program’s airline partners varies based on the airline you select:

• 2 miles per mile flown: Air Mauritius, Korean Air
• 1.5 miles per mile flown: Air Canada, Copa Airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Japan Airlines, Jetstar, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways, TAP Portugal, United Airlines
• 1.25 miles per mile flown: Bangkok Airways

You can earn Skyward Miles from Emirates partners by staying at certain hotels, shopping at certain merchants, using certain car rental companies and more.

• Retail and Lifestyle: Earn Skywards Miles with purchases at select partners like Skywardsmilesmall.com and The Bicester Collection. Use Skywards Everyday for everyday earnings and accumulate more with each spend at the Emirates Official Store. Book experiences through GetYourGuide to further boost your miles and easily turn Heathrow Rewards points into Skywards Miles.

• Booking Rental Cars: Earn Skywards Miles on car rentals through partnerships with leading companies like Hertz, Avis and Budget. You can also earn up to 1 Skywards Mile for every dollar spent at CarTrawler. With Europcar and SIXT, you can earn up to 1,200 miles per rental.

• Emirates Skywards Transfer Partners: Enhance your Skywards Miles balance by leveraging your everyday spending with financial partners. Convert Brex rewards points, Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points on a one-to-one basis into Skywards Miles. For American Express and HSBC US cardholders, transfer Membership Rewards and HSBC reward points directly to your Skywards account. Citi also allows you to turn every ThankYou® Point into a Skywards Mile for future travels.

• Hotel and Lodging: You can earn Skywards Miles through stays with over 30 partner hotels, encompassing some of the world's most popular and prestigious brands. For example, at Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Hotels & Resorts, your stays offer the chance to earn valuable miles. With the iconic Atlantis The Palm in Dubai and the upscale Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, each night brings you closer to your next adventure in the sky. Additionally, the modern and chic W Hotels and the classic elegance of The Ritz-Carlton are just a few more of the many options where your accommodation choices enrich your Skywards account.

If you wish to buy Emirates Skywards Miles, it will cost you $30 for every 1,000 miles. That works out to 3 cents per mile — considerably less than the average value you receive when you redeem them. The maximum number of miles you may purchase during a year stands at 100,000 or 200,000, depending on your Emirates membership level.

Buying miles might be worth it if you need extra miles to cover an award flight with great value. Bear in mind that there are times when the Skywards program offers bonus miles, such as through targeted email offers. For example, a brief promotional offer in September 2022 offered 35% bonus miles. In this case, $30 would get you 1,300 miles, coming out to around 2.3 cents per mile. If you use them for a flight ticket with a better redemption value, it might make sense to move forward with the purchase.

You have several options to redeem Emirates Skywards Miles. With Emirates, you can use your miles to book flights in any class to and from any destination. Redemption starts at 15,000 miles. If you need more miles than you've banked to book a flight ticket, the Cash+Miles option allows you to pay the difference in cash.

Alternatively, you can redeem your miles to pay for hotel stays and car rentals or to shop. Donating them to charity is also an option.

You also can redeem your miles through Emirates Skywards transfer partners. These include flydubai, Air Canada, Air Mauritius, Bangkok Airways, Copa Airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Japan Airlines, Jetstar, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways and TAP Portugal. Redemptions with most airline partners start at 8,000 miles.

Emirates Skywards doesn't provide a standard redemption chart. The miles needed for an award flight are calculated based on the flight's distance and the current fare, which can fluctuate with travel dates. For instance, a flight from New York to Mumbai requires more miles during peak times, such as late December, than early March.

Skywards offers three types of award flights: Saver, Flex and Flex Plus. Saver awards have limited seats, so early booking is recommended. To potentially save more, check the Featured Fares for special deals, which might make it worth rescheduling your trip.

Booking about a week in advance for a First Class Suite ticket can sometimes yield good deals. Remember, miles expire after three years, and while you can extend their validity for a fee, you must redeem them at least two business days before they expire to avoid losing them.

Emirates' fifth freedom flights, like New York to Athens or Milan, might offer better value for U.S. travelers. These routes, operated outside the airline's home country, often have competitive pricing and more available award seats, providing an excellent use of Skywards Miles. Other international fifth freedom routes include Mexico City to Barcelona, Hong Kong to Bangkok and Sydney to Christchurch, which also could offer these advantages.

Take a look at other questions about the Emirates Skywards program and how the value of your miles may change according to different redemption methods to determine which alternative might work best for you.