Recondite

Come on, Brexit, hurry up!!

Strange, I had an email from Etihad/MBNA telling me about my card and its benefits today - why would they send that when they seem to no longer want them?

Disappointed that the cards are gone - I was planning to move over to the Emirates on when the next points bonus came along!

ft101

Have I missed something? The linked article showed it was still available and I can still see it on the Emirates UK website. Maybe not for long, but still there just now.

Recondite

You have. Sorry about poor paste below, on mobile. But yeah, no longer taking applications - I only saw this today

"

• Emirates Skywards
• Emirates Skywards
• Earning Miles
• Spending Miles
• Cash+Miles
• Membership Tiers
• Skywards Skysurfers
• The Emirates High Street
• Our Partners
• The Art of Travel
• Join Emirates Skywards
• Miles Calculator

MBNA

• Home
• Emirates Skywards
• Our Partners
• MBNAYou are here: MBNA

MBNA credit cards are packed full of features and benefits, which is why they’ve been voted Moneyfacts Consumer Credit Card Provider for four years running.

Important Update

Please note we are no longer accepting any new applications for the Emirates Skywards Credit Card Account and the Emirates Skywards Elite Credit Card Account from 7 November 2017.

DatBoi

Is the UK MBNA card better than the UAE issued EK counterparts?

Seat54

Not really that good, it’s gone now, I’m just waiting to be told it won’t renew.

The companion voucher offer only works well if you don’t use it then you save money, because using it means higher fare and different tickets and impossible to both upgrade.

At least the points post promptly and the UK earning rate was better than the UAE Citibank one as long as you used the Amex card.

thelifeofdizzy

Hi,

I'm currently using an Emirates Elite card and had a few queries regarding companion fares. I'm nearing the £15K spend limit so I'm curious as to how the 'free' companion fare works.

I'm assuming Emirates will email me when I have one to redeem.

Do I have to use my companion flight within a certain period of time?
And are there any restrictions on which airports I can fly from? (I get discount on emirates holidays yet departures are only UK based)

I've read up that flights are restricted to economy and business so unfortunately I won't be able to fly first.

If I pay a full business fare and still have to pay taxes for the 2nd fare does it work out much cheaper?

mozs11

I wouldn't bother. It always works out cheaper to buy two saver fares in business/economy than to buy one flex fare (which is required under companion fare rules) and pay taxes and fees for the "free" ticket.

you can redeem it anytime within 12 months of your email. No restrictions on airports and cannot be used in conjunction with another offer.

subject2load

mozs11 is spot on with “I wouldn’t bother”

If you search through past MBNA-related threads, you’ll find various discussions on this and the overwhelming consensus is that it’s really not worth the hassle. The small-print T&C’s are so restrictive that it is indeed almost certainly better to simply book the two cheapest available standard tickets in whichever class you need. In short, this ‘offer’ is perhaps the least beneficial aspect of the card ..... a classic case of “no free lunch”.

ukdoctor

I worked for me . I used to travel very frequently on EK . Mrs.ukdoctor does not. Tier miles mattered for me but not for mrs.ukdoctor.


If your companion is not bothered about the tier miles (only travels once in while ) and if you have planned well in advance then it can save a few 100 quid.

Even after considering the value of the skywards miles Mrs. Ukdoctor could have got on the saver , the flex +companion worked for us.

At least that's what I found when calculating the diffference between 2 savers and a flex +companion

Restrictions are a problem as the D seats have to be available for the dates that you book the flex ticket .

On the other hand I managed to upgrade the companion award J ticket to F using miles (normally this cannot be done ) every single time ( did this 3 times I think )

However my info is over a year old now as I haven't been on EK for nearly a year now. :-(

DYKWIA

OK - the end is nigh... Just got a notification that the MBNA EK cards are being withdrawn from 21st July 2018. I need to get some big spend in by then

I'll be cancelling my cards and using an Amex Platinum for the time being. That's a 1-1 conversion, but better than nothing.

XXTSGR

That's strange. My current cards expire 09/18 and I was just recently sent a new set of cards valid until 09/2020...

Ryanardo_daVinci

marconess

I received a letter today. Put onto a 0.5% cashback deal automatically. I just called the close the account. Watching flying EK much anyway recently so was doing most of my spending on other cards.

DYKWIA

No, you can continue using the existing card and it will act like the new Horizon card until the new cards are sent out in August.

Ryanardo_daVinci