Emirates Skywards has added Premium Economy to its rewards programme, allowing members to redeem miles for flights and upgrades in the popular cabin class.
The move offers more flexibility to over 35 million members of the loyalty programme shared by Emirates and flydubai.
Miles for flights and upgrades
Skywards members can now use miles to book Classic Rewards in Premium Economy, with redemptions starting from 15,000 miles one-way.
Upgrades from Economy to Premium Economy start at 7,020 miles and can be requested before travel or at airport check-in, subject to seat availability.
Dr. Nejib Ben Khedher, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates Skywards, said: “We’re thrilled to announce the introduction of flight rewards on Emirates’ highly coveted Premium Economy cabin. This has been in development for some time and comes following the huge success, positive feedback, and strong demand by members to utilise Miles on Premium Economy – especially on popular long-haul destinations such as London, Sydney, Melbourne, and New York.”
Skywards has also rolled out Classic Rewards on flydubai flights, starting at 5,000 miles, and updated Cash+Miles rates. Between June and August 2025, nearly 500,000 reward tickets were issued, with high demand for destinations including London, Paris, New York and Bangkok.
Growing Premium Economy fleet
Emirates is the only airline in the region offering a dedicated Premium Economy cabin. The airline’s Dhs18.3 billion (US$5 billion) retrofit programme has equipped 67 aircraft so far, with more to follow. Premium Economy is now available on flights to over 66 cities and is expected to reach 68 cities by March 2026.
By the end of 2026, Emirates plans to offer four million Premium Economy seats annually across its A380, Boeing 777, and A350 aircraft.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
