Emirates releases some (overpriced) Arsenal VIP packages for Skywards miles

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 Emirates box remains at 60,000 – 65,000 miles per seat. This is a lot less than the ludicrous 100,000+ miles that Emirates tried to get at the end of last season, but still at least 20,000 miles pricier than I think they are worth.

I mean, you can fly in Emirates Business Class to Dubai for 62,500 miles. Over at Arsenal, you can redeem for:

• Brentford on 19th February (60,000 miles)
• Liverpool on 26th February (65,000 miles)
• Leicester City on 12th March (60,000 miles)

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 pre-covid I was using 40,000 miles per seat for the last few I have attended.  This was 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 too high 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.

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

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.

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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.