Pro's:
- All paid fares earn mileage.
- Excellent bonus for paid tickets bought online with Emirates (Specially in F).
- Good ratio for earning and burning (Specially on short haul upgrades).
- Good benefits for Gold/Silver (Including their bonus).
- Somewhat good availability for reward bookings across their network.
- 10% discount for online reward booking.
- No blackout periods.
- No fuel surcharges on reward bookings (unlike BA, MH, QF etc.)
- Changes to travel dates back and forward can be made without penalty even on discount Economy (unlike most airilnes).
- All premium services are included for F/J, including limo service, access to lounge (unlike VS).
- Refund of miles in case the reward (upgrade) is not used.
- Refund of miles in case of reward is not used (minus $50USD).
- Good offers from time to time, like 50% discounts, or tens of thousands of points for buying a mobile (though a bit restrictive/region specific).
- Earning of miles on purchases through affiliated credit cards (in the UAE only).
- Possibility to top up miles and gift, up to 25000 per year without restrctions (unlike QF restricting the amont to %15 of an award value).

Con's:
- Bad reward availability for flights downunder -to Oz (or up n over, depending on how you see it). Sometimes seats are cleared the day before.
- The less-than-a-year-old rule restricting reward bookings to availability on fare buckets C and A.
- Online booking system has a mind of its own.
- Only 20% family bonus (EY has 100%).
- Tier miles are to be accured within the same calender year, and not on rolling basis.
- Expiry of miles every 3 years (unlike many like GF, QF, no expiry as long there is activity on the account).
- Can not transfer my AMEX points to Skywards

Feel free to add to the list.

Overall I think EK has one of the best reward programs out there; if they ever decide to drop the bonus for online booking it would lose its value, however.

Pros

• Decent availability for Upgrade Rewards
• Cost of Upgrades not too high

Cons

• Not part of a global alliance
• Separate lounge in Dubai - no access to business lounge if flying out Y (but hopefully that will change with the new terminal)

Is that really a problem though? Both lounges are pretty much the same IME. Same food/wine etc.

OK, you tend to be with more smelly Y class passengers, but you can't have everything

Cheers,
Rick

Online booking is hardly a part of Skywards

I have used EK online booking for more than 2 years and never had a problem - except for it suggesting some strange routings (DXB-CMB: DXB-SIN on EK348 (EK348 stops in CMB) and the SIN-CMB on EK349.

Agreed - Skywards is one of the best FF programs - if not the best.

Skywards will still have great value even if bonus for online booking is dropped.

It is if your departure gate is near to the other lounge and you don't want to trek the length of the airport to get to it when boarding.

Also I went there with my mother recently - we had both flown in J, but I was flying out on in Y when she was in J. They wanted me to either leave her there on her own or march her (without the promised wheelchair) to the other lounge - when our departure gate was right next to the J lounge. A supervisor eventually sorted it out, but that sort of thing causes needless stress in the middle of a LON-PER long set of flights with an elderly relative.

Given that - as you say - the features of the two lounges are very similar, why not just give people a free choice to use the one more convenient to their departure gate etc.

Three cons:

1. Reducing # of partners.
2. Poor award availability.
3. Lack of alliance.

Last week i got NZD 944 return AKL-BKK and double miles AKL-SYD route.

944NZD is great value return to BKK. You would wish/want EK provides similar deals from SYD.

Yeah i saw that deal and thought it was a real bargain ! but couldnt get away from work to avail that offer !

There are some equally smelly J class passengers too (you know who you are). Please take a shower at the business lounge or dry clean that suit before your flight!!! hehehehe