Next week, i will be starting my first RTW trip out of BKK, using the well documented UA-EK partnership. I fly UA all the time, but Emirates will be a new experience that I'm looking forward to. I am doing this in C and I expect to do this at least once or twice more before the end of the year and perhaps beyond.

My question is whether there is any particular worth to joining Skywards, to accrue the miles I fly on the EK parts of the tickets. How well does EK treat its elites? I've read the website and gone through the various threads in this forum, but I still don't really understand what kind of benefits elite status gets you.

There aren't any granted bonus' like upgrade certificates, I assume.Are you simply likelier to get upgraded if you are silver or gold? How likely?

Are there significant mileage bonus's once you are in gold or silver status?

Since I will be doing these trips in C already, lounge access doesn't mean as much to me. And luggage allowance has, so far in my life, never been an issue.

Any thoughts or comments appreciated