Paid Emirates Skywards+ Subscription: Worth It?

There are quite a few airline frequent flyer programs that offer some sort of a paid subscription model, in addition to their free loyalty programs. The idea is that you pay a fixed fee annually, and receive a set of perks in exchange for that.

For airlines, the idea behind this is twofold — not only does it directly generate revenue, but it’s also intended to increase loyalty among travelers, since you’ll want to actually use the perks that you paid for. In some cases, these programs can represent a good deal, while in other cases they’re the equivalent of lighting money on fire.

For several years now, Emirates has offered the Skywards+ program, and it has the potential to be pretty lucrative. In this post I wanted to go over exactly how this program works.

Emirates Skywards+ subscription details

With Skywards+, Emirates Skywards members can pay an annual membership fee ranging from $399 to $999 in order to receive benefits, ranging from lounge access, to extra baggage allowance, to discounts on upgrades and award tickets.

This could represent an excellent deal, regardless of whether you’re a very frequent Emirates flyer, or just fly with the airline every once in a while. If you redeem for the right kind of award ticket, this could pay for itself after one trip.

Let’s go over the details of each of the plans. Let me note upfront that perks of Skywards+ are supposed to kick in within 48 hours of signing up for a membership.

Skywards+ Classic ($399 per year)

An Emirates Skywards+ Classic membership costs $399 per year, and includes the following perks:

• 20% bonus Skywards miles every time you fly, with no caps
• 20% discount on Skywards Classic Rewards, once per year
• Preferential Cash+Miles rate, when you pay part cash and part miles for your ticket
• Two Emirates Business Lounge passes, valid in Dubai and select Emirates lounges around the world
• Additional 5kg of baggage allowance
• 5% discount on Emirates Holidays packages

Skywards+ Advanced ($699 per year)

An Emirates Skywards+ Advanced membership costs $699 per year, and includes the following perks:

• 20% bonus Skywards miles every time you fly, with no caps
• 20% discount on Skywards Classic Rewards, once per year
• 20% discount on Skywards Upgrade Rewards, with no caps
• Preferential Cash+Miles rate, when you pay part cash and part miles for your ticket
• Five Emirates Business Lounge passes, valid in Dubai and select Emirates lounges around the world
• Additional 10kg of baggage allowance, plus an additional piece of baggage
• 5% discount on Emirates Holidays packages

Skywards+ Premium ($999 per year)

An Emirates Skywards+ Premium membership costs $999 per year, and includes the following perks:

• 20% bonus Skywards Tier Miles every time you fly, with no caps (which makes it easier to earn status)
• 20% bonus Skywards miles every time you fly, with no caps
• 20% discount on Skywards Classic Rewards, once per year
• 20% discount on Skywards Upgrade Rewards, with no caps
• Preferential Cash+Miles rate, when you pay part cash and part miles for your ticket
• 10 Emirates Business Lounge passes, valid in Dubai and select Emirates lounges around the world
• Additional 10kg of baggage allowance, plus an additional piece of baggage
• 5% discount on Emirates Holidays packages

Important Emirates Skywards+ terms

It’s probably worth taking a moment to cover some of the key terms and restrictions when it comes to Skywards+, since that could change the value proposition for people. For those curious, you can find the full Skywards+ terms & conditions here.

Here are the key terms, as I see them:

• The 20% award flight discount can be used for the Skywards+ member and any companions; the major restriction is that if you cancel your booking, you can’t reapply the discount to another award ticket
• The 20% upgrade discount applies both for upgrades online and at check-in, and can be used for the Skywards+ member and any companions on the same reservation
• The lounge passes can only be used when flying Emirates; they must be used by the primary Skywards+ member, though if you’re traveling with people, you can also use multiple passes to bring in multiple guests (Emirates ordinarily charges $125-150 for lounge access for Skywards members)

Is an Emirates Skywards+ subscription worth it?

I’m impressed by how thoughtfully designed the perks are for Emirates Skywards+ subscriptions. I’d say that in many cases the value proposition here is really good, regardless of whether you’re a frequent or occasional Emirates flyer.

Let me call out one perk in particular. Regardless of which plan you purchase, you receive a one-time 20% discount on an award ticket. This applies to all people traveling on a single booking, it applies for award tickets in all classes of service, and you can use it for a one-way or roundtrip.

Just to give an example, a roundtrip Emirates first class award ticket from Newark to Athens costs 204,000 miles. If you got 20% back, you’d be refunded 40,800 Skywards miles. If you’re paying $399 for that membership, it’s the same as buying Skywards miles for under a cent each.

Now, imagine if you have two people in a single booking in first class, or if you have a family of four traveling on business class awards. The value of this is massive. I would say that if you redeem 200,000+ Skywards miles in a single redemption, then signing up for a subscription should be a no-brainer.

Then there are the other perks as well:

• If you’re a frequent flyer on Emirates who books paid tickets, the 20% bonus Skywards miles will add up, as will the 20% bonus Tier Miles for the most expensive subscription
• The lounge access passes could come in handy if you fly Emirates economy with any frequency; the passes have to be used by the Skywards+ member and any companions, and you have to be flying Emirates same day to use them, so you couldn’t use these when flying another airline
• The discount on upgrades is potentially valuable as well, given that redeeming Skywards miles for upgrades can be a great value; best of all, upgrades through emirates.com, as well as upgrades onboard qualify (Emirates’ airport upgrade program is kind of amazing, as it can be used even on award tickets)

Bottom line

The Emirates Skywards+ subscription plans offer perks in exchange for an annual membership fee. In reality this is a complement to the Emirates Skywards program, rather than a replacement. I’m impressed by the value proposition of Emirates’ subscription plans, in particular the discount on award tickets. A single redemption for multiple people could quickly recoup the cost of membership, and then some.

This is always a program worth being aware of, and I plan on signing up before my next expensive Emirates Skywards redemption.

What do you make of the Emirates Skywards+ subscription model? Anyone plan on joining?