There are quite a few airline frequent flyer programs that offer some sort of a paid subscription model. In some cases they can represent a decent deal, while in other cases they’re the equivalent of lighting money on fire (like Southwest Airlines’ version).
In 2021, Emirates launched 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.
In this post:
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 (for the exact details associated with each perk, check out the terms & conditions). 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
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 Upgrade Rewards is potentially valuable as well, given that redeeming Skywards miles for upgrades can be a great value; unfortunately only upgrades through emirates.com qualify, and not upgrades at the airport or onboard, which are often the best trick to getting upgraded
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?
According to MonkeyMiles blog, to use the 20% off voucher on classic reward flights, you need to have the full balance of miles, pre-discount, in your account in order to apply the voucher code. So if a hypothetical flight costs 100,000 miles, you'll need to have 100,000 miles and you'll then be charged 80,000 miles. Which then traps 20,000 miles in your Emirates account. Dubious value to me and not as straightforward as folks would hope...
Any idea if the 20% bonus miles is on top of the extra 20% bonus miles you get for being gold class?
Anyone know how you use your 20% off a flight you get with the skywards + premium ? Thanks In Advance
And also you don't consider possible devaluation of points in the future.
Imagine if US based carriers started to do some similar programs. The lounges are overcrowded to begin with. This is only useful potentially for the discount, unless you fly economy.
Skywards + makes absolutely zero sense. I love Emirates and have hundreds of thousands of Skywards miles remaining which I very much look forward to using. The only conceivable use for Skywards + would be for someone who already travels heavily and wants 20% bonus and saving - so ..... what possible use are the lounge passes. They'll have status anyway. If they aren't flying enough to have status and lounge access then they will...
Skywards + makes absolutely zero sense. I love Emirates and have hundreds of thousands of Skywards miles remaining which I very much look forward to using. The only conceivable use for Skywards + would be for someone who already travels heavily and wants 20% bonus and saving - so ..... what possible use are the lounge passes. They'll have status anyway. If they aren't flying enough to have status and lounge access then they will not get any value from Skywards +. Amusingly, I actually am one of few who can get any use from Skywards + by buying lowest level plan and getting 20% discount on ultra long haul F return using Skywards. This Skywards + offering has been discussed to death over the years. Literally virtually zero use to 99% and absolutely offers nothing to new flyers. I love Emirates, a lot, but this is marketing madness.
With the 30% devaluation of Skywards miles earlier at the end of December 2022, upgrading or buying award tickets isn't a good deal anymore. If you'd pay $1000 for Skywards+ Premium, you'd still have a 10% devaluation compared to 2022, all while ticket prices are through the roof and the price gap between saver & flex tickets is increasing constantly. Emirates lost my loyalty in 2023.