Well, I got a note from Skywards about concourse 3 opening in January.

Dear Mr. ........,

In January, Dubai will unveil another world first. And this one is particularly close to our hearts.

Emirates Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport is being expanded to include a brand new, dedicated A380 facility. The only one of its kind in the world. Every gate is designed and built exclusively to accommodate the world's largest airliner.

The new home of our Emirates A380 fleet also features:
• Extra spacious, state-of-the-art Lounges
• Direct boarding from First Class and Business Class lounges to the A380's upper deck
...
..
It promises to transform your travel experience when you fly on the Emirates A380. In the coming weeks, we will be letting you know more about it and all the ways in which it will benefit you, so keep an eye out for further updates.

With the new concourse opening and the lounge infrastructure getting in place, I would guess that the time is ripe to announce the fourth tier.

But again, with EK, you never know...

Rumors are circling yet nothing seems confirmed yet?

Well, the two mods seem to have thrown up their hands. Time for an EK insider to come and shed some light???

I can definitely, categorically, unequivocally, without any doubt whatsover, assure you that it will absolutely and certainly be in January 2013 .......... insha'Allah.

Are you sure?

Is this entirely your gut feel or is there some basis for the January timeline?

I dunno you dont sound 100 percent on that.

I've just received an e mail by skywards:
What might be even better than being an Emirates Skywards Gold member?
and: Where do you think 150 000 Tier Miles could take you?

with a link to the following survey:

As an Emirates Skywards Gold member you expect the very best. We are constantly looking at ways to make the best even better. So what benefits would you expect if you had over 150,000 tier Miles?
A complimentary Emirates Skywards Gold card that can be given to your partner to use and enjoy all the benefits of Gold membership when they are travelling alone
Guaranteed Business Class revenue seat
75% bonus Skywards Miles
‘Last Seat’ Flex reward – enabling Miles to be utilised on any flight
Access for yourself and a guest to the Emirates First Class lounge in Dubai and Emirates Lounges across the network
Additional 20kg luggage allowance
All of the above

Well looks like it will be 150K for the new tier-- based on an email sent out today asking "What might be even better than being an Emirates Skywards Gold Memeber"

It then links to a questions asking what you would expect benefits to be at 150K. Including Gauranteed Biz Class seats, Gold Card to give away, 75% more skyward miles.....I just checked "all of the above".

SShhhhhhh.....next week

It seems the cat is out of the bag.....announcement next week

And after the survey it says

the question is will gold stay at 50k? my renewal date is 28th of Feb and I'll have 52k... Inch'allah

I hope they give all the benefits they had in the survey at 150,000 miles. Skywards needs to remain competitive and 150,000 is on the high end of the scale compared to other FFPs.

I think so...otherwise there might be a mutiny. Platinum is the official name of the new tier...

Sometimes I scratch my head with EK. I spoke with Skywards yesterday in Dubai. They told me Platinum would be officially announced next week and that we would be able to release the news to FT 24-hours prior to official release (but were waiting final sign off from Corporate Comms). I gave them my word that we wouldnt say anything.

Now we all receive this little teaser email... And on their weekend.

Its not hard to work out that these will be the published benefits of Platinum. Not bad at all...F lounge access in DXB for me is the biggest benefit as well as guest access.