Arsenal tickets bookable with Emirates or Amex points – VIP prices halved

Emirates has released another batch of Arsenal football tickets for Emirates Skywards members who have miles to redeem.  You can also use American Express Membership Rewards points via a transfer.

The good news is that Emirates has finally come to its senses over the pricing of the Emirates VIP suite. The cost has been halved although it is still more than pre-covid.

The Emirates box has been cut to 60,000 miles per seat

Tickets are now bookable for the next seven games:

• Crystal Palace on 18th October
• Aston Villa on 22nd October
• Watford on 6th November
• Newcastle on 27th November
• Southampton on 11th December
• West Ham on 14th December
• Wolves on 28th December

The cost of the VIP box has been cut from 117,000 miles per seat to 60,000 miles.

This is a big improvement but still not a bargain.

When Emirates first started offering seats in the Emirates Box, they cost 15,000 to 30,000 miles each depending on the quality of the opposition.

The Emirates Box is VERY good.  It is the best located box in the stadium and you get good quality drinks and hot food before, during and after the game.  Here is a review of a past trip although I have been 7-8 times since.  I tended to take the cheapest games, because my son would prefer to see Arsenal hit four past a weak team than watch them draw 0-0 against Manchester United.

The pricing has crept up in recent years and I have used 40,000 miles per seat for the last few I have attended.  This is still not cheap (80,000 miles for me and my son, which I got by transferring 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points) but was worth it as a treat once or twice per season.

60,000 miles is toppy though. At a notional value of 1p per mile or American Express point, we are talking about giving up £1,200 of free flights to watch a game.

It also looks expensive against the Travelzoo VIP Premier League deals currently available.

10,000 miles for standard admission is good value

Standard admission tickets have gone up, on average.

The last batch was priced at 5,500 to 13,000 miles per seat per game, depending on the opposition. This batch is a flat 10,000 Skywards miles per seat.

That said, you can’t usually get Arsenal tickets in general sale unless you are a club member, although I believe it is easier at present. Being able to use a small number of American Express points, converted to Emirates Skywards miles, is a good deal.

How to book

Full details and booking is available on this page of the Emirates website.

You cannot get a refund if the time or date of the game is changed and you can no longer attend.

Tickets cannot be transferred.  The person who is named on the Emirates Skywards account MUST attend.  It is difficult to get around this because you need to collect your tickets on the day from the Arsenal offices and ID is required.

Transfers from American Express Membership Rewards to Emirates Skywards are instantaneous if the accounts are already linked and should be pretty quick even if they are not.

I would say ‘I’ll see you there’ but – at 60,000 Emirates Skywards miles per seat – I am still very much on the fence and leaning towards ‘no’.

---

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.