Emirates launches UAE co-brand cards with many benefits, even more fine print

Emirates is making moves in the cobrand credit card space, adding a new option for UAE residents. The two new cards, issued by HSBC, offer an interesting collection of benefits and a LOT of fine print.

The HSBC Emirates Skywards Credit Cards will offer customers a fantastic opportunity to boost their Miles earnings on-ground, for future spend on flight rewards with Emirates and partners airlines, flight upgrades, hospitality tickets at world renowned sporting events, and many more exclusive benefits. – Dr Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates Skywards

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The new cards come in two versions, “Infinite” and “Signature,” which align with the tiers Visa uses for its different card benefit levels. They come with annual fees, of course, AED 2,625 (~$700) for the Infinite card and AED 1,050 (~$300) for the Signature. They also come with explicit minimum monthly income levels of AED 30,000 or 10,000 (~$8k and ~$3k, respectively) which may see strange on the surface, but which is also maybe better than having an opaque “credit score” industry that controls so much.

All of that is relatively normal. Even the sign up bonus approach – earn some just for paying the annual fee, more by hitting spend thresholds quickly – are normal, though the 60-day window to earn is relatively short and the number of points offered relative to the spend requirement is poor by US comparison standards. But these are UAE-issued cards, so that’s a different play.

The earn rates and benefits are where things become very, very interesting.

Elite Status via Credit Cards

The Infinite card includes Silver status with Emirates. Signature cardholders can fast track to status by spending AED 30,000 (~$8k) on the card in 60 days. Maintaining the status requires AED 180,000 in annual spend, of which 10,000 is directly with Emirates. Those numbers are high, but also in line with the options to earn lower tier status via CC spend in other programs, such as JetBlue‘s TrueBlue card ($50k, no minimum with the airline).

The companies also tout a no milage expiry benefit for cardholders. But this applies ONLY to points earned via credit card spend. The rest of the points in the account will keep their regular expiry. That’s both confusing for consumers and generally lowers the value of the benefit. Also, any points that have been extended will expire just two months from when the card is canceled.

Earning rates are also interesting, with the top line advertisement of “Up to 2.75 Skywards Miles” per dollar equivalent spend on the Infinite card and 1.75 on the Signature card. Most earning is likely to come up well short of those numbers, however, as they apply only to spend on Emirates or FlyDubai. Regular domestic spend earns 1 or 0.75 points, depending on the card level, and so long as it is not for Government services, public transport, utilities, telecoms, education, real estate, fuel, groceries and supermarkets, insurance and auto dealers. Those categories earn just 0.25 or 0.1 points per dollar for the two card tiers. Foreign transactions – not denominated in AED – earn at a slightly higher rate than the domestic spend.

Extra Benefits: Minimums Apply

The cards also advertise myriad additional benefits, including (depending on the card tier):

• Complementary beach access at premium hotels in Dubai and Abu Dhabi
• Discounts on Amazon and select cinemas across the UAE
• Discounts on international roaming charges with Airalo and complimentary travel insurance
• Visa Airport Lounge Access

Each of those benefits comes with additional spend requirements only detailed in the fine print.

The beach access for Infinite cardholders, for example, is limited to three visits per month and then only if the cardholder spends AED 10,000 (~$3k) in that month. Otherwise the visits are charged at AED 250. Cinema discounts similarly come with a minimum monthly spend of AED 10,000 or AED 6,000, for the Infinite and Signature cards, respectively.

The international roaming deal is a 1GB eSIM, valued at roughly $9 from Airalo (which I’ve used successfully on many trips, though I choose a local or regional eSIM, not the global one). That, too, is only free with a minimum spend of AED 1,500. As an extra kicker, however, the minimum spend must be in foreign currency. This is a great way to ensure that the card is used on that trip, not just sitting in a drawer while “spending” the benefits.

Similarly, the lounge access benefit requires a foreign transaction to enable the offer. That does not apply to the first visit, allowing a traveler to leave the country with lounge access. But everything after that would be charged unless a cardholder spends money on the card outside the UAE.

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The cards are, quite frankly, fine. They offer points earning opportunities and other benefits applicable to the markets they serve. But the myriad fine print adds a layer of nuance that could lead to disappointment and extra expense if cardholders are not careful.