Holiday season is just around the corner, which can only mean fully booked flights and escalating air fares. So if you’re a frequent traveler with an air miles credit card, now’s the time to use those miles for your next holiday.
Whether you want to purchase a ticket or get an upgrade, plan ahead and use your miles wisely. Below, we’ve detailed the UAE credit cards that offer miles (such as Etihad Guest or Skywards) every time you spend – plus a comparison of how many miles you actually need to fly to Mumbai, London and Beirut.
[Compare credit cards in the UAE | Related : Credit cards that allow you to travel in style | Is travel insurance really necessary?]
| Credit card | Miles program | USD $1 spend in UAE gives you | USD $1 spend overseas gives you | Miles for a flight to Mumbai | Miles for a flight to London | Miles for a flight to Beirut | |
| Infinite credit cards | |||||||
| ENBD Skywards Infinite card | Skywards | 1 mile | 1.5 miles | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| ADCB Etihad Guest Above Infinite card | Etihad Guest | 2 miles | 3 miles | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| Citibank Emirates Ultima card | Skywards | 1 mile | 1.5 miles | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| Emirates Islamic Skywards Visa Infinite card | Skywards | ** | ** | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| United Arab Bank Infinite card | UAB Rewards | 1.75 UAB Rewards | 3 UAB Rewards | 60,1501 | 40,0167 | 11,1728 | More info |
| Citibank PremierMiles Elite Infinite Visa | Citi Miles***** | 2 Citi Miles | 3 Citi Miles | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| Platinum credit cards | |||||||
| ADCB Etihad Guest Above Platinum card | Etihad Guest | 1.5 miles | 2.5 miles | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| Citibank Emirates Ultimate card | Skywards | 1 mile | 1.25 miles | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| Emirates Islamic Skywards Platinum card | Skywards | *** | *** | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| HSBC Platinum credit card | Air Miles | 3.7 miles * | 3.7 miles * | 789,892 | 397,243 | 516,709 | More info |
| ADIB Etihad Guest Platinum card | Etihad Guest | 2.29 miles * | 2.29 miles * | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| United Arab Platinum card | UAB Rewards | 1.5 UAB Rewards | 2.5 UAB Rewards | 60,1501 | 40,0167 | 11,1728 | More info |
| Gold credit cards | |||||||
| ADCB Etihad Guest Above Gold card | Etihad Guest | 1 mile | 1 mile | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| Emirates Islamic Skywards Gold card | Skywards | **** | **** | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| ADIB Etihad Guest Gold card | Etihad Guest | 1.8 miles * | 1.8 miles * | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| CBD Gold MasterCard | Attijari Points | 5.5 Attijari Points | 7.4 Attijari Point | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
| Classic credit cards | |||||||
| ADCB Etihad Guest Above Classic card | Etihad Guest | 0.5 miles | 0.5 miles | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| ADIB Etihad Guest Classic card | Etihad Guest | 1.4 miles * | 1.4 miles * | 22,514 | 62,044 | 23,915 | More info |
| CBD Visa Classic card | Attijari Points | 3.7 Attijari Points | 3.7 Attijari Points | 47,500 | 77,500 | 47,500 | More info |
* These miles were recalculated to show how many miles would be earned for every dollar spent instead of dirhams.
** Emirates Islamic cards do not give miles per dollar – miles are awarded based on ranges of spending. For Infinite cards – monthly spends of USD $5,450 to USD $10,898 = 10,500 miles; USD $10,899 to 20,435 = 14,000 miles; USD $20,436 to USD $27,247 = 25,000 miles and for USD 27,248 and above = 32,000 miles.
*** Emirates Islamic cards do not give miles per dollar – miles are awarded based on ranges of spending. For Platinum cards – monthly spends of USD $1,634 and above = 3,200 miles; USD $4,360 and above = 6,000 miles; USD $6,267 and above = 10,000 miles.
**** Emirates Islamic cards do not give miles per dollar – miles are awarded based on ranges of spending. For Gold cards – monthly spends of USD $545 and above = 1,000 miles; USD $1,362 and above = 1,500 miles; USD $2,044 and above = 3,200 miles.
*****Citi Miles can be transferred for miles with many partners such as Etihad Guest, Delta Skymiles, Qatar Airways, JP miles, and more. In the table, Etihad Guest miles was used as an example where Citi Miles can be transferred for miles.
You should have another column that shows “how much do you have to spend” to get the miles or to get the flight so people have a realistic idea and allows for straight and FAIR comparison.
If you have HSBC, you should have Dubai First Skyy Miles and the other cards that also have “get miles and travel on any airline”.
ADIB math is wrong…For platinum, they give 2.5 Miles per 4 AED….how did you “recalculate” this?! What calculation / calculator did you use?! It is actually 2.29 per USD.
Thanks Mike, we were actually thinking of doing just that – stay tuned! We are also looking at other cards for the future as this is such a popular comparison. And thanks for the flag on ADIB – corrected.
Are the miles numbers for one way or round trip travel?
Additionally, I noticed that there is a mistake for the CBD cards. The miles information is given from Emirates Skywards, however 1 Attijari point does not equal one Sky Mile, it is 14 Attijari points for 1 Skyward mile, meaning that you need to spend 2.54 USD for each 1 Skyward Mile, that means every USD only gets you 0.39 Skywards Miles, which is a very noncompetitive rate.
Hi AT – The miles in the table are for return tickets, not one-way trips. You’re talking about converting the points to miles, which is a calculation we have not shown in our table. Our table just covers points earned for each dollar spent local and internationally, followed by how many miles you need to get to destinations.