It’s fairly rare to see a frequent flyer program offer a welcome bonus to new members without any sort of activity requirement, so this offer is pretty noteworthy (thanks to YHBU for flagging this).
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Skywards offering 2,000 bonus miles to new members
Emirates Skywards is offering a bonus of 2,000 miles to new members. Interestingly this isn’t being offered directly by Emirates, but instead is being offered in partnership with Condor, which doesn’t have its own frequent flyer program (Condor partners with Alaska and Emirates).
The offer is valid through March 31, 2025, and in order to qualify, you’ll need to enter promotion code “CONDOR” when registering for your account. The 2,000 miles will be credited to the Skywards account shortly after registration, and there’s no activity required.
The own downside is that the miles through this offer reportedly expire one year from when they’re issued. Ordinarily, Skywards miles expire roughly 36 months after they’re issued, so these seem to follow a stricter policy.
Still, if you’re new to the Skywards program and are thinking of a redemption soon (especially if you’re moving over transferable points currencies), this offer could come in handy.
Why there’s value in the Emirates Skywards program
While I don’t want to say that Emirates Skywards is the highest value program in the world, the reality is that people love flying Emirates, and Skywards miles leave you best positioned for booking these experiences:
- Emirates Skywards is transfer partners with all four major transferable points currencies, so there are plenty of ways to earn Skywards miles and top off your account
- Emirates first class is one of my favorite first class products in the world, and if you want to redeem miles for it, booking directly through the Skywards program is the way to go
- Emirates has a phenomenal upgrade program — day of departure you can upgrade flights with no capacity controls, and you can even upgrade a business class award ticket to first class
Bottom line
Emirates is offering 2,000 Skywards miles to anyone who signs up for the program with promotion code CONDOR, in celebration of its partnership with the German airline. This is a solid promotion if you’re not yet a member and have plans to redeem soon, though just keep in mind that miles reportedly expire after a year.
Will anyone be able to take advantage of this Skywards offer for new members?
Ben - I don’t mind saying this since you set such a high standard for OMAAT - but this might just be one of the least newsworthy stories for quite some time
Is there a guide somewhere about how to best use Emirates miles for Condor business class?