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![21 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Emirates Skywards Miles [2023]](https://upgradedpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Emirates-A380-retrofit-business-class-seat.jpg?auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=1420&height=650&fit=crop)
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Emirates’ global network is the largest in the Middle East with a hub at Dubai International Airport (DXB).
The first Emirates flight took to the sky in October 1985 with only 2 aircraft in its operations. Now, Emirates operates the world’s biggest fleet of Boeing 777s and Airbus A380s.
This post will teach you about which credit cards to use to earn more miles and how you can benefit from incorporating them into your miles-earning strategies. You will also learn about the many Emirates partners and how you can maximize the miles you earn with them.
When you’re finished reading, you will be fully prepared to start accumulating tons of Emirates Skywards Miles to your account. Let’s get started!
Skywards is the frequent flyer program run by Emirates. Enroll in Emirates Skywards for free and begin earning miles right away. Then, redeem miles with the airline’s wide partner selection to enjoy a variety of benefits and services. We go much more in-depth about the program in our Emirates Skywards loyalty review.
Once you’re signed up, you can log into your Skywards account to check your miles and recent transactions and find links to help you manage your account.
The single best way to earn Emirates Skywards Miles is by leveraging Chase Ultimate Rewards credit cards. The transfer ratio is 1:1, and miles get transferred almost instantly to your account. You can transfer Ultimate Rewards points in increments of 1,000. The best part is that you can earn Chase points across tons of different credit cards for each bonus category.
If you’re a business owner, see our article on the best Chase business credit cards.
Make purchases with your American Express credit cards to build up your Membership Rewards points, then transfer Amex points at a 1:1 ratio to receive Skywards Miles in increments of 1,000 (but watch out for sporadic bonuses that Amex often runs when transferring points to Emirates).
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Business Owner? Check out our article on the best Amex business cards that earn Membership Rewards.
Citi ThankYou Rewards Points are incredibly useful because you can transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Emirates Skywards at a 1:1 ratio almost instantly.
Here are our favorite cards to use for accumulating Citi ThankYou Points:
Recommended Citi Credit Cards
You can transfer Capital One miles to your Emirates Skywards account at a 1:1 ratio.
Make sure you have a Capital One credit card that has the transferable miles feature. Here are our picks:
You can earn Marriott Bonvoy points and transfer those to Emirates at a transfer rate of 3:1. Plus, for every 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points that you transfer, you’ll receive an extra 5,000 Emirates Skywards Miles bonus.
Recommended Marriott Bonvoy Cards
One of the newest ways to earn Emirates miles is from transfers through Brex Rewards, which is the rewards currency used by Brex, the charge card of choice for start-ups. You can transfer Brex Rewards points almost instantly at a 1:1 ratio, as well.
Bilt Rewards is a niche program aimed at those who pay rent. You can earn Bilt Rewards points and transfer them to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio with a minimum of 2,000 points transferred.
The last credit card option we’ll discuss is the co-branded relationship that Emirates has with Barclays. Currently, you can earn miles directly with the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard® or the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard®.
Each of these cards has different bonuses, earning structures, annual fees, and complimentary elite status perks.
You can transfer HSBC Rewards points to Emirates Skywards at a 1:1 ratio if you hold either the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card or HSBC Premier World Mastercard® Credit Card.
Emirates Skywards is one of the few airline loyalty programs to provide both reward miles (Skywards Miles) and status miles (Tier Miles) for all fares.
Skywards Miles are based on the route, fare type, class, and tier — the Emirates Miles Calculator enables you to calculate the number of miles you’ll earn.
You can earn up to 175% bonus miles in first class and business class depending on the fare type. Miles are credited after you’ve completed your travel.
Click on an airline partner link for more information about earning points as a Skywards member:
| Airline | Earn | Airline | Earn | Airline | Earn |
| Air Mauritius | Up to 2 miles/1 mile flown | Japan Airlines | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown | S7 Airlines (temporarily suspended) | Up to 1.25 miles/1 mile flown |
| Air Canada | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown | Jetstar | Up to 1.25 miles/1 mile flown | South African Airways | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown |
| Bangkok Airways | Up to 1.25 miles/mile flown | Korean Air | Up to 2 miles/1 mile flown | TAP Portugal | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown |
| Copa Airlines | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown | Malaysia Airlines | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown | ||
| GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown | Qantas | Up to 1.5 miles/1 mile flown |
The Skywards Tiers are Blue, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. There are 2 ways to move to the next level: earning the required number of Emirates Tier Miles or completing the required number of Emirates flights.
Each time you reach a higher tier, you will receive more benefits such as dedicated check-in, priority boarding, and lounge access. You can remain at your Tier for 14 months. That means you get an extra 2 months even if you don’t meet the renewal qualifications during the annual review.
Emirates Skywards and Marriott Bonvoy have a partnership called Your World Rewards designed to help you earn more miles and benefits.
When you stay at a Marriott property and have Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold, or Platinum status, you’ll earn 1 Skywards Mile for every $1 spent along with your Marriott Bonvoy points. Furthermore, if you are a Skywards Gold or Platinum member, you’ll also get benefits like complimentary in-room Wi-Fi, priority check-in, and 4 p.m. late checkout.
It also works in reverse: Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador Elite members will earn 3 Marriott Bonvoy points for every $1 you spend on eligible Emirates flights in addition to Skywards Miles. Marriott Bonvoy Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador Elite members will also enjoy priority check-in and priority boarding.
Emirates Skywards partners with several car rental agencies, each of which offers miles per rental for Skywards members. Click on a link below to learn the terms and conditions of the partner offers.
| Car Rental Agency | Earned Miles/Rental | Car Rental Agency | Earned Miles/Rental |
| Avis | Up to 8 miles/$1 | Europcar | Up to 1,000 miles per rental |
| Budget | Up to 8 miles/$1 | Hertz | Up to 3.5 miles/$1 |
| CarTrawler | Up to 1 mile/$1 | Sixt | Up to 1,000 miles per rental |
Hot Tip: If you rent cars frequently, consider paying with a credit card with car rental insurance — it could save you a lot of money!
You can earn and/or transfer miles from the following hotels and hotel loyalty programs:
| Hotel | Earn | Transfer |
| 25Hours Hotel | N/A | 4,000:2,000 |
| ALL – Accor Live Limitless | N/A | 4,000:2,000 |
| Atlantis The Palm, Dubai | 1 mile/$1 | N/A |
| Booking.com | 1 mile/€1 | N/A |
| Crown Hotels | 5 mile/AU$1 | N/A |
| Hilton | N/A | 10,000:1,000 |
| Hyatt | 500 miles/stay | 2.5:1 — 5,000 bonus miles if transfer 50,000 miles in 1 transaction |
| IHG | 2 miles/$1 | 10,000:2,000 |
| Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts | 1 mile/$1 | N/A |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 2 miles/$1 | 3,000:1,000 — 5,000 bonus miles if you transfer 60,000 points in 1 transaction |
| One&Only Resorts | 1 mile/$1 | N/A |
| Rotana | 500 miles/stay | N/A |
Rocketmiles.com is a popular hotel booking website, and now it has partnered up with Emirates Skywards to help you earn (and even redeem!) frequent flyer miles for Emirates.
To take advantage of this partnership, visit the Emirates Skywards Hotels and click on Earn or Redeem.
Skywards members can choose 1 of 3 options:
Purchase a minimum 3-night Emirates Holidays package and earn 20% bonus miles on top of the miles you earn for flying Emirates. If you are booking in the U.K., you earn 1 mile per £1 spent in addition to the miles earned from the Emirates flight you booked.
A 5% early booking discount applies to the cost of the trip if you book early enough.
You can earn additional Skywards Miles with retail and lifestyle partners:
| Partner | Earn Opportunity | Partner | Earn Opportunity |
| Arabian Adventures |
Up to 1 Skywards Mile/$1
| GetYourGuide |
1 Skywards Mile/€1
|
| ASMALLWORLD | Up to 500,000 Skywards Miles | Heathrow Rewards |
Convert 250 Heathrow Rewards points into 250 Skywards Miles
|
| The Bicester Collection |
Up to 1 Skywards Mile for every £1, €1, or ¥10 spent
| Skywards Everyday |
1 Skywards Mile/AED 3 and 1 Mile/AED 5 spent on groceries
|
| Dubai Mall |
Up to 1 Skywards Mile/$1
| Skywardsmilesmall.com |
Up to 120 Skywards Miles/$10
|
| Emirates Official Store |
1 Skywards Mile/$1
| utu |
4,167 Skywards Miles for every $100 on any tax refund across 50 countries
|
| Emirates Vacations |
1 Skywards Mile/$1
|
While most of the Emirates Skywards shopping partners are only available internationally, you can find some great ways to earn extra reward points on the . You’ll find featured offers plus deals with airlines, car rental agencies, hotels, and more.
Emirates Skywards My Family allows you to pool miles that your family members earn from flying Emirates. This excludes partner flights and other ways to earn Emirates Skywards Miles.
Up to 7 additional travelers related to the designated family head may pool their miles with you: husband, wife, partner, father, mother, step-father, step-mother, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son, step-son, daughter, step-daughter, brother, sister, granddaughter, grandson, and domestic helper.
Each member can designate what percent of future earned miles will go to the pool: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%, or 0%. You can adjust this rate at any time for future mile earnings. Prior earned miles do not go to the pool (you can still pay for miles transfer).
Like individual miles, My Family miles expire 3 years after they are earned (the end of the month of the family head’s birthday).
Hot Tip: Emirates also offers the Skysurfers program that allows children ages 2 to 16 to get extra benefits while earning miles. They can spend their Skywards Miles on reward flights or choose books, toys, and more. Skysurfers can also earn Silver and Gold status.
Enroll your business in Emirates Business Rewards and earn Business Rewards points when your employees travel. You can add an unlimited number of employees as well.
If they are Skywards frequent flyer program members, they will still earn miles on their flights as long as they link their frequent flyer number to the program.
At the same time, your organization will earn 1 Business Rewards Point per $1 whenever employees fly Emirates, no matter which class. Just give your Business Rewards membership number when booking a trip.
The more strategies you know for earning loyalty program miles, the easier it is to rack up the miles in your account. Now that we’ve shown you all the ways to earn Emirates Skywards Miles it’s time for you to get started. You’ll be using miles for rewards travel in no time.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Chase Freedom Flex℠ was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Emirates Skywards Premium World Elite Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Emirates Skywards Rewards World Elite Mastercard® was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the HSBC Premier World Mastercard® Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® card, click here.
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9 comments
Cheryl Buerckner
September 02, 2018
Special fares are the least expensive but have the most restrictions.
Saver fares have more flexibility than Saver fares but still have some restrictions.
I think u meant Saver fares have more flexibility than Special fares?? Not saver fares
Toby Plumb
September 04, 2018
@Cheryl Buerckner – thank for you reporting that, we have made the correction.
DG
October 20, 2019
What I don’t understand is that many of the airline partners are full partners. You can only earn points for one at a time. Such as Alaska, I was told that I cannot earn Alaska points and Emirates points on the same flight? One or the other. Seems a little crazy. Basically stop earning on my current carrier? Very strange partnership. Open to comments or for you to tell me it is different.
Christine Krzyszton
October 21, 2019
Hi DG. You can only earn miles on one airline for a specific flight. You can select the airline you prefer but you cannot select more than one. If you could select more than one, you would be earning double miles for the flight, which would be wonderful, but it is not allowed.
Neil
March 27, 2022
I have been trying to join Emirates Skywards for the past week. The Join page has a dropdown box for dates of birth, but the year only goes back as far as 1972! What about folks born before that? Has anyone else tried to sign up?
Very strange bug.
Kim
April 09, 2022
Update – Capital One now transfers at a 1:1 ratio for Emirates (not the 2:1 listed in the article)
Jarrod West
April 09, 2022
Hi Kim,
Thank you for pointing that out, I’ve just corrected that.
SM
July 21, 2022
Is Citi still 1:1? Emirates’ website shows 2.5:1.
Katie Seemann
July 21, 2022
Hi,
Yes, according to Citi’s website the transfer rate to Emirates is still 1:1. https://www.thankyou.com/partnerProgramsListing.htm
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
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