I know - I think we're talking at cross-purposes.

I was asking if the new wording on the new Skywards cards which were previously bona-fide e-gate cards have now been replaced with some sort of smartgate only card.

Given that there are only smartgates on arrival into the UAE (that also accept e-gate cards) and e-gate on departure, that would have meant that EK had given us an "enhancement".

But it seems like it's just a different wording on the cards, so all is well