Will Emirates become a UK Amex Membership Rewards partner?

This week, without any advance warning that I know of, Emirates became a partner of the US American Express Membership Rewards programme.

As of the time of typing, there has been no announcement about Emirates Skywards joining the UK Membership Rewards programme.  However, it might well happen.

Membership Rewards partners vary on a country by country basis – I think Miles & More is still a partner, for example, in Switzerland but nowhere else.  However, it would be a little odd for Emirates to partner with the American programme but not with any others.

I have a personal interest here, as we are flying back from Dubai tomorrow on an Emirates A380 in business class.  (I will review this flight next week.)  To get the miles required, I had to transfer a chunk of Starwood Preferred Guest points to Emirates.  

It would have been far preferable to transfer American Express points instead, since SPG points are most valuable when used for Starwood hotels.

For now, there is nothing to do.  It is something to keep in mind, though.

How to earn Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards (December 2021)

Emirates Skywards does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Emirates Skywards miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.  These are:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 20,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with two free airport lounge passes.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 30,000 Emirates Skywards miles

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 5,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 5,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 1:1 into Emirates Skywards miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 1 Emirates Skywards mile. The Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it.