Long time lurker, finally registered here. Plat for 2 years, about 300 segments over last 3 years with EK.

In my opinion, plat only worth it if you’re flying corporate AND living in Dubai.

+ Private parking and lounge access in the mall is actually a very decent benefit for a Dubai resident. Half of the number plates at that parking are likely to cost more than your car
+ First class lounge is decent and allows to tolerate economy flights (sushi, champagne and sleep)
+ WhatsApp chat is good and you can get an award ticket for any flight, at least economy
+ Chauffeur rides home save a lot of time as getting a taxi in dxb can be a bit chaotic
+ fast track vouchers Heathrow even in Y

But then…

- Maybe it’s my luck, but basically no op ups. I’ve tried it all - business, economy both overbooked and flex plus, late check in, birthday flights, asking in the lounge… I’ve got 3 op ups in ~200 segments since plat. Yeah. And out of these 3, only one was actually useful.
- You’re either flying long haul business or you won’t ever get enough miles for award flights or upgrades. Example given, London to dxb economy saver is like 900 tier miles and ~2-3 k skywards.
- Even if you have enough miles for upgrade, ticket prices out of dxb is nothing short of outrageous. For example, you can fly QR rt to KIX for 11-12k AED or you can get premium economy with EK.

It all make sense though because EK doesn’t need an award program at all, business is always full with happy cash customers. Maybe I just need to earn more