Barclays and Emirates have co-branded credit cards in the United States. I’ve written about them in the past, but I’d like to take an updated look in this post, as I think more people may suddenly be interested in them.
Continue reading: Guide To Barclays Emirates Credit Cards: Elite Status The Easy Way
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
So, let's say one gets the $99 card and gets a silver status. How does one generate Skywards consistently besides transfer partners? How often and at what price do they sell their Skywards at a discount? I know one can book Emirates via Aeroplan and Qantas. Maybe that's better than focusing on Skywards?
@ jediwho -- Your best bet is transferable points. The cost to buy points just isn't very attractive, and there are low limits. I'd say partner programs generally don't offer great value on Emirates, so I think Skywards is the most lucrative for those redemptions.
$99 to get the ability to book F award seats for a year.
P2 can then get the card for another year.
EK F award seats are back on the table!
I've been curious about Emirates Gold status ever since an intriguing conversation with an Emirates loyalist on FlyerTalk about four years ago. This person would route JFK-DXB-Europe because he almost always secured upgrades as a Gold member. Despite me probing a couple of times, he understandably did not go into the details.
For someone who flies Emirates just once annually (roundtrip), how valuable is Gold status really? While I'm wondering about this, I won't take the extreme routing approach – like LAX-DXB to reach London when BA, Virgin Atlantic, or even AA business class are direct options, regardless of a guaranteed Emirates first class experience.
The main question: Is Emirates Gold status worth pursuing for someone who could realistically incorporate one Emirates trip yearly for Middle East or Asia travel. But this only makes sense if getting upgrades to business or first class is significantly more reliable than clearing my American Airlines SWUs on international segments.
Applied for Barclays AA card with 800 plus credit. Said they needed more info. I sent required docs in, including passport photo. They never received it, they said, and requested info again. Poor customer service. Progress of application link never worked. I gave up.
You can also earn TIER miles with the EK Barclays Card. It states on the EK portal:
""You can also earn Tier Miles on everyday purchases using Emirates Skywards co‑branded cards.*
*The Tier Miles offer is currently available for select Emirates Skywards co‑branded cards in the USA.""
It turns out ot be about 1 tier mile for every 4 dollars but the exact calculation is not clear.
Not a lot but something to keep in mind.
I think you overestimate the demand for people wanting to pay 180k miles + $1000 for a first class ticket on EK.
Whether that person explained it properly or not, they were almost certainly using EK miles to upgrade those flights (a very good deal, BTW,) vs. operational upgrades.
Thanks very much! No he did not. This sounds like similar to UA PZ upgrades?? And Gold stacks higher in front of others I am guessing?
‘Barclays has some other cards in the travel space, including for Choice and Wyndham on the hotel front’
@Ben Isn’t Choice co-branded credit cards issued by Wells Fargo?
@ Stanley C -- You're right, sorry, that portfolio has been discontinued. Fixed, thank you!
Ben, how does it work if you had the card a few years back? if you reapply do you still get the status? or just the sign up bonus?