You can now purchase access to the Emirates First Class Lounge in Dubai
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In what may be a sign of things to come with other airlines, Emirates Skywards members can now pay to access the impressive Business and First Class Lounges at Dubai International Airport regardless of the class they are travelling in.
The A380 pier at Dubai’s Terminal 3 which we covered here briefly, is technically three separate floors for Economy, Business and First Class passengers.
Each of these floors has got their own duty free shops, restaurants and bars of which the latter two are complimentary on the Business and First Class floors. Rob will be in the First Class lounge / floor in a few weeks and will be writing a review.
For a fee Skywards members can now access the Business and/or First Class Lounge even when flying Economy.
- Skywards Blue members can pay $100 to access the Business Class Lounge or $200 for the First Class Lounge
- Skywards Silver and Gold members can bring guests who are on the same flight to the Business Class Lounge for $100 or the First Class Lounge for $200
- Upgrade from Business Class Lounge to First Class Lounge costs $100
Children aged 2-12 get a 50% discount.
These prices are obviously not a bargain and it’s questionable whether an upgrade from Business to First Class is worth $100. On the other hand, the food and drink on offer is meant to be impressive and it is no more than you would pay for a decent three course meal with champagne and fine wine in a restaurant.
If you are flying Economy and want to treat yourself to a unique lounge experience whilst waiting for your flight, $100 is not a bad price. If you were planning to have a meal in the main terminal you would easily spend a fair proportion of this cost anyway, and you get the added benefit of getting a huge space in which to relax for up to four hours.
The terms and conditions of the deal can be found here and you can read more about the lounges here.
How to earn Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards (March 2024)
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.
Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:
- 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 four free airport lounge passes.
- The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 40,000 Emirates Skywards miles
- American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 10,000 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.
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