Spiritof72

Hello .. new member here. I fly emirates 3 or 4 times a year to SGN from the UK, i.e. not quite often enough to achieve Silver skywards membership. Would it be worth my while to take a short hop in the Middle East (Dubai to Doha for example) in order to achieve Silver? Would it be likely that Silver would get me an upgrade or two on this route if I did achieve it? Thanks in advance, Chris

YuropFlyer

I guess it could be cheaper if you would buy 1-2 of your yearly trips in Flex instead of Saver, if you just want to hit Silver.

subject2load

I think it's a moot point.

Silver membership will get you lounge access in Dubai, and also extra baggage allowance, priority check-in/boarding, plus sundry other 'benefits' which may, or may not, be of use/relevance to you.

As for the matter of upgrades ....that's far less clear-cut. Worth remembering that on many/most flights there will invariably be IO, Platinum and Gold members ahead of you in the pecking order. That said, there are many tales here of high tier members going flight after flight without seeing an upgrade - and then in contrast another member can be upgraded on their very first flight as Silver. All you can be sure of is that nothing is guaranteed .....!

shlevitin

What is my best option (least amount of points and cash) for a OW for this route? I have good date flexibility.

Spiritof72

Thank you for your replies .. much appreciated. I've decided that the somewhat limited perks of Silver membership and the uncertainty of getting free upgrades probably don't justify my manipulating Silver membership. Will just use my miles for the occasional upgrade and Priority Pass for lounges instead. However if anyone disagrees with this approach please let me know .... can still change things around.

pomkiwi

I would think your best (probably only) option is to log into your Skywards account and see the dates when award travel is available in F. You can then compare the cost of a straight redemption against booking an upgradeable J ticket and using miles to upgrade. The miles cost will not change with dates but the cost of a J or F ticket in cash may vary.
Edit: You don't state which programme your miles are with but if not EK then you would need to look for options thorough that programme (assuming it is a partner with EK)

shlevitin

Thanks for response!
I have miles with many programs and was wondering what is the best option for the one way ticket in F?
I just wasn't sure where to post the question so I assumed this was the best place.

pomkiwi

No problem!
I think that you will probably have to look at each of your programmes in turn as not all will have EK as a partner and some that do partner EK may have restrictions on how their miles can be used on EK

pryonic

Hi,

First time in the Skywards forum!

I'm looking at booking a multistop flight for next August flying economy MAN->KUL (via DXB), KUL -> MEL, then the business class return leg WLG->MAN (via SYD and DXB).

I'll be travelling from Melbourne to Wellington in NZ outside of the main booking hence why my flights don't line up exactly.

Aside from signing up for Skywards is there anything else I should be doing to maximise value? It's a significant spend this itinerary so I'm looking for any discount counts or tricks that you guys are aware of to make the best of this spend. The couple of discount codes I've found (one for having a Nationwide Visa here in the UK) only applies to return flights not multistop which is a little frustrating.

Thanks for any tips you can provide!

subject2load

Hi there pryonic

Well you're obviously doing the right thing in signing up to Skywards.

Given that by all indications (?) you are based in the UK, my own special tip is that you apply asap for the Emirates/MBNA co-branded credit card - which is actually a 'package' consisting of two cards - one Amex, the other Visa, but both linked to a single account.

This will bring a fair few benefits - perhaps not necessarily for this upcoming trip, but certainly for any future Emirates travel.

You will earn Skywards miles on all your card spending - and at double the rate for any spending direct with Emirates (useful given that you say the trip involves 'significant spend') So ...if you can get hold of the card in time to use it to actually book these flights, then there's a good few miles to be had !

The exact earn rate depends on a)whether you use Visa or Amex (EK will accept both, but the rate is better with Amex, so use that !!) and b) whether you have the standard card or the 'Elite' version.

You will get a one-off miles bonus (5000 or 10,000) if you comply with a very simple initial purchase requirement.

Do be aware that the Elite card carries an annual fee of £150. This can be offset by a discount of the same figure when purchasing a business class ticket BUT do first check out the small print T&C's before relying on that.

There are various other benefits too, not all of which might be relevant/useful to you but hopefully some at least will be.

Rather than waffle on any longer, I'll give you the link so that you can check full details for yourself
http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/s...anks/mbna.aspx

Hope that helps !

Have a good trip

pryonic

Thanks subject2load! Obviously my definition of significant will vary from other people's, but as there's 2 of us travelling it's not going to be a small amount

I'll take a look at that credit card - it could be a goer.

pomkiwi

Hi Pyronic.

Not sure how flexible the plans made for MEL-WLG are but often the cost of adding an Aus-NZ return to an EK itinerary from the UK is next to nothing. You might find it cheaper to get a price including the MEL-WLG leg.

lamprey

I have a question about what I should do to get the most out of my business class ticket for an upcoming 11 hour flight (I've flown EK in Y a lot and upgraded with miles, so I want to make it count). Besides the usual food and drink service, is there anything special I can/should request from the FAs? I mean like exceptional drinks or snacks that aren't proffered or suggested but will be accommodated?

pomkiwi

I'm not aware of anything - what do you have in mind? The menu and drinks list is pretty comprehensive and space on board finite. If there are items of food and drink that are regarded as more 'special' that are on the F menu and drinks lists it is unlikley that you will get anywhere by asking for them. I have always found that the food and drink options on an EK long-haul flight are very adequate and fill the time together with the IFE. If on an A380 the bar provides a good option to relieve boredom as well.
Have a good flight

Mitglied

You could always ditch your current credit card and go for the Emirates Skywards Elite Credit Card?

Time things right, book your flights with that thing and you'll be well away.
Have a good read of the T&C's, but personally I think it's a no-brainer.

Edit: I just noticed subject2load pretty much said the same thing earlier. In which case, I agree with him.