Don’t want to pay cash for your flight tickets? Pay with your miles instead. There are quite a few credit cards in the UAE that give you the option of earning miles every time you spend and when you’ve accumulated enough miles, you can redeem them against flight tickets and upgrades.

We take a look at three of the most popular miles programs in the UAE and the number of miles you need under each of these, to buy flights to commonly chosen destinations:

  • Emirates Skywards – 47,500 miles for a flight to Mumbai, 77,500 miles for a flight to London and 47,500 miles for a flight to Beirut.
  • Etihad Guest* – 22,996 miles (cash surplus of AED 199) for a flight to Mumbai, 62,330 miles (cash surplus of AED 735) for a flight to London and 24,206 miles (cash surplus of AED 215) for a flight to Beirut.
  • Air Miles* – 67,857 miles for a flight to Mumbai, 175,000 miles for a flight to London and 70,238 miles for a flight to Beirut.

Based on the miles program you subscribe to and the mile-earning criteria on your credit card, here’s how much it would cost you to fly to Mumbai, London or Beirut and back.

Credit card Miles program AED spend to earn 1 mile** AED spend for a flight to Mumbai AED spend for a flight to London AED spend for a flight to Beirut 
Local International
Infinite credit cards
ENBD Skywards Infinite card  Skywards  3.70  2.47  117,325-175,750  191,425-286,750  117,325-175,750
ADCB Etihad Guest Above Infinite card  Etihad Guest  1.85  1.23  28,484-42,742  77,401-116,045  29,988-44,996
Citibank Emirates Ultima card  Skywards  3.70  2.47   117,325-175,750  191,425-286,750   117,325-175,750
Platinum credit cards
ADCB Etihad Guest Above Platinum card  Etihad Guest  2.47  1.48  34,233-56,999  92,983-154,690  36,040-60,004
Citibank Emirates Ultimate card  Skywards  3.70  2.96  140,600-175,750  229,400-286,750  140,600-175,750
HSBC Platinum credit card  Air Miles  1.00  1.00  67,857  175,000  70,238
The American Express Platinum Card****  Skywards  4.00  4.00  190,000  310,000  190,000
 Etihad Guest  4.00  4.00  92,183  250,055  97,039
ADIB Etihad Guest Platinum card  Etihad Guest  1.60  1.60  36,993  100,463  38,945
 Gold credit cards
ADCB Etihad Guest Above Gold card  Etihad Guest  3.70  3.70  85,284  231,356  89,777
HSBC Advance credit card  Air Miles  1.00  1.00  67,857  175,000  70,238
The American Express Gold Card****  Skywards  8.00  8.00  380,000  620,000  380,000
 Etihad Guest  8.00  8.00  184,167  499,375  193,863
 ADIB Etihad Guest Gold card  Etihad Guest  2.00  2.00  46,191  125,395  48,627
Classic credit cards
ADCB Etihad Guest Above Classic card  Etihad Guest  7.40  7.40  170,369  461,977  179,339
ADIB Etihad Guest Classic card  Etihad Guest  2.67  2.67  61,598  167,156  64,845

*For Air Miles and Etihad Guest miles, we’ve chosen the cheapest airfare for a return flight from 1-10 December.

**We’ve used a conversion rate of USD 1=AED 3.7 to convert all USD spend requirements into AED.

***Citi Miles can be transferred 1:1 for partner miles such as Etihad Guest, Delta Skymiles, Qatar Airways, JP miles, and more. In the table, Etihad Guest miles was used as an example.

****AMEX Platinum and Gold credit cards offer 2 Membership Rewards and 1 Membership Reward respectively, for AED 4 worth of spend. These rewards can be transferred to 12 airline mile programs, including a 2:1 redemption for Etihad Guest or Skywards miles.