Is the egates office in Premium T3 open @11pm?
 

I want to put my egate function on my new Platinum card. Is the egate office in the Business/First departure area of T3 (the one behind passport control, on the right hand side of the corridor) open in the evening, around 11pm?

No. 7am to 1pm

:rolleyes:

Welcome to dubai!

Are you sure about that, in the airport?

I'm pretty sure the egate registration section at T3 (on the right, before security) is open 24 hrs.
I remember going there at weird hours to get my card activated.

I tried to go there today and that's what they told me so had to go back to the one in economy

How to Activate E-Gate on Gold Card?
 

I'm flying through DXB next week, but will be stopping over for a couple of days rather than my normal straight transit. As I am now Gold, I thought its probably worth me getting the free activation of my card for e-gate, so I can use it in the future.

I will be getting into DXB at roughly 19.00 on Monday, and then flying out at roughly 03.00 on Thursday.

What are peoples experiences? Can I just do it from the immigration counters when I arrive?

Thanks for your help

There was a thread on this a couple of months ago on the Emirates board - have a quick search and you should find it. Bottom line, you'll need to clear standard immigration and then go upstairs and get the egate accreditation added.

Just a quick addition: you cannot activate a new e-gate card at the immigration office after immigration at the FC/BC departure clearance area. I wanted to do a new activation on my new Gold card there, queued for about 20 minutes, and on reaching the officer at the e-gate desk I was told that they could only do renewals there - no new activations. This although I was told by the Emirates agent at checkin that I could activate my Gold card there.

It's not clear from your question but are you a UAE national or holder of a resident visa? If you are not, you can't apply for an e gate card.

Thanks for the heads up. Where did you end up going to get it activated?

Sorry, missed that off. I'm from the UK, so am eligible for e-gate, as nationals of the UAE's visa waiver countries can also get it.

Thanks for the advice. I've just done a search and eventually found this http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...process-3.html which includes your experience. Cheers

E-gate facility - process for new users
 

Apologies if this has been covered before, but just wanted to get current information/clarification on use of e-gate from you DXB regulars......

I understand that Skywards membership cards are sent out once qualifying flights have been completed.

Does the card (and even if only blue status initially?) then allow immediate use of e-gate facilities in Dubai, or does it first need to be 'enabled' or activated in some way ? What does the process actually involve please, and what exactly are the benefits of e-gate ?

Someone with more knowledge will be able to answer.

But I obeserved yesterday that a lot of people had difficulty using the system, but definitely better than waiting in a long queue for 20 minutes or so.

I have a skywards gold card. The e gate facility has to be activated first on it provided you have an eligible passport. AFAIK if you are not gold you need to pay a fee for it.
In the premium terminal departures area the egate registration office is to the right AFTER immigration but BEFORE security check .

AFAIK you cannot activate egate unless you physically enter DXB passing via immigration in the first place (Can be done if you have a couple of hours transit)

I have been trying to activate it on my card and found the office during my last trip to DXB a few weeks ago. Other people have posted on this forum that this office is open 24/7.
I went there at around 0100 hrs. There was a portly gent standing in front of the office who told me that the office is closed. I had a feeling this was a fib (he was having a chat with his friends) and I then asked what the opening hours were. I was told it opens only at 7 AM .

The best place to get it done is dnata on szr. Never tried a the airport but it's always a zoo so head straight to the lounge.

It's free for golds (my wife has one) but I paid foolishly for an egate card when I arrived. When it expires I will be putting it on my gold card.

It has probably saved me 12 hours of queuing time this year, best thing ever if you travel regularly in and out of dxb.

Any Skywards card works. According to the website, the fees below gold are gone. By the way, anyone with eligible nationality can get it on a credit-card sized plastic, without Skywards. It just costs around 50 USD.

They take your details, a pic and scan your fingerprints. The card is then loaded up. Takes 10-15mins.

I have been to the office ukdoctor mentioned in the middle of the night, and it was open. Another time I went early morning, around 6am to get my card.

There is also a desk on the first floor just past the main entrance, so you can get to it even if you're not travelling.

And there are various locations around Dubai: http://www.emirates.com/bd/English/h...?faqId=1127040

Many thanks for the input guys, esp. Turicus ^

If I have a physical blue card, but will qualify for gold in the near future, is it worth registering on my blue? i.e. will it transfer, or would I only have to register on my gold again?

Colm

If you're eligible for smart gates, go this way. If not, then Gold will give you E-gates (compatible with smart gates too). Going to the desk with the blue card will cost you money as they don't read any status in Skywards database.

I got me Silver card activated earlier this month at the desk on departures level of terminal 3, not the office in the premium entrance area as it isn't 24/7 like the desk on the economy entrance side. The guy that helped me was overjoyed to have me at 3am saying he was getting bored of playing games on his Ipad and was glad to have someone to chat to for a bit. He then went on to try and get convince me to move to Dubai, it was an interesting conversation!

Interesting tip there vidrineb.

Is that office you used located airside or landside ... ?

It's probably the same one I meant above, it's landside.

yes I believe it's the same one Turicus was referencing earlier, it's on the second level at terminal 3 departures.

This is the link to all the locations you can get your card activated at: http://www.emirates.com/ae/english/h...?faqId=1127040

E-gates on Gold card
 

Hi guys, I registered for e-gates on my Gold card (still valid until July 2014) but I received my Platinum one now... I know I can transfer or register the Platinum, but will the Gold one still valid at least to go thru e-gates on my first exit ?

Registering a gold card on arrival -advice please.
 

Any advice please about the current best way to register a Skywards gold card for egate on arrival? From posts in this and other threads it seems that things change, and I'd be especially grateful for responses from anyone out there with recentish experience...
Scheduled to arrive at DXB T3 on Tuesday at 06:45, will not be collecting checked baggage, but will have an EK chauffeur car and also be using Dubai Connect. Passport allows visa waiver. I've never exited the airport before, so have no idea where anything is outside of the transit areas, but I'd like to first register the card, then make my way to the Dubai Connect desk/chauffeur drive area. (Or would it be better to register the card after going to the Dubai Connect desk?)

Can anyone please assist with advice?

Don't do it!

If this is the same trip you requested advice on Dubai Connect for

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/emira...ce-sought.html

you won't have time to waste if you want any sort of a rest.

Thanks for the advice: can anyone help further?
 

ft101, thanks for your comments; I appreciate your response. You are right, it is the same trip, and all being well, I'll be in the car riding the car to Haneda very soon.
Actually, the motive for trying Dubai Connect is not about getting sleep. With the long flight from HND to DXB in J I expect that I'll get some sleep on the flight, and also there should be chance to get some shuteye on the next leg to Manchester, also in J. I usually find the 777 J seats plus mattress fairly comfortable.
The motivation is curiosity. I fly TYO - MAN several times a year with EK, but have never exited the transit area. Recent schedule changes have extended the transfer time to 7 - 8 hours on HND itineraries, which qualify for Dubai connect. I'd like to find out what Dubai Connect is like, have a look at the hotel, and to experience the airport's groundside.
Also, a hotel room seems like a better place than the lounge to get a comfortable relaxed shower, pick my nose and scratch my bum, and generally take it easy. An hour or two would be fine. Since it costs nothing, I think I'll give it a go once. And it seems a good idea to get the Skywards card validated for egates, so that if I want to use Dubai Connect on trips later this year I'll be able to bypass the immigration queue.

I do appreciate the response and advice, thank you, but what I'm hoping for right now is some idea of what happens and where the services that I'll need are located once I step off the plane and head for the exit... Can anyone out there assist?

This location is now closed (as of about 3 weeks ago). It has been relocated to the new and expanded Immigration office on T3 Arrivals level landside.

Very quick and friendly service. I went there with a colleague for his e-Gate a couple weeks ago and it took less than 5 minutes to complete.

Thanks for the tip. My experience this morning confirms this. At the very far left of T3 arrivals, after customs, opposite end to chauffeur drive. Inside the immigration office it is counter number 10. Took about 20 minutes including waiting for an Italian couple to both finish their registration. There's a machine at a counter by the entrance which issues numbered tickets, and clients are seen in turn. There are several buttons on this machine including one for "EGATE". Although a big flatscreen LCD showed my number being eleventh in line, actually I was seen next - maybe someone put in ten requests in error.

To get back into the area for chauffeur drive/Dubai Connect hotel it was necessary to wait outside a glass one-way auto door for someone to come out...

Does someone know if Skywards Blue card is eligible for free eGate registration?

Edit: just found the answer here.

Is this location still accurate for issuing e-gate to Skywards Gold members.

I have a 3 hour stopover this week, and similar on my return in a couple of weeks time. Is this enough to clear immigration and customs, activate egate and still get back through security etc for some lounge time?