How Much Are Emirates Skywards Miles Worth?

How much Emirates Skywards Miles are worth depends on how you redeem them. For example, using them to pay for an Economy Class ticket with Emirates may come with a value of 1 cent or lower per mile, 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.

Some of the links on this page will take you to one of our partner's sites, where you can compare and apply for a selected credit card.

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. Using a Barclays Emirates Skywards credit card is another way to earn miles. You may also earn miles when you spend with the program's partner merchants.

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.

The Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard comes with a $99 annual fee. Eligible Emirates purchases earn 3X miles per dollar. You get 2X miles per dollar on other eligible travel purchases and 1X miles per dollar on all other purchases. Spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 90 days comes with a bonus of 50,000 miles.

All cardholders get complimentary Emirates Silver status for the first year, which they can retain by spending at least $20,000 on purchases every year. Using this card for international purchases comes with no foreign transaction fees.

The Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard charges a steep annual fee of $499 and is best suited for frequent Emirates flyers. Spending on eligible Emirates purchases earns you 3X miles per dollar. Other eligible travel purchases earn 2X miles per dollar, and all other purchases earn 1X miles per dollar.

If you spend $3,000 on purchases within 90 days of account opening, you earn 60,000 bonus miles. You also earn a bonus of 10,000 miles if you spend $30,000 or more on purchases in the first year. You get complimentary Emirates Gold status for the first year, and spending $40,000 on purchases every year lets you stay at this tier.

Other benefits include Priority Pass Select lounge access, a fee credit for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck and no foreign transaction fees.

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. These include earning bonus miles, getting seat upgrades and more.

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.

For example, if you fly Economy Special from New York to Dubai, you get around 1,800 Skywards Miles. An Economy Saver fare on the same route comes with around 3,600 Skywards Miles, and you stand to earn around 12,000 Skywards Miles if you fly Economy Flex Plus. Booking an Economy Flex Plus fare from New York to Sydney, on the other hand, lets you earn around 25,000 Skywards Miles.

The number of miles you earn through the program’s airline partners varies based on the airline you select. For example, you can earn up to 2 miles per mile flown with Air Mauritius and Korean Air. You get up to 1.5 miles per mile flown with Air Canada, Copa Airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Japan Airlines, Jetstar, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, South African Airways and TAP Portugal. Flying with Bangkok Airways lets you earn up to 1.25 miles per mile flown.

If you wish to buy Emirates Skywards Miles, it will cost you $30 for every 1,000 miles you buy. 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 that comes with great value. Bear in mind that there are times when the Skywards program offers bonus miles, such as through targeted offers via email. For example, a brief promotional offer that ran in September 2022 offered 35% bonus miles. In this case, $30 would get you 1,300 miles, where you would pay 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.

If you're wondering how to redeem Emirates Skywards Miles, you have several options. You can redeem your miles for flight tickets with different airlines or use them for seat upgrades on Emirates flights. 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.

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.

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.

There is no official Emirates Skywards redemption chart, and the program determines the number of miles you need to get an award flight based on the distance a flight covers. Bear in mind that the miles you need depend on the actual fare of the ticket, which, in turn, might vary based on your travel dates. For example, flying from New York to Bombay, India, would need more miles during the last week of December than the first week of March.

While the Skywards program offers Saver, Flex and Flex Plus award flights, availability in the Saver segment remains limited, so it’s best to book well in advance. You can also look for discounted fares by checking the Featured Fares section to determine if rescheduling your plans might fetch a better deal.

If you wish to use your miles for a First Class Suite ticket, you may be able to find some good deals if you book around one week before the travel date.

Bear in mind that your miles expire three years from the date you earn them, so it’s important to use them before this happens. You can extend the validity of your miles by 12 months, but this comes at a cost. It’s also important to place orders with your miles at least two working days before they are slated to expire.

If you plan to fly from the U.S. to Italy or Greece, you may benefit by taking a look at the fifth freedom routes this airline flies. These flights are ones that originate and terminate in countries other than the carrier’s home country. With Emirates, its U.S.-specific fifth freedom routes include New York – Athens and New York – Milan. More often than not, Emirates’ fifth freedom flights operate in very competitive markets. International options include Mexico City – Barcelona, Hong Kong – Bangkok and Sydney – Christchurch.

When it comes to fifth freedom flights operated by Emirates, you may benefit not just through lower prices but higher reward availability as well. These flights also tend to offer members the best value for Skywards Miles.

MoneyGeek experts have taken a close look at how the value of Emirates Skywards Miles changes based on different redemption methods. They have also carried out in-depth market research to determine the worth of your miles.

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.