How Much are Emirates Skywards Miles Worth?

Emirates is well known for its premium cabin seats and luxurious experiences. Given that, you might be wondering: What are Emirates Skywards miles worth?

Based on our analysis, the short answer is that they are worth 1 cent each.

This is a baseline value, drawn from real-world data on hundreds of economy routes, not a maximized value. In other words, you should aim for award redemptions that offer 1 cent or more in value from your Skywards miles.

What does this value mean?

Our estimated value of Emirates Skywards miles at 1 cent per mile provides an average value you can use to determine the relative value of your own redemptions. It is based on comparing main cabin fares, using both cash and miles, across several dates and destinations.

In other words, this is the value you can expect to get from your Skywards miles without seeking particularly high-value redemptions. This means you can get more value bylooking for sweet spots and using more advanced award techniques. It also means you can end up getting lower value than this if you’re not careful and book the first award ticket you find.

» Learn more: Should I book award travel this year?

How to convert Skywards miles to dollars

With this calculator, you can figure out how much your miles are worth in dollars based on our valuation.

How can I get the most value out of my Skywards miles?

Based on our analysis, when you book your Skywards award flights can significantly affect the amount of value you get out of them. We found that bookings made 90 days before departure provided more value for your points than farther out or close-in bookings.

Here's what we found when looking at Flying Blue point valuations across different booking windows.

• 1 cent each when booking 15 days before departure, with a range of 0.9 to 3.5 cents per mile.

• 1 cent each when booking 60 days before departure, with a range of 0.5 to 2.7 cents each.

• 1.2 cent each when booking 90 days before departure, with a range of 0.5 to 3.4 cents each.

• 0.7 cents each when booking 180 days before departure, with a range of 0.5 to 3.4 cents each.

» Learn more: How to book Emirates first class with points

How flexible are Emirates Skywards miles?

Emirates isn't a member of a major airline alliance, but that doesn't mean there's a lack of options. You can redeem Skywards miles on over a dozen airlines — including Japan Airlines, Air Canada, Korean Air, and Qantas,

» Learn more: The guide to Emirates Skywards

Cards that earn Emirates Skywards miles

If you want to earn Skywards miles through travel card spending, you've got a few options. Emirates offers two co-branded cards to consumers, but a number of popular transferrable points programs can transfer to Skywards at a 1:1 ratio.

Here are a few cards to consider:

How did NerdWallet determine the value of Skywards miles?

We analyzed the cash and points prices of 40 flights booked via Emirates across a range of domestic and international routes. A regular economy fare class was used for all pricing data to be able to compare the valuations of similar Main Cabin-type fares that are bookable with points or miles on other airlines.

Departure dates were selected at 15, 60, 90 and 180 days from the day of the analysis. Return dates were chosen eight days after the departure date. This process allowed us to analyze a wide combination of days of the week and not bias the data towards expensive (i.e. weekend) or cheaper (i.e. midweek) flights. We used the median value of the dataset as the average.

This method differs from many others in that it looks at real-world redemptions rather than hypothetical, maximized redemptions. The advantage of this approach is that it provides an actual, real-world indication of how much these points are worth on average. That said, it doesn’t take into account the high-value redemptions that points enthusiasts seek.

Wondering what you can do with those miles? Learn which credit card is best for international award travel.