Emirates Airlines Skywards - Mileage run ex-LHR

Hi all, long time lurker, first time thread poster here.

I currently have 23K in tier miles and with time running out until the years end, I wanted to plan a short trip to take me to silver. The problem with EK is that I can't earn tier miles ex-LHR unless I fly to Dubai.

I wanted to ask the wealth of experience on this board about any ideas to take me to Silver before January. I think the premium period for travel starts on the 9/12 for emirates, so any destination ideas for a reasonable price before then? I figured since I am flying to dubai anyway, I may as well connect to somewhere I haven't been before.

All suggestions welcome, travel dates around the first weekend of December :).

Cheers.

There are good specials to SE Asia (KL, Jakarta, SIN, BKK) for less than 500GBP (departures from other points in UK are cheaper too), There's also NBO for less than 450GBP. Pretty good deals, but you gotta factor in the minimum stay of 3 days.

Are you sure EK Silver is even worth 500GBP? Doesn't seem to have any real benefits other that an increased baggage allowance and a far away lounge in DXB. I guess the extra miles makes sense if you're going to travel a lot next year, but buying the 6250 miles you would get as bonus with 25k tier miles would cost you about 80GBP.

Sorry, I didn't really answer your question, but just thought I'd point something out.

If money is an issue you might be able to get to DXB with another [much cheaper] airline and then fly DXB-somewhere in the middle east vv.

I've seen LHR-DXB as low as 200GBP on AF/LX/KL. Then another 150GBP or so to BEY/AMM/DEL/BOM even BKK.

Cheers,

Remember with the NEW Skywards- you will have till the end of January 2010 to get your 25K -- and that couldld be even further depending when you first flight was in 2009- as it is a 13 month period from the time of your first tier point earning flight in 2009.

This is the way I understand the NEW skywards- hope someone elese will confirm that too?

@ung1: Yes, i did consider, is Silver really worth the 500GBP or so it would cost me for a few thousand miles (e.g DXB return)? I was hoping maybe those with status would be able to persuade or dissuade me with their experiences at Silver tier.

@yyzlhr: Won't my Tier miles for 2009 be reset at the end of 31st December? If what you say is true, that means i can postpone my trip to end of Jan. Can any other FT'ers confirm?

@edy4eva: I do have one limitation: Visa, as i dont hold a British PP. I realise if i connect past Dubai on a same flight turnaround (as most MR in the states), i may need a visa just for transit in the airport in some asian countries.

It's looking more likely that i can get a £440 ish package from Lastminute etc that will allow me a 3 night stay in Dubai.

This will be the first time with status on any FF, and it is very likely that i will travel at least once to East Africa next year as i do every year on EK. That is one of my motivations swaying me in favour of this crazy idea :D.

Any further thoughts welcome.

I am not on Silver but would not value the benefits @ £500, especially with only planning one flight on Emirates next year. One flight would likely mean you would not hold onto silver status again, and could potentially only make use of lounge access twice.

I agree with many in that I'm not sure Silver is worth £500 but if you're that keen on it, have a look at BHX to HKG around the 22nd November - prices are around £450 and Hong Kong's as cheap as chips to stay in. Plus you'll get 14,300 miles. . .

I agree with ukflyer. Status on EK is only worth it if you are going to fly them regularly. Suppose this is true for any airline program. And given that Skywards is changing in 2010 with even tougher restrictions on Y class fares, it will be hardly worth the effort.

YTD, I've flown 12 round-trips from MEL-SIN (all in Y). You earn 7496 tier miles per flight (3748 per segment). Gold is worth it for lounge access, priority check-in, priority boarding. It does nothing for you in terms of treatment onboard, but yes, upgrades are more frequent (when it comes to operational issues).

Remember with the NEW Skywards- you will have till the end of January 2010 to get your 25K -- and that couldld be even further depending when you first flight was in 2009- as it is a 13 month period from the time of your first tier point earning flight in 2009.

This is the way I understand the NEW skywards- hope someone elese will confirm that too?

yes thats true--- look at emirates homepage.

yes thats true--- look at emirates homepage.
Do we know how long tier status will last now under the new system?

Do we know how long tier status will last now under the new system?

According to the skywards micro site, while the review date will be 12 months from when the status is achieved, the benefits of the card will extend for a further two months.

With not being able to get the time off work before the premium december dates on EK, i have decided against this little trip.

However, if my tier miles are not reset to zero on 31st of December on account of the new skywards program, my first tier mile earning flight was in June so i may have a couple of months to get the rest of the miles. :cool:

Thanks for all your replies everyone. ^:)

fudleone