One in three credit card transactions in Australia are made using a credit card that earns Qantas points. But the Qantas Frequent Flyer program is not your only option!

In Australia, there are several Velocity Frequent Flyer co-branded credit cards that earn Velocity points. You could also earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles with an Australian credit card.

If you would prefer to earn Emirates Skywards miles, there are options for you too.

Unfortunately, there are no longer any co-branded Emirates credit cards in Australia after Citibank withdrew its Emirates Citi World Mastercard from the market last year. In January 2023, several Australian credit card programs including Citi Rewards and Suncorp Rewards also removed Emirates Skywards as a points transfer partner.

But there are still numerous Australian credit cards that let you earn points which are transferrable to Emirates’ frequent flyer program.

Transferring Australian credit card loyalty points to Emirates Skywards

Rather than earning Emirates miles directly through a co-branded credit card, you have the option to transfer points from selected Australian credit card loyalty programs to a choice of airline frequent flyer programs.

The following Australian credit card rewards programs partner with Emirates Skywards:

• American Express (Amex) Membership Rewards
• CommBank Awards (this is subject to change)

Should I transfer points to the Emirates Skywards program?

There are some cases where it could make sense to transfer credit card loyalty points to the Emirates Skywards program. However, in general, we would not recommend this.

The main reason is that Emirates Skywards redemptions are relatively expensive – both in terms of the number of miles required and the very high Emirates carrier charges.

If you’d like to redeem points to fly Emirates, you don’t necessarily have to book with Skywards miles. It’s also possible to redeem Qantas Frequent Flyer points or Air Canada Aeroplan points for Emirates flights.

However, by using Emirates Skywards miles, you do have access to the more expensive “Flex Plus” reward seats which have more availability. If you wish to fly during a peak period, this could be one of the few ways to actually find award availability.

You can also use Skywards miles to upgrade on Emirates flights – something you cannot do with Qantas Frequent Flyer points.

For Emirates-operated flights departing from most destinations, it’s only possible to book one-way awards in the “Flex Plus” category (which costs more miles).

Beware that unused Emirates Skywards miles expire after 3 years, regardless of your account activity.

Redeeming Skywards miles on partner airlines

Emirates also has some unique partner airlines that you can redeem Skywards miles to fly with. For example, you could use Skywards miles to book award flights on Korean Air, TAP Air Portugal, Bangkok Airways, GOL and Air Mauritius. You can also book Qantas flights using Emirates Skywards miles. Note that on some partner airlines, you can only book round-trip awards.

Skywards Classic Rewards on Emirates, flydubai, Qantas, Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Malaysia Airlines can be booked online. For awards on other partner airlines, you’d need to book via live chat, call Emirates or fill out an online request form. This booking process is more complicated and time-consuming.

The best Australian credit cards for earning Emirates Skywards miles

If you want to earn Emirates Skywards miles from your credit card spend in Australia, the top-earning personal cards are listed in the table below.

For easy comparison, we’ve calculated the equivalent earn rate of Emirates Skywards miles per $1 spent – taking into account the rate at which points are converted from each loyalty program to Emirates Skywards – on everyday purchases made in Australia.

Without further ado, here’s our list of top-earning Emirates Skywards credit cards in Australia in 2024:

Credit card	Loyalty program	Annual fee	Skywards miles per $1	More information
Amex Platinum	Amex Membership Rewards	$1,450	0.75
Amex Explorer	Amex Membership Rewards	$395	0.67
Amex Essential Rewards	Amex Membership Rewards	$0	0.33
Amex Platinum Edge	Amex Membership Rewards	$195	0.33 (1 at supermarkets & petrol stations)
CommBank Ultimate Awards	CommBank Awards	$0-420	0.2 (0.6 on international transactions & 0.4 at supermarkets, petrol stations, dining & utilities); up to $10,000/month
CommBank Smart Awards	CommBank Awards	$0-228	0.2 (0.3 at supermarkets, petrol stations, dining & utilities); up to $5,000/month

Clearly, the American Express Platinum and American Express Explorer credit cards let you earn the highest rate of uncapped points which can be converted into Emirates Skywards miles.

As a non-Amex option, the CommBank Ultimate Awards card earns points at a reasonable rate on international transactions. This credit card also has no international transaction fees.

Note that the CommBank Ultimate Awards and Smart Awards cards have monthly fees in lieu of traditional annual fees. These monthly fees are waived if you spend over a certain amount each month.

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.