navatwal

Just callled and checked and the email used for communication has to be exclusive cannot be used by any other family member for an EK account.

This is the case, so changed my email on file.

jamjaruk

my miles are usually credited a few days after

navatwal

I have gotten my miles after modifying my email address.

In regards to the £150 off voucher, when can I expect to receive this?

Can somebody share how long it took to receive?

ukdoctor

6-8 weeks I think.

I applied for the cards in late June. Cards and Pin arrived over the next 2 weeks.
£150 off voucher arrived in early September.

Note that you will get the £150 off voucher every year you keep this card and therefore this card will pay for itself (£150 annual fee) if you usually book at least one J ticket a year.

jamjaruk

I'm still waiting for my £150 voucher and free companion ticket. Grrr

refjohn1

So am I - 6 months now and getting the runaround when chasing it up. Anyone else had difficulty getting it? Emirates say call MBNA - MBNA say call Emirates.

ukdoctor

Have you fulfilled the requirements for the voucher?. Ive been sent both the £150 voucher and the companion reward voucher without any issues .

Do you use gmail? It could be a settings issue and might not have come to your main inbox

Search your inbox for an email from

[email protected]el for the £150 voucher.

The companion reward email came directly from a emirates.com email ID.

refjohn1

Thanks Doctor. Yes - have fulfilled the criteria so either the voucher never got sent or I accidentally deleted it. However no one able to confirm if sent. I do use gmail - albeit it is our company email powered by gmail. However all other emails from the addresses you mention do seem to come through.

Guess will have to wait and see if my calls and emails last night prove fruitful as need to book a trip in next 48 hours or so.

manutd123

So which is the best one to go for?

Also, are there likely to be any special offers with getting these cards?

I wasn't sure whether Amex is accepted in UK much, I was thinking if i can use this for the weekly supermarket shop, petrol etc, it will start to add up quite quickly.

What would be ideal would be if i could pay off the mortgage with these credit cards or the kids school fees.

I have a newborn, so if i was coming to buy myself a Business ticket and received a free companion ticket, would there be an issue with the baby travelling also as part of my ticket?

ukdoctor

http://www.whoacceptsamex.co.uk/

Is a good site to check acceptance . Its quite good nowadays. Moreover you have the visa as a back up in case the amex is not accepted.

If you buy at least one J or F ticket every year then the Elite version makes sense as it gives double the miles of the normal version. It has a £150 annual fee but you get a £150 off voucher every year of you fulfil the spend requirements . This discount cancels the fee in my opinion.

manutd123

Thanks for that, has anyone had experience/difficulty with getting the companion ticket.

Do you have to request it at the time of booking the original ticket? Also how far in advance can we get hold of the companion ticket?

I tend to book my trips some 9-12 months in advance of flying, will Emirates be able to allocate a companion ticket that far ahead?

subject2load

Hi there, if you haven't already done so, I would suggest a VERY close reading of the T&C's attached to the issue of the companion reward ticket - as specified in clause 7 here
http://www.emirates.com/uk/english/s...anks/mbna.aspx
These T&C's may suit your circumstances and present no problems, but definitely worth checking I'd say ......

I would add that I have personally made far less use of my Emirates/MBNA elite card than I was planning to, since I first acquired it last November. I have spent the vast majority of my time outside the UK since then, and found the loading of a 'non-sterling transaction fee' on card purchases to be an unwelcome additional cost, and so I was mostly using other cards (ones which do NOT levy such a fee) instead. Considering the card, by virtue of its EK partnership, is heavily targeted at travellers, I consider this fee rather self-defeating.

Seat64A

.....or maybe those no-foreign-exchange loading card companies realise very few of their customers will actually make much use of their cards abroad whereas MBNA does not wish to lose the opportunity to create revenue from its customers' use overseas. UK credit card customers tend to do well with no annual fees so I guess card companies are going to try to generate revenue by other means.

I wonder how many Emirates' MBNA cardholders are greatly concerned about foreign exchange issues...

manutd123

Ok so Clause 7 in summary says:

1. Spend £15k a year starting from the date your CC opened.
2. 1 Companion Reward a year bookable and valid for 12 months from date of issue.
3. The card member must purchase a Flex Fare in Economy or Business Class at the same time when availing this offer.
4. The Emirates Skywards Companion Reward must be booked on the same flight itinerary, on the same flights and cabin class. The Emirates Skywards Companion Reward will be booked as a Business Class or Economy Saver Reward.
5. Non refundable and no changes other than date change is permitted, for a fee.
6. Must pay taxes, fees and charges relating to Companion Reward.
7. The number of reward seats available on each flight is restricted and it is possible that the seats allocated on a particular flight may be fully booked, even though seats are still available for sale. Some flights may have no availability on certain routes, and popular dates will fill quickly (i.e. weekends, school holidays and public holidays) and Emirates cannot guarantee availability.

So if i want it, I have to find a Flex fare, which will be discounted £150 and then make sure there is an available Reward seat. If not, I have to look at other flights and dates. If I changed the date of my flight, I may lose the Reward ticket.

I still have to pay the taxes etc.

Will I still build up the Miles on the Reward ticket?

subject2load

Sorry to advise that (as per clause 8) the £150 discount "cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer, including the companion reward offer"

As regards miles : I'm pretty certain that, unfortunately, no miles will accrue on the reward offer, given that this would not be a revenue ticket ; but of course EK will confirm one way or the other.

Finally (just to depress you further !) bear in mind that the taxes and quaintly-termed "carrier-imposed charges" on a straightforward return in J from LHR-DXB can be well in excess of £600