Emirates has always been one of the better Middle Eastern airlines (and airlines in general) to take care of its employees, but this level of profit sharing is unprecedented and will no doubt put pressure on competitors.

Carriers like Emirates are under constant pressure to recruit sufficient numbers of staff and this will no doubt help them with future recruitment efforts.

As The National reports, Emirates will pay the bonus together with the May salary.

Staff at Emirates airlines will enjoy a share of a Dh10.6 billion ($2.9 billion) bonus pot after the company recorded its highest annual profit yet.

Documentation seen by The National shows that more than 50,000 of its employees will receive 24 weeks of pay with their May salary.

The flagship airline in Dubai posted a Dh10.6 billion ($2.9 billion) profit in the fiscal year that ended on March 31.

“For our outstanding performance in 2022-2023, you deserve every bit of the 24-week profit share,” the document read.

The record annual profit aligns with the strong travel demand as governments reopened international borders and lifted pandemic-related restrictions. …

The airline carried 43.6 million passengers, up 123 per cent from last year, it said.

“We had anticipated the strong return of travel, and as the last travel restrictions lifted and triggered a tide of demand, we were ready to expand our operations quickly and safely to serve our customers,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman and chief executive of Emirates airline and group, said on Thursday.

“As a result, we have delivered a record financial performance and cash balance for our financial year 2022-2023.

“This reflects the strength of our proven business model, our careful forward planning, the hard work of all our employees, and our solid partnerships across the aviation and travel ecosystem.”

I think this pretty much sets the gold standard as far as common employment compensation in the aviation industry is concerned. Add to that that the income in Dubai is tax-free, not so if the employee is based in other countries with regular taxation, though.

Emirates has followed a profit-sharing model in the past but it never amounted to half of their annual compensation. Keep in mind, however, that this follows several years of rather difficult times and stagnation due to the pandemic.

Emirates has kept flying to many destinations even during Covid, and while prices were high at least they provided a lifeline while many other airlines just shut down all their routes.

They have invested heavily in products and now in their employees as well, which is always a great thing to do for a company as lifts morale, but it also sets a standard that might come with future expectations. Is that going to be a good thing? That remains to be seen.

I’d guess it definitely helps them to recruit new staff. If I had the chance to apply at a company that just showed its willingness to reward employees massively, the likelihood of me wanting to work there would be much higher than for a competitor who didn’t make such headlines.

This way, Emirates could see an uptick in interest for the recruitment events they usually hold in various hotels all over the world. At the same time, it starves the competition of talent.

Conclusion

Emirates has announced an unprecedented profit-sharing for this year, rewarding employees with a 6-month salary bonus which amounts to pretty much half of their annual compensation. What a windfall for these folks, and I agree they deserve every penny of it.

Over the years, I found that those employed with Emirates generally strive to provide good service and are more competent than, for example, their brethren at Etihad or Qatar Airways. I’m sure that has mainly to do with Emirates being a more attractive employer, and applicants try it there first before moving on to the competition. It’s also significantly more attractive to live and work in Dubai than in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, or (gasp) Saudi Arabia.

This example shows that even without unions present, it’s possible to take good care of employees and keep them happy while the European competition reels from one strike after the other. I have completely stopped using European carriers because of their constant labor actions that threw countless wrenches into my travel plans over the years.

Accor Live Limitless (ALL) doubles points automatically converted to Skywards miles. The offer is valid for reservations booked by April 30.

You can access this offer on Accor’s website here.

READ MORE: Accor ALL Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Note that you must elect to earn partner points/miles instead of ALL points for your Accor stays and have Emirates Skywards selected as the preferred partner.

You must also have enabled the automatic conversion of points to miles after each of your stays.

Conclusion

You should not have ALL points in your account when you enable the automatic conversion because those will be swiped to partner points/miles but without a bonus.

You are probably better off by collecting ALL points with all bonus points opportunities that you can later convert to partner points/miles if and when you prefer and with a most worthwhile partner.

Terms and conditions of this offer:

1. General ALL – Accor Live Limitless terms and conditions apply to the [Emirates Skywards 2X Points 2023] offer and you must be a member of ALL – Accor Live Limitless to benefit from it.

2. This offer entitles members of ALL, regardless of their membership status, to multiply the Reward points they earn by [2] when staying at any hotel that has enrolled in the ALL – Accor Live Limitless loyalty programme.

Points are earned based on the value of points credited to the member by the hotel following an eligible stay, in accordance with the ALL – Accor Live Limitless general conditions of use and based on Classic status.

On completion of the stay, points will be credited to the member’s account in two separate transactions:

1/ the points corresponding to the value of points that the ALL – Accor Live Limitless member would have been awarded had they not subscribed to the offer will be credited to the member’s account in the first transaction; and

2/ the additional Reward points earned by subscribing to the offer will be credited to the member’s account in the second transaction, corresponding to the number of Reward points the member is still owed in order to have been credited the total number of Reward points multiplied by [2] on completion of the two points credit transactions.

For example, a member of ALL – Accor Live Limitless who earned 250 Status points and 250 Reward points for an eligible stay will receive:

An additional 250 Reward points for offers multiplying the points X2

In order to benefit from this offer, the member must have activated [Emirates Skywards] as their preferred automatic conversion option ahead of the stay. This option should remain activated until the member receives the points (Reward points and Status points) related to his/her stay on his/her ALL membership account.

3. This offer is valid for a member’s stay from [30/03/2023] to [30/06/2023] in one of the participating hotels globally, and booked between [30/03/2023], through 11:59 p.m. Central European Time (CET), [30/04/2023].

4. Any consecutive stays (check-out and check-in same day) in the same hotel, will be considered as a single stay. This single stay will be eligible once on the  [Emirates Skywards 2X Points 2023] offer.

5. For the purposes of this offer, a stay is understood to be one (1) booking by a member of ALL for one or several rooms. In other words, bookings that include more than one (1) room will be counted as just one (1) stay. The earlier check-out date is counted while the credit of Reward and Status points is calculated.

In other words, a member of ALL – Accor Live Limitless will receive eligible points and nights for the room which he/she vacates first.

6. To be eligible for this offer, stays must be booked directly via Accor (via the official Accor websites, the Accor All mobile apps, the ALL call centre, directly at a hotel) or through a traditional travel agency whose booking system is automatically connected to the Accor booking office. Stays booked via a reseller, tour operator or third-party online travel agent (such as expedia.com, booking.com, etc.) will not be eligible for this offer.

7. Members must provide their ALL – Accor Live Limitless Loyalty card number when making the reservation, and present the card at the hotel reception desk at check-in.

8. Reward points are credited to the member’s account within 10 days of the member checking out and converted within 6 weeks into [Emirates Skywards] according to applicable conversion rule.

9. This offer cannot be combined with other current promotional offers or advantages and does not apply to groups.

If the stay meets the terms and conditions for several offers, only the Reward points linked to the most generous offer (meaning that allows you to earn the highest number of Reward points) will be credited to your account.

Stays at onefinestay are not eligible for this offer.

10. Any stay partly or entirely paid with ALL – Accor Live Limitless Reward points will not be eligible to receive this offer.

11. This offer is subject to availability. General sales terms and conditions apply for reserved public rates specific to each hotel.

Accor, participating hotels and/or partners of this offer accept no liability for non-performance or unavailability of the offer due to an external and unavoidable event that makes performance by Accor, participating hotels and/or partners of this offer impossible or disproportionately burdensome. Customers or members will not be entitled to any compensation and the benefits of the offer (particularly Reward points) will not be issued/credited if the offer cannot be implemented in these circumstances.

12. Please specify the reference [015843] in all your communications with call centres or customers care services related to this offer.

This agreement will also give the loyalty program members of both airlines more opportunities for more rewards, including reciprocal mileage earning capability for Emirates Skywards & United Mileage Plus members.

EK members can earn miles when they travel on United-operated flights, and United Mileage Plus members flying on United’s New York/Newark to Dubai flight will be able to earn and redeem miles when connecting beyond on Emirates and flydubai.

Eligible customers traveling on codeshare flights will eventually be able to access Emirates and United lounges though the emphasis is on codeshares and not standalone EK/UA coded flights. Either way this benefit which was teased last September still hasn’t been implemented or described in more detail.

You can earn United miles only on specific Emirates flights, however (odd as it is) you can earn Emirates miles on any United flight in their network. Why the discrepancy? Who knows…

You can find the original press release from September 2022 here.

John also published an article about this last spring:

United Airlines & Emirates Launch Codeshare Agreement

Effective March 30, 2023 the frequent flyer partnership on a loyalty basis has now gone live.

You can access United Mileage Plus for your Emirates loyalty/earning benefits here.

Here the earning rates:

There is currently a double miles promotion as well:

Double miles promotion

For a limited time, you can earn double award miles when you fly eligible Emirates flights between March 26, 2023 and April 30, 2023. Double award miles will be based on total award miles earned and your MileagePlus status.

Emirates Skywards members can earn & redeem miles with United

Earning Miles

You can earn Skywards Miles on United Airlines or United Express operated flights. Miles cannot be earned on other airlines’ codeshare flights.

Accrual levels for Skywards members travelling on flights marketed and operated by United Airlines

*F, I , X are ineligible

Accrual levels for Skywards members travelling on flights marketed by Emirates and operated by United Airlines

*S, D, N, Z, P, G, F, A are ineligible

To claim missing Skywards Miles for flights completed within the last six months, provide your flight details using Live Chat.

Spending Miles

Spend Skywards Miles on United Airlines flights across their network starting at 8,000 Miles. Check the table below for the number of Miles you need for a one way reward flight. You’ll need twice the number of Miles for a return reward flight.

Reward tickets are subject to availability.

Rewards are only valid on United Airlines or United Express operated flights with the flight code UA

Skywards Miles needed as stated are for direct flights only. Where no direct service is operated, two or more rewards may be required.

Reward flights can be booked for both one‑way and round‑trip travel.

Reward ticket coupons cannot be used out of sequence.

All flights must be confirmed at the time of Skywards Miles redemption. Waitlists are not permitted.

Reward tickets are valid for 12 months from the original date of issue, with a maximum stay of three months.

Reward values are exclusive of taxes, fuel surcharge and other charges. These need to be paid separately.

Children and infants occupying a seat and travelling on reward tickets will need to redeem the same number of Skywards Miles as that of an adult member. Infant rewards are not permitted.

I get the feeling that it isn’t very advantageous to credit miles from United flights to Emirates Skywards. Best to find a different frequent flyer program for those, either United Mileage Plus or another Star Alliance carrier.

After more than a decade of bad blood the U.S. airlines are now getting comfortable doing business with the ME3. Who would’ve thought!?

Conclusion

It’s still unclear what full benefits MileagePlus, and Skywards elite members will eventually receive when flying on each other’s flights even though the earn & redeem options have now been published.

We had hoped that both airlines would have released more comprehensive information most relevant to frequent fliers which are ground elite benefits. Until now, what has been revealed rather lackluster.

United Airlines partnered with Emirates in the past when they had joint around-the-world fares. Continental also had a frequent flier partnership with Emirates that allowed redeeming Onepass miles on their flights.

American Airlines has deepened its partnership with Qatar Airways and now United Airlines with Emirates. Is Delta eventually getting cozy with Saudia?

United has now updated its MileagePlus page with information about earning and redeeming miles for select Emirates flights.

You can access United’s page for the Emirates partnership here.

The frequent flier agreement between United Airlines and Emirates appears to be extremely limited.

MileagePlus members can only earn miles on select Emirates flights ex-Dubai if they fly to Dubai on a United flight. The same also applies to awards on Emirates flights. They can only be redeemed if you take the United service to Dubai (I assume an award).

United offers double miles on eligible Emirates flights between March 26 – April 30, 2023.

United Emirates Earning Chart (United Ticket):

United Emirates Earning Chart (non-United Ticket):

Conclusion

The frequent flier partnership that Air Canada has with Emirates (read more here) is far superior to that of United’s. You can earn and redeem Aeroplan miles for all eligible Emirates flights.

MileagePlus members must take a United flight to Dubai and can then earn miles on select Emirates flights, and the same also applies to awards.

The changes introduced are not revolutionary; you probably wouldn’t even notice, but rather a slight update to keep it relevant in the 2020s.

You can access Emirates here.

Timelapse Video

Emirates Liveries 1985 – 2023

Livery 1 – 1985

Livery 2 – 1999

Livery 3 – 2023

Belly Branding – 2005

Emirates Press Release:

Emirates unveils new signature livery for its fleet

Dubai, UAE, 16 March 2023 – The distinctive livery of the world’s largest international airline, Emirates, has undergone a refresh.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Aircraft livery is the most instantly recognisable brand real estate for any airline. It’s a visual representation of our unique identity, something we wear proudly, and display in all the cities we fly to around the world. We’re refreshing our livery to keep it modern, without losing the key elements of our identity such as the UAE flag on our tailfin and the Arabic calligraphy.”

Eagle-eyed plane spotters and fans will immediately notice changes to the tailfin and wingtips.  In this latest design, the UAE flag on the Emirates tailfin is much more dynamic and flowing with a 3D effect artwork, and the wingtips have been painted red with the Emirates logo in Arabic calligraphy “popping” out in reverse white. Passengers onboard with a window view will see the UAE flag colours painted on the wingtips facing the fuselage.

The signature gold “Emirates” lettering across the main body in English and Arabic is also bolder, and 32.5% larger. On the aircraft belly, Emirates has retained its iconic red branding which it introduced in 2005.  The website URL “Emirates.com” has been dropped from the design.

This is the 3rd iteration of Emirates’ official aircraft brand colours. The original livery unveiled with the airline’s launch in 1985 had its first refresh 14 years later, with the delivery of Emirates’ first Boeing 777-300 at the 1999 Dubai Airshow.

The first aircraft to sport Emirates’ newest livery is A6-EOE, an Airbus A380, which has rolled out of Emirates Engineering this week after its makeover. Its first deployment will be to Munich on 17 March as flight EK51.

Watch timelapse video of the first aircraft receiving its new livery at Emirates Engineering in Dubai.

The new livery will be gradually applied across the rest of the existing Emirates fleet with 24 aircraft, including 17 Boeing 777s, expected to sport the refreshed livery by the end of 2023.  All new Emirates aircraft, from the first Airbus A350 entering the fleet in August 2024 will be delivered in this new livery.

Emirates’ original livery in 1985 was designed by UK design company Negus & Negus. All of the airline’s subsequent aircraft colours were created by its inhouse design team. Over the years, Emirates’ numerous colourful and eye-catching aircraft livery have included bespoke designs to drive sponsorship brand association, and for special occasions such as the UAE’s 50th Jubilee livery, and Expo 2020 Dubai.

Conclusion

Interestingly, the in-house team has updated the original one designed by a UK shop, Negus & Negus. Companies tend to use a significant amount of cash to update their branding.

It will take a while until the entire Emirates fleet has the updated livery so that the old one will be around for a few years.

Retaining the highest Skywards status, Platinum, now also requires a minimum of a flight in business or first that is only theoretical because qualifying purely by flying in the economy is nearly impossible.

You can access Emirates here.

Elite Bonus Miles:

• Silver – 30% (previously 25%)
• Gold – 75% (previously 50%)
• Platinum – 100% (previously 75%)

Elite Bonus Miles Percentages March 1, 2023:

Elite Bonus Miles Percentages pre-March 1, 2023:

Conclusion

This is the first positive piece of news for Skywards members in a long while, as Emirates has dramatically increased the number of miles required for awards and upgrades (and those carrier surcharges on awards are very high).

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum and higher members receive certain airport benefits, while Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members have some benefits while staying at Marriott hotels as part of this scheme.

The Your World Rewards system requires members to link their Emirates Skywards & Marriott Bonvoy accounts ahead of the flight, and after the successful registration, it should show the word PARTNER’ on the boarding pass.

You can access Marriott’s page for the partnership here and Emirates here.

Members who successfully signed up should be entitled to Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding, and of course, earning 3 Marriott points per USD spent on the ticket.

One of our readers, who is a Bonvoy Ambassador and properly linked her accounts beforehand, contacted us and said her departure from Tokyo-Narita wasn’t much to write home about as far as this partnership was concerned.

She was flying Tokyo – Dubai – Sao Paulo, and the staff at Narita Airport wasn’t at all familiar with the program and associated benefits.

The boarding passes didn’t display any designator at first, but that was eventually corrected in some way:

The agent also said that there wouldn’t be any priority boarding with this “Partner” designation despite what the website and email mentioned. Very surprising for Japan where they usually go very much by the book and are well prepared.

I do believe that Emirates assigned the reader boarding zone E which is right after Business Class based on Your World Rewards but is that really priority boarding?

This partnership first started under Starwood Preferred Guest, which had partnerships in place with Delta, China Eastern, and Emirates while Marriott partnered only with United. Following the SPG/Marriott merger, the United partnership remained, but Marriott later rekindled the Your World Rewards with Emirates as well.

You can find a range of FAQ’s about the partnership here.

Here is our article from when the partnership was rebooted by Emirates & Marriott:

Marriott Bonvoy & Emirates Your World Rewards 2020

At least in theory, this provides non-status Emirates passengers who are Elite Bonvoy members with basic benefits to circumvent the long lines that usually come with Economy Class travel. There is still a lot am ambiguity involved as the benefits arent directly visible and verifiable on day of departure.

One can try and request a manager if the agent you’re dealing with isn’t familiar with the system and hope that Emirates at least gives a little bit more in-depth training to their supervisors at the check-in and the gate so there isn’t an argument about the passenger being in the wrong line .

Conclusion

It appears that several years into this cooperation being live, ground staff has still not been adequately trained on how the program actually works and what benefits passengers are entitled to. Maybe Emirates should simply replace the term “partner” with “Priority” so that there isn’t any doubt?

The partnership is a good thing in principle but if there is a level of uncertainty on both sides then how is that supposed to make anyone feel good? It’s also impossible to see if there has been a successful registration in the first place. The reader’s online boarding pass didn’t show anything at all, for example, only the airport-printed boarding pass did though the agent didn’t have the slightest clue about it.

What is your experience with the Emirates & Marriott Bonvoy Your World Rewards partnership?

Aeroplan members earn and redeem on Emirates flights and Skywards members on Air Canada from today.

You can access Air Canada’s page for airline partnerships here and the Emirates page for Air Canada here.

Aeroplan Emirates Earning Table:

Aeroplan members won’t earn elite qualifying miles on Emirates.

Aeroplan Emirates Award Chart:

There are no carrier surcharges on Emirates awards (those are incredibly high on Emirates), but there is a C$39 partner award booking fee.

You can combine Emirates flights with all Air Canada redemption partners (mix and match).

The Emirates award chart is distance based, although the distance method is not introduced until early 2023 when first-class Emirates awards are also made available (have to wait a bit longer).

Skywards Air Canada Award Chart:

Reciprocal Lounge Access:

Aeroplan Elite 50K, 75K, and Super Elite members + 1 have access to Emirates business class lounge in Dubai when flying in economy on Emirates.

Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members + 1 have access to Air Canada Maple Leaf and Air Canada Cafe when flying in economy on Air Canada. Emirates Business Class passengers + 1 departing from Toronto have access to Maple Leaf lounges and Cafe. In addition, Emirates First Class passengers + 1 have access to Signature Suite.

Conclusion

There is quite a bit of variability within the Emirates, such as 2,001 to 5,000 miles business class awards costing 45,000 to 140,000 Aeroplan miles, and first-class awards are even more expensive.

It is probably the most cost-effective to use Aeroplan miles on Emirates only when there is no award availability on other partners, or you want to try Emirates first.

This turned out to be false news, but I am still wondering where this information came from. Emirates first withdrew the guidance yesterday until publishing an update today.

You can access Emirates Travel Updates here and Heathrow Airport’s guidance here.

UPDATED GUIDANCE

PREVIOUS GUIDANCE (FALSE)

Conclusion

There have been liquid and electronic bans at various airports over the years.

Forcing everyone to check in a bag at Heathrow would have brought the airport down due to an insufficient number of employees.

I am still baffled about where Emirates got its information for the Travel Updates section.

Now, Emirates has posted a travel update on its website claiming that Heathrow Airport has banned all liquids on carry-on luggage for departing passengers and instructed those transiting through the airport to ditch water bottles and amenity kits.

You can access Emirates here and Heathrow here.

UPDATE:

Heathrow has confirmed that the information below that you can find on the Emirates Travel Update page is incorrect. There is no change in the hand luggage liquid policy.

Emirates Announcement (UPDATE – NOW REMOVED):

Peak travel advisory, restrictions to carriage of liquids in hand baggage

Last updated: 21 November 2022, 04:59 Dubai (GMT+4)

Due to the upcoming holidays, London Heathrow airport is expecting a high number of passengers travelling through the airport.

Airport authorities have mandated restrictions on all liquids carried in hand baggage.

Departing from LHR

Customers cannot carry liquids, creams and gels in their hand baggage. Customers not complying with the restriction might experience additional security checks.

Please arrive at the airport no earlier than 4 hours before the departure of your flight.

Transiting through LHR

Customers will need to go through security checks before boarding a connecting flight. It is advisable not to take along water bottles or amenity kits to avoid delays at these check points, unless the liquids, creams and gels in your possession are within the permitted limits. Please refer to permitted liquid limits here.

Conclusion

Not sure where else Emirates would have received this restriction information than Heathrow Airport? However, I was unable to find any unusual liquid restrictions listed on Heathrow’s website.

If everyone needs to check all liquids, even those complying with the usual limitations, the number of checked bags will significantly increase. Are there enough employees at ground handling companies to manage the increased load?

This reminds me to avoid London’s Heathrow at any cost.

Skywards members can earn double miles (usually 4 per USD) for stays booked after registering for this offer and by November 18.

You can access and register for this offer on IHG’s website here.

READ MORE: IHG One Rewards Rate & Bonus Points Offers

Note that you must register for this offer, change your IHG One Rewards earning preference from points to miles, and have Emirates Skywards chosen as the preferred partner.

There is no reason to book any specific rate to earn the double miles, but it must be a qualifying stay (direct booking and eligible rates).

The number of miles earned per USD:

4 Miles per USD (2 Base + 2 Bonus) at the following brands:

• InterContinental Hotels, Kimpton Hotels, Regent, Hualuxe, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, EVEN, voco, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, avid, Atwell Suites, and Vignette Collection hotels

2 Miles per USD (1 Base + 1 Bonus) at the following brands:

• Candlewood Suites, Staybridge Suites, and The Venetian | The Palazzo Las Vegas

Conclusion

IHG has had variable bonus miles offers with many airline partners this fall. I like these offers that are valid on ALL qualifying rates.

Then there is a question of whether it makes sense or not to credit IHG stays to partners.

I would say that, in general, you get the most value when collecting hotel loyalty program points for stays and then using them towards free nights. However, there are occasions when crediting to airlines can make sense, such as specific promotions or if you have absolutely no use for free hotel nights.

Here are the terms and conditions of this offer:

The Emirates Skywards Double (2X) Miles promotion (“Promotion”) is available to individuals who are members of both the IHG One Rewards program and the Emirates Skywards program (“Eligible Member”), with Emirates Skywards as their chosen earning preference in their IHG One Rewards account, and who have registered their member number in advance.

Double Miles will be awarded on all Qualifying Stays after enrolling, if not already a member, and registering by November 18th 2022 with stays through January 18th, 2023 (“Campaign Period”). Maximum bonus award is 15,000 bonus Miles during this campaign.

Base 2 miles / $1 USD or local currency equivalent paid on eligible charges at InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Regent®, Hualuxe™ Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN™ Hotels, voco™, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, avid™ Hotels, Atwell Suites and Vignette™ Collection hotels. Candlewood Suites®, Staybridge Suites® and The Venetian | The Palazzo Las Vegas will earn base 1 mile / $1 USD or local currency equivalent paid on eligible charges.

Bonus of 2 miles / $1 USD or local currency equivalent paid on eligible charges at InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Regent®, Hualuxe™ Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza®, Hotel Indigo®, EVEN™ Hotels, voco™, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, avid™ Hotels, Atwell Suites and Vignette Collection® brands during the Campaign Period. Bonus of 1 miles / $1 USD or local currency equivalent paid on eligible charges at Candlewood Suites®, Staybridge Suites® and The Venetian | The Palazzo Las Vegas hotel stays.

A Qualifying Stay is defined as one night or consecutive nights at the same hotel, regardless of frequency of check-in/out. A stay constitutes a Qualifying Stay when paying qualifying rates, which include most business and leisure rates at InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Regent® Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton® Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo®, HUALUXE® Hotels and Resorts, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn®, Holiday Inn Express®, Holiday Inn Club Vacations®, Holiday Inn Resort®, EVEN™ Hotels, voco™, Vignette™ Collection, Atwell Suites™, avid® Hotels, Staybridge Suites®, and Candlewood Suites® hotels worldwide.

2X Miles are not issued for stays booked through an Online Travel Agencies or for Non-Qualifying Room Rates and Non-Qualifying Stays. Non-Qualifying Room Rates and Non-Qualifying Stays are subject to standard IHG One Rewards Membership Terms and Conditions and include the following: net wholesale individual and group rate, certain package rates, employee discount rate, friends and family rate, crew rate, special discounted contract rates, seasonal worker/crew rate, 50% travel club discount rate, travel industry discount rate, distressed passenger rate, IHG One Rewards Reward Nights/Airline Hotel Reward rate, most rates booked through most third party web sites, complimentary hotel stays and any other rates not defined as a Qualifying Room Rate.

Only one room per member per stay will be awarded the applicable Miles. No retroactive Miles will be awarded for stays prior to registration. Any misuse of this campaign, in any manner, will be considered fraudulent activity subject to IHG One Reward Membership Terms and Conditions. IHG® reserves the right to remove a member’s bonus points/ Miles or cancel a member’s account if fraudulent use of the campaign is detected. To the extent permitted by applicable law, IHG One Rewards reserves the right to cancel, suspend, cancel and/or modify the campaign at any time with or without notice. To the extent permitted by applicable law, IHG® reserves the right of final interpretation of this campaign Terms and Conditions. Members must make any promotional inquiries by 60 days from the end of the campaign, after which Member’s will no longer be able inquire about discrepancies in Miles received. IHG® is a registered trademark of InterContinental Hotels Group or its subsidiaries. All airline program terms and conditions apply. Please allow up to 4 to 6 weeks for Miles to be credited after checkout. The length of time required to credit Miles after check-out varies by airline. This Promotion is subject to standard IHG One Rewards Membership Terms and Conditions and earning structure, which can be obtained by visiting www.ihgonerewards.com. This exclusive offer is valid and applies to the original recipient only.

Skywards members can buy miles at up to a 30% bonus on top of the purchased amount based on the email we received (different targeted offers may be possible) though not all accounts are eligible.

Note that base and Silver members can buy 100,000 and Gold/Platinum 200,000 Skywards miles in a calendar year. Only members with previous activity on their Skywards accounts can purchase miles.

There are some useful options for Emirates Skywards miles but do consider that they recently upped the points requirements for many routes, and the award ticket surcharges may be pretty crazy and not worthwhile compared to market, revenue fares.

You can access this offer on the Emirates website here.

The bonus amount for purchases during this campaign are as follows:

• Buy 5,000-15,000 miles, get a 15% bonus
• Buy 16,000-25,000 miles, get a 20% bonus
• Buy 26,000-100,000 miles, get a 30% bonus

When purchasing the maximum amount of 100,000 miles the pricing is like this:

The cost of one mile under this offer is rather high and not a great option unless a last-minute purchase is urgently needed to issue an award.

You can check the number of miles required for any city pair using this calculator (access here).

Conclusion

During previous sales, Emirates has sold Skywards miles up to a 100% bonus that will inevitably return. I would not buy miles at this price unless I had a good use for right now. It also seems that Points.com and Emirates may have raised the cost of the miles recently. I don’t consider it a good offer unless you urgently need some miles to top up the account.

It seems that this 30-35% off sale has become a monthly feature based on the offers Emirates has had throughout 2022.

Here are the terms and conditions of this sale:

The Promotion provides an Eligible Member with the opportunity to get up to 30% Bonus on the retail price when purchasing Skywards Miles (the “Offer”) during the Promotion Period from 00.01 GST on 10 October 2022 to 23.59 GST on 21 October 2022. This Offer is available only for transactions made to Buy Miles / Gift Miles on emirates.com via the Points Platform, and cannot be applied in combination with another offer that may be available on the Buy Miles / Gift Miles product. Skywards Miles bought/gifted through this Offer will count towards the combined maximum limit that a member can purchase for self or receive as a gift in a calendar year.

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

Sometimes people start collecting miles with one particular airline just because they have 1-2 flights and there is no other option to credit miles for these particular carriers with their main program and then one ends up with a loyalty account containing a small number of points but no immediate use option.

I received a message from a reader asking what he shall do with 42,000 Emirates Skywards miles that are about to expire. According to the reader he acquired these miles when he had a work assignment where Emirates was the best flight option and these 42k miles were collected with two First Class round trips.

Aside from this, he never used Emirates again and isn’t planning to either. The miles will expire in a few months.

What are his options?

• The most immediate thing that comes to mind is to either use the miles by booking a flight or an upgrade for himself or someone else, but he already ruled that out.
• Another choice would be to try and get a ticket to a sporting event through Skywards Exclusives or purchase a collector’s item through the portal.
• Use miles to book a hotel through Emirates Skywards Hotels
• Extend Emirates Skywards miles for a fee

Using the miles for a hotel night might be the best option in this case. 42,000 miles would give the reader the option to pick a hotel for ~ US$180/night. Better than nothing!

Conclusion

The best choice for the reader would be to use his Emirates miles to book a hotel room through the web portal that allows to redeem miles or even miles plus cash. Some hotel chains or properties still give elite status benefits even though the reservation is booked via a third party as in this case.

I have used small amounts of Emirates miles in the past for example for a First Class flight from Hong Kong to Bangkok. I believe it was 30,000 miles for the short 2:30h flight. Definitely a better value than a $180 hotel but then you’d have to go to HKG first and have an opportunity to redeem on that route.

Sometimes it’s best to just cut the losses and take the best opportunity available even if it means a slight loss of value. A free hotel room is still better than nothing and letting the miles expire.

United Airlines begins flying from Newark to Dubai in march 2023 and will codeshare on Emirates and flydubai flights. Emirates will codeshare on United services from Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston.

You can access United here and Emirates here.

Most Relevant Part For Frequent Flyers:

This agreement will also give the loyalty program members of both airlines more opportunities for more rewards: United MileagePlus® members flying on United’s Newark/New York to Dubai flight can soon earn and redeem miles when connecting beyond on Emirates and flydubai and Emirates Skywards members will be able to earn miles when they travel on United operated flights. Eligible United customers will also soon have access to Emirates lounges when connecting to and from United’s new Dubai flight.

It is unclear if miles earning is only available on codeshare flights and how redeeming Skywards miles on United and MileagePlus miles on Emirates will work.

Emirates Announcement:

Emirates and United Expand Market Presence Through New Agreement

· Emirates customers to connect on United to nearly 200 new cities in the Americas, through Chicago, San Francisco and Houston

· United to launch new nonstop flights between New York/Newark and Dubai in March 2023; connecting customers through Dubai to more than 100 new destinations on Emirates and flydubai

CHICAGO and DUBAI, September 14, 2022 – Emirates and United announced a historic commercial agreement today that will enhance each airline’s network and give their customers easier access to hundreds of new destinations* within the United States and around the world.

From November, Emirates customers flying into Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston – three of the biggest business hubs in the U.S – will be able to easily connect onto United flights to and from nearly 200 cities across the Americas on a single ticket.

At the eight other U.S. airports served by Emirates – Boston, Dallas, LA, Miami, JFK, Orlando, Seattle and Washington DC – both airlines will have an interline arrangement in place.

United will launch a new direct flight between New York/Newark and Dubai starting in March 2023 – from there, customers will be able to travel on Emirates or its sister airline flydubai to more than 100 cities. Tickets for United’s new Dubai flight are now on sale.

Emirates and United announced their agreement today at a ceremonial event at Dulles International Airport, hosted by United CEO Scott Kirby and Emirates President Sir Tim Clark, featuring United and Emirates Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and flight crews from each carrier.

Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: “Two of the biggest, and best-known airlines in the world are joining hands to fly people better to more places, at a time when travel demand is rebounding with a vengeance. It’s a significant partnership that will unlock tremendous consumer benefit and bring the United Arab Emirates and the United States even closer. We welcome United’s return to Dubai next year, where our hub Dubai essentially becomes a gateway for United to reach Asia, Africa and the Middle East via the combined network of Emirates and flydubai. We look forward to developing our partnership with United for the long term.”

Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines said: “This agreement unites two iconic, flag carrier airlines who share a common commitment to creating the best customer experience in the skies. United’s new flight to Dubai and our complementary networks will make global travel easier for millions of our customers, helping boost local economies and strengthen cultural ties. This is a proud moment for both United and Emirates employees, and I look forward to our journey together.”

Customers of both airlines can soon book these connecting flights on a single ticket – making check-in and luggage transfer faster and easier. For example – travelers will be able to visit United.com or use the United app to book a flight from New York/Newark to Karachi, Pakistan or go to Emirates.com to book a flight from Dubai to Atlanta or Honolulu.

This agreement will also give the loyalty program members of both airlines more opportunities for more rewards: Emirates Skywards members can soon earn miles when they travel on United operated flights, and United Mileage Plus members flying on United’s New York/Newark to Dubai flight will be able to earn and redeem miles when connecting beyond on Emirates and flydubai.

Eligible customers travelling on codeshare flights will also soon enjoy access to Emirates and United lounges. More details on frequent flyer awards and lounge sharing benefits will be communicated in the coming weeks.

Conclusion

It is unclear what benefits MileagePlus, and Skywards elite members will receive when flying on each other’s flights and how redemptions will work.

I had hoped that airlines would have released more comprehensive information relevant to frequent fliers.

United Airlines partnered with Emirates when they had joint around-the-world fares. Continental also had a frequent flier partnership with Emirates that allowed redeeming Onepass miles on their flights.

American Airlines has deepened its partnership with Qatar Airways and now United Airlines with Emirates. So with whom will Delta team up in the gulf?