The Citibank Emirates Skywards Rewards Program provides excellent benefits to loyal customers of Emirates.
It is a frequent flyer rewards program maintained by Emirates Airline, a relatively new entrant in the airline carrier industry but who nevertheless have managed to establish quite a reputation for customer service. The following description gives details on all the great features and benefits of the Citibank Emirates Skywards Rewards Program.
About the Skywards Program
Skywards is an award winning frequent flyer program operated by a leading carrier of the region, Emirates Airline. The Skywards program goes beyond the services offered by traditional frequent flyer programs. Every innovative and class leading feature of the program is unique and cannot be found in any alternate offers, a fact demonstrated by the votes of many satisfied, loyal customers around the world in the form of membership numbers and awards won by the program.
Members can get access to flights and upgrades based on the number of reward points (known as Skywards Miles) earned. There are plenty of ways to gather more Miles from the multitude of reward partners involved. Reward points thus earned can also be used for shopping at the Emirates High Street.
The Emirates High Street is an online shopping portal catering to the Skywards members and offers great flexibility in redeeming reward points. Members can visit the page at www.theemirateshighstreet.com and browse through the catalogue of products that can be purchased with Skywards Miles, cash, or any combination of the two. They can also choose to have their purchase delivered right to their doorsteps.
Apart from these regular offerings, Skywards also has an innovative Skysurfers program. The Skysurfers club is targeted toward the younger travellers from two to sixteen years of age, offering them fantastic travel opportunities, similar to the Skywards program. We discuss Skysurfers in greater detail later.
The Awards Received
Here are some of the accolades received by the Skywards program in recent times:
- Best Loyalty Program award from the Middle East Traveller Magazine.
- Multiple top positions in the Annual Freddies Awards – Over the last four years Skywards has consistently secured top honours across multiple categories in the Freddies Awards. The Freddies are like the Oscar of Airline Awards, being the recipient of a Freddie is high praise indeed.
- Best Frequent Flyer Program (2007) – A Freddie award for the region Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia.
- Best Bonus in Frequent Flyer Program (2007) – Two more Freddies for the region Japan, Pacific, Asia and Australia and for the region Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
- Best Member Communications, Best Customer Service and Best Award Redemption – Freddie Awards prior to the year 2007.
- Best Web Site Freddie Award twice in a row.
- Program of the Year – The highest honour achievable in the Freddie Awards.
Skywards Program Structure
The Skywards program is three tiered, with higher tiers offering greater privileges:
- Blue – The starting level of membership. All members begin in this level and do not have to pass any qualifying criteria for the blue tier. There are no membership fees at this level.
- Silver – Members gain the next level of status by earning tier Miles. These are reward points offered only when flying with Emirates Airline, and they cannot be redeemed for normal awards. To be promoted to the Silver level a member has to accumulate 25,000 tier Miles in one calendar year (between the 1st of January and 31st of December), or fly at least 20 sectors.
- Gold – The final membership level requires 50,000 tier Miles or at least 40 sectors in one year. Gold members can earn rewards much faster than others.
Earning Miles
To get the most out of the Skywards program, members need to earn as many Skywards Miles as possible. The number of Miles you can get for flying different classes are:
- 1 Skywards Mile for every mile flown in an Economy flight.
- 1.5 Skywards Miles for every mile flown in a Business flight.
- 2 Skywards Miles for every mile flown in a First class flight.
Silver and Gold members earn extra points in the same travel class. Silver members earn 25% more points, while Gold members get 50% extra Miles for the same travel class and mileage of flight.
Members can also top up their account before booking a reward flight. This can only be done in conjunction with a reward flight booking, and for a minimum of 2,000 Miles. Miles can be purchased at the rate of 2.5 cents per Skywards Miles.
Benefits of different tiers
The following table highlights the different benefits and privileges accorded to each level of membership – Skywards (Blue), Skywards Silver, and Skywards Gold.
Passenger Services
Emirates Airline is well known for its exceptional customer service. The following list of services (available to all passengers) speaks favourably on their behalf:
- Pre-assigned seats
- Special meals on-flight
- Dedicated sports equipment carriage
- For J and F class passengers, a Chauffer driven car ride
- Fast track service
- Stop-over service
- Dubai Visa service
In addition to the above, Silver and Gold members of the Skywards program also get access to the following exclusive service offerings:
- Skywards Alumnus (Available to Silver and Gold members) – This is a business club for online networking of professionals with shared interests. Attractions include exclusive insights and news on the Middle East business world, and opportunities to participate in seminars and talks.
- Skywards Opening Doors (For Gold members only) – Access to VIP service and exclusive treatment in any of the partner locations around the globe. Relax and unwind with complete luxury by visiting a private club, resort or spa.
Keep track of your Miles
Emirates makes is very easy and convenient to get updates on the number of reward points gathered. Members can log on to www.skywards.com from anywhere at any time and update their user preferences, check mileage balance, use the online Miles calculator, and view special offers applicable to them.
Members also receive a quarterly statement detailing all the reward points they have earned as well as the points they have redeemed last quarter. This allows members to keep an eye on how close they are to achieving the next tier of membership or to track how many more Miles they need to purchase a particular reward. They can also choose to receive e-statements instead of paper statements, via the “My Statements” section on the rewards website.
Reward Partners
Part of the charm of the Skywards program is the flexibility offered in using those Miles to good use. Members are not confined to a narrow range of flights and upgrades, but can choose from multiple options to redeem rewards, as indicated by the very large number of reward partners. The following table lists some of the reward partners, please visit the rewards website to know of the latest reward partners and Skywards Miles redemption options.
| Partner Category
|
Reward Partner Name
|
|
Airlines |
Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, Korean Air, South African Airways, United Airlines. |
|
Car Rental |
Avis, Budget, Hertz, Sixt |
| Leisure and Lifestyle
|
Arabian Adventures, Danat Dubai Cruises, Damas, Dubai Autodrome, Emirates Holidays, Emirates Tours UK, Language Direct, Magrudy’s, Rivoli, Ski Dubai, Skywards Golf Fee Card, Wild Wadi Water Park |
| Financial Services
|
Ahli United Bank, Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, Citibank, Emirates Bank International, Standard Chartered Bank |
| Hotels
|
Emirates Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa, Coral International, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Family of Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Jumeirah Hotels and Resorts, Marriott, Raffles International, Rotana Hotels, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Swissotel Hotel and Resorts, Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, Rezidor Hotel Group |
How to Redeem Miles
Members can use their reward points online, by booking a flight using their Miles. The “earn and spend” section of the rewards website has easy-to-follow instructions that will provide a step-by-step guide to lead customers through the whole process. You can choose to have the flight tickets delivered to your home, a service which is provided in 50 locations around the world.
The great thing about earning Miles with Skywards is that you don’t have to wait ages just to gain enough points for a worthwhile redemption. There are Emirates flights available that start from 10,000 Skywards Miles. You can even get a flight upgrade for just 5,000 Skywards Miles. There are no restrictions (blackout days) on the process, so you can use your gathered Skywards Miles on any day of the year. However please note that peak travel seasons are booked out well in advance, so make sure you take that into account while planning your trip.
Economy flights costs less in rewards points, but their availability is also quite low. Peak Economy flights (during peak/holiday season) require more Skywards Miles to be redeemed than regular Economy seats. Although Peak Economy flights are more expensive in terms of Skywards Miles, they are usually more easily available for booking at a time close to the departure date. In most cases Skywards members have to book a reward flight at least 48 hours before the departure time of the flight.
Skysurfers Club
This is an innovative frequent flyer club for young members (children between two to sixteen) that offers similar benefits to the Skywards program. Members have their own membership card, log book, secure passwords and web site – www.skysurfers.com. Applications for Skysurfers need to be signed off by a parent/guardian, after which they are free to enjoy the specially crafted rewards options, including flights to international amusement parks.
The Citibank Emirates Skywards Rewards Program gives you all the benefits of a frequent flyer, and more features that are truly unique to Emirates. Check out their homepage for more ways to enjoy your flights and Miles with Emirates.
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Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
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