MBNA launches Emirates Skywards air mile credit card accounts

We take a look at how the latest MBNA air mile reward credit card accounts stack up.

Emirates has teamed up with MBNA to launch two new air mile reward credit card accounts.

The fee-free MBNA Emirates Skywards Credit Card Account and the £150 a year MBNA Emirates Skywards Elite Credit Card Account are geared up to earn Skywards Miles – the currency of the Emirates frequent flyers programme.

Emirates Skywards Miles can be used for flights and upgrades as well as hotel, car hire, leisure and luxury shopping rewards.

According to MBNA, this is the first time the Emirates Skywards scheme has partnered with a credit card in the UK. So let’s take a look at what the two new accounts offer and how they compare.

Card basics

Both cards get you 10% off Emirates Tours, a 25% discount when you buy extra Skywards Miles, 12 months interest-free on any Emirates transactions you make as well as 0% on balance transfers for the first six months (2% fee) on both cards.

The Elite card attracts extra benefits like a complimentary companion ticket when you spend £15,000 within 12 months and a £150 discount on a First Class or Business Class Emirates booking made within 90 days. Elite cardholders will also be able to enjoy business class check-in at UK airports, even when flying economy.

The APR on the standard fee-free card is 17.9% but the Elite card fetches a 55.1% representative APR because of the £150 fee, without it the the APR is closer to 18.9% APR on card purchases.

Earning miles

Both the MBNA Emirate Skywards and MBNA Emirates Skywards Elite accounts come with two credit cards to spend with, one American Express and one Visa, while each have different earning powers.

With the fee-free Emirates credit account you can earn one Skywards Mile per £1 spent on the Amex and one Skywards Mile per £2 spent on the Visa. The rewards are ramped up when you use either card directly with Emirates. You get two Skywards Miles per £1 spent on the Amex and two Skywards Miles per £2 spent on the Visa.

With the Elite Emirates credit account you get double points. Two Skywards Miles per £1 spend is available when you use the Amex and two Skywards Miles per £2 spent are up for grabs when you use the Visa. Direct transactions with Emirates will earn four Skyward Miles per £1 spent on the Amex and four Skyward Miles per £2 spent on the Visa.

Instant bonus points

Building up points can be slow going if you don’t fly regularly with Emirates, but there are bonus points available on both cards that can speed things up.

With the fee-free Emirates credit account you can get 5,000 bonus Skyward Miles as soon as you spend on either card within 90 days of opening the account.

And with the Elite card you get 10,000 Skyward Miles with your first purchase within 90 days of opening the account.

But how quickly do they convert into rewards?

What you can get

Emirates fly to over 130 destinations in more than 70 countries around the world so you won’t be short of choice when it comes to flight rewards and upgrades.

You can get a flight upgrade from as little as 7,500 Miles or a free ticket from 12,500 Miles. However these apply for one-way short distance flights from Dubai to places like Muscat, Doha and Bahrain.

If you want to start your journey in the UK the points balance needed to get an upgrade or a free ticket is far more extreme.

From Manchester to Dubai for example a return economy flight will require at least 77,500 Skywards Miles. Here is a table with how much you would need to spend on the Amex either on regular spends or on Emirates products to rack up enough.

After a 5,000 bonus you still need to rack up 72,500 Miles to get the free flight. If you’re not a frequent flyer with Emirates that could cost you £72,500 by just spending on the Amex with the standard fee-free card. That's a lot of money to spend to get a free flight. The least you would have to spend is £16,875 with the Elite card but only if you spent this all directly with Emirates!

Routes tend to require less points if you start your journey in Dubai. Dubai to Istanbul for example costs 65,000 for a return while starting the journey in London requires 120,000!

So the bonus points on offer on each card as well as the opportunity to gain points on regular spends may not be enough to get you the best rewards. It's a similar story with the MBNA Etihad Guest Credit Card Account that was launched last month.

But if you plan to fly regularly with Emirates your points balance will grow much faster and you will spend less.

You can figure out how many Skywards Miles you need using the online calculator.

Cards that take you places

If you’re not a frequent Emirates flyer the new MBNA collaboration is unlikely to get you very far.

But there are plenty of other cards that can get you places.

Take for example the Lloyds TSB Duo Avios Credit Card Account. It offers 15,000 Avios points – enough for a return flight in Europe – when you spend £500 a month in the first three months of opening it up. The account comes with an Amex and a MasterCard to earn points with. You can earn one Avios for every £1 spent on the Amex and one Avios for every £5 spent on the MasterCard.

You can also ramp up your points balance by 1,500 Avios with each £1,000 you transfer from a single provider within 90 days of opening the account. Balance transfers are interest free for six months but each transfer will cost 3% of the balance being moved.

If you’re prepared to pay a £50 annual fee the Lloyds TSB Premier Duo Avios Credit Account gives you 25% more earning power. You can earn 1.25 Avios per £1 spend on the Amex and 1.25 Avios per £5 spend on the MasterCard. The bonus is bigger too. You can get 20,000 Avios – enough for two return flights in Europe – when you spend £500 a month for the first three months with the account. The 1,500 Avios bonus on balance transfers applies here too.

The British Airways American Express and the British Airways American Express Premium Plus, which comes with a £150 annual fee, can also earn you Avios through the British Airways Executive Club - a frequent flyer programme. It helps if you can fly with British Airways to build up points but it is still rewarding even if you don’t.

With the fee-free card you get 9,000 bonus Avios when you spend £1,000 in the first three months – enough for a return flight to Berlin. On regular spending you can get one Avios for every £1. And if you spend £20,000 or more in the first year you can get a complimentary companion voucher.

If you can afford the £150 annual fee the British Airways American Express Premium Plus offers a whopping 25,000 bonus Avios when you spend £3,000 in the first three months – enough for one return flight to Moscow. You also get 50% more on your regular spending with the opportunity to earn 1.5 Avios for every £1 spent. Spend £10,000 or more in a year and you can get a complimentary companion voucher.

Avios are the currency of the British Airways frequent flyer scheme but it is also a standalone reward scheme too. So there are loads of ways to rack up points that don’t involve using a credit card or flying. Read How to boost your Avios points for more.

If you don’t fancy the Avios route to cheaper holidays you could try Virgin’s Flying Club which you need to rack up Flying Club Miles on. The Virgin Atlantic White or the Virgin Atlantic Black (£140 fee) credit card accounts can help you here. The White card gives you 3,000 bonus points with your first purchase while the Black offers 6,000. You can get flight rewards from 7,500 Flying Club Miles.

For more of the best deals on air mile credit cards take a look at The best air mile credit cards.

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