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Boost your Emirates Skywards points balance by converting hotel and bank points to Emirates with up to a 25% bonus. Emirates Skywards recently launched a promotion giving you up to a 25% transfer bonus on points conversions through (at least) April 30, 2023. The promotion is valid for transfers from several leading hotel programs plus a local United Arab Emirates bank.
Emirates Transfer Bonus Key Terms
- Receive up to a 25% bonus when you convert eligible bank and hotel points to Emirates Skywards.
- The promotion is valid for transfers through April 30, 2023 — except for First Abu Dhabi Bank, which is valid for conversion through May 15, 2023.
- Minimum transfers, transfer ratios, and transfer times vary by program.
Participating Programs:
The following four programs are taking part in the promotion.
- Marriott Bonvoy.
- Accor Live Limitless.
- IHG One Rewards.
- First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Marriott to Emirates: When a bonus may not be a promotion after all
The fine print of the Emirates transfer bonus from Marriott Bonvoy note:
- The standard transfer ratio from Marriott Bonvoy is 3:1.
- The minimum transfer to receive a bonus is 60,000 Marriot Bonvoy points.
- For every 60,000 points you transfer, you will receive 5,000 Emirates Skywards bonus miles for a total of 25,000.
- The bonus only applies to blocks of 60,000-point transfers.
- Allow 1 week for the points to post to your Emirates Skywards account.
If you read the above terms and are scratching your head thinking, “Where have I seen this before?” don't be surprised; you probably have!
By all accounts, it seems Emirates is simply piggybacking on the back of Marriott's regular transfer bonus.
One of the features of the Marriott program is that transfers are at a ratio of 3:1 (except to Air New Zealand). However, you receive a 5,000 miles bonus when you transfer at least 60,000 Bonvoy points to an airline program. This applies year-round and to all programs except for Delta, American Airlines, Avianca Lifemiles, and Korean Skypass after a change in late 2022.
So this bonus Emirates is advertising is probably no additional bonus after all!
That being said, maybe Emirates is feeling in a generous mood and will actually be giving you a 25% bonus on top of the Marriott bonus. Although judging from the T&Cs, I wouldn't hold out for it!
Accor ALL fine print
- The minimum transfer and ratio is 4,000 Accor points to 2,000 Emirates Skywards miles.
- Allow up to 6 weeks for the points to post to your Emirates account.
IHG fine print
- IHG points transfer to Emirates Skywards at a ratio of 5:1.
- The minimum transfer is 10,000 IHG One Rewards points.
- Allow between 14 and 21 days for the points to post to your Emirates account.
First Abu Dhabi Bank fine print
- Receive a 20% transfer bonus when converting First Abu Dhabi Bank Rewards to Emirates Skywards miles.
- The transfer bonus is valid for transfers through May 15, 2023.
- To be eligible for the bonus, you must transfer a minimum of 2,000 Skywards miles.
- The transfer ratio is 16:1.
- The maximum bonus miles that can be earned with this promotion is 20,000.
- Miles will be credited to your account at the end of the promotion period by June 10, 2023.
Is it Worth It to Transfer Points to Emirates Skywards?
Running some numbers shows that, in most cases, this promotion is not particularly worthwhile. AwardWallet members, on average, have leveraged their hotel points for:
- IHG points: 0.69¢
- Marriott Bonvoy points: 0.95¢
- Accor ALL points have a fixed redemption value, with every 2,000 points giving you a €40 (or equivalent in the local currency) discount on your stay.
Meanwhile, AwardWallet members have redeemed Emirates Skywards miles for an average value of 1.58¢. At the above rates, your points conversion are as follow in term of value:
- IHG: Exchange $73 worth of IHG points for $39.75 worth of Emirates miles.
- Marriott Bonvoy: Exchange $600 worth of Marriott Bonvoy points for $397.5 worth of Emirates miles.
- Accor ALL: Exchange $87.5/~ €80 worth of Accor ALL points for $39.75 worth of Emirates miles.
Calculating the value of First Abu Dhabi Bank rewards is much more complicated since it is local to the UAE and has many different redemption options. However, you can transfer your rewards to Etihad Guest at a better ratio of 14:1 — not to mention redeeming them for travel, utility bills, etc.
Other Ways To Boost Your Emirates Skywards Balance
If you want to boost your Emirates Skywards mileage balance quickly, you have plenty of better options where the transfer ratios are much better. Fortunately, Emirates is one of the few airlines that is a transfer partner with virtually every major flexible points currency.
U.S. accountholders can transfer all of the following flexible points to Emirates Skywards:
- American Express Membership Rewards transfer to Emirates immediately at a ratio of 1:1.
- Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer to Emirates immediately at a ratio of 1:1.
- Capital One Miles transfer to Emirates immediately at a ratio of 1:1.
- Citi ThankYou points transfer to Emirates at a ratio of 1:1. Data points indicate transfers are instant.
- Bilt Rewards transfer to Emirates at a ratio of 1:1. Data points indicate transfers are almost instant.
Our Take
It isn't easy to find value in this Emirates transfer bonus promotion. However, if your Accor, IHG, or Marriott points are about to expire for some reason and you can't do anything to extend their validity, then transferring them to Emirates Skywards at a poor exchange rate is better than letting them expire. Aside from that, I would give this promotion a pass!
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