katofunanori

The annual fees for most premium cards are about 700 to 1,500 AED - I wouldn't call that small.

weld3z

In my case it's 700 if you don't spend 40k in a year, if you reach 40k it's free !!
700 for 60k credit limit with this benefits is the cheapest in every bank in UAE .. if you got something better let us know plz
compare to Bonvoy card or any skywards card even if you spend 1 million you well pay the renewal ..

Wait there is something very important, NBD well not give you full points or miles every where, Amex don't have category for spending super market like 5 star hotel you well got full points any where !

katofunanori

But I was very specifically referring to your earlier comment "not to cancel any credit card just keep it in your wallet even if you don't use it"... If you don't use your card, it is not free. Which is why I am cancelling the AMEX after getting the sign-up bonus and annual free refund after hitting the minimum-spend. Also, the 21,000 AED deposit sitting there is costing me 420 AED in unrealized interest from my 2% savings account. So to "just keep it in your wallet even if you don't use it" is not always sensible.

I don't mind paying the Bonvoy 1,500 AED annual fee because, for me, it is justified considering the benefits I get.

weld3z

There is no free credit card !!
With this benefits 700 is nothing compared to many others
​​​​​​90% well provide salary sertificate so no need to hold 21000 canceling any credit card in some country well affect your credit score for me for example most of the time i use it while traveling to compare it with Bonvoy card the difference is not big in earning, I have 6 credit cards now do i have to use them all ?
In this case every one have his own idea in my opinion cancelling a credit card is not a good idea specially something like Amex that is open to more than 10 air miles programs and 3-4 hotel chain.

Mackle

Thanks for the suggestions all. It looks like there are a couple of accounts (such as Noor) where you can earn Skywards if your balance stays above a certain amount for most of the month.

What happened in the end (and I was surprised by this, being used to the Credit system in the UK, and the not too dissimilar SCHUFA system in Germany, as I would not be entitled to this type of card two weeks after arriving in country with no previous history in those counties) was that I met someone from ENDB yesterday as they are one of the banks that has a relationship with my employer, and after signing the forms to open the bank account, I was offered a Skywards Infinite VISA there and then, so without thinking about it just went for it.

It is not a cheap card, and I do not know how I am going to get on with the 25K USD in the first three months challenge to get the big points haul. In hindsight, maybe I should have gone for the Bonvoy instead, but as I have Bonvey Gold through my still-active German Amex plat, I instinctively went for the Skywards one.

I have gotten so used to Amex being my "primary" card, but with the yearly cost of this Skywards card, I am thinking that I might not even get an Amex at all in DXB (or perhaps I go for the Dubai Duty Free card for the airport discounts, in a few months time once I have succeed or failed with the spend requirement).

Actually, question for those with ENDB CCs - I need to transfer some money each month to my Revolut account, so ordinarily would be looking to do this as a bank transfer, but if I were to use the ENDB CC as a top up source for my Revolut, would that count towards the 25K USD spend? If not, would going via the Curve card make any difference?

I know when I used my UK Lufthansa card to do this in the past, I did not not get any Miles and More points as Diners Club saw it as a cash withdrawal.

modularmayhem

I cannot say for definite as i do not have first hand experience of the ENBD card, but topping up Revolut from any credit card, posts as a cash withdrawal transaction, so i doubt it would count towards your spend.
Doing it via Curve is certainly more likely to work. I would perhaps try a small amount first month to see how it works out.

weld3z

​​​​​​I don't think you well got miles for such transaction but you can try for small amount, any way if you ask me about your card to be honest i prefer the one provided by Dubai islamic bank same everything except it well give you full miles for any $ you spend any where, your card have categories well not give you full miles at government or at normal restaurants ( must be fine dine ) you can visit both web site and check for more details ..


Welcome to UAE

Mackle

Thank you

And I guess I can always change cards later on as well, I just signed up for the ENDB one as was opening an account at the time, and when I was offered a mileage card right there and then I just took it

katofunanori

No, it has to be retail spend and any such transaction will be charged 3% extra or 99 AED, whichever is greater and no points will be granted - so don't do any such transfers with your credit card!

It's up to you but the EK card does not give any real advantages over the Bonvoy card and actually limits you to only EK (which is terrible value, especially if you're based out of UAE). I fell for the same trap when I moved to Dubai and after 1 year switched to Bonvoy. The earning rate is the same and you can always transfer to EK. So it's like having the EK card + access to all other mileage programs.

Also, the spend requirement is much less for the same welcome points...with EK if you spend 25K USD in first 3 months (not easy), you get 30K + 40K = 70K miles. If you miss the 25K USD spend limit you get 30K + 25K = 55K miles. But with the Bonvoy card if you spend 10K USD (much easier), you get 150K Bonvoy points = 50K + 10K = 60K miles (because for every 60K MB points transferred, you get 5K *miles* bonus).

Also consider that within one year if you spend enough to collect, say, 100K EK miles on your EK card, that would mean you spent enough to collect 300K MB points = 100K + 40K = 140K miles.

stargold

If you already have (or don't need) the Skywards Silver status that comes with the EK card, then I agree with katofunasori that the Bonvoy card probably works better for you.

If you call the chap that you spoke to who handled the application quickly, then you should be able to halt the application of the EK one and ask him to switch it to a Bonvoy one instead.

weld3z

Yes you can, agree with Bonvoy card it's better, any way here is a small tip regards your 25k spend you can always convert your payment to easy instalments for 3-6-12 month, did it with emirates tickets and there was no % profit i just pay a small fee for the transaction .( If im not wrong AED 100 )

Buy your future tickets or pay your rent or maybe a new Rolex
Also if you have online trading like Fxpro for example !!

Mackle

Given the recent introduction of 1 tier point for every 4 Skywards points on the ENDB Infinite, would you still say the Bonvoy Card is clearly the no brainer?

(As an aside I still have a German and UK Amex Plat, so have only got the DDF one here for now. I will probably cancel my German one as can use Curve linked to my ENDB Skywards for any Euro transactions, but my UK-based Dad is a supplemental holder for my UK plat so I am a bit loathed to give it up as he gets usage out of the lounges and hotel status).