Emirates, India’s unofficial national airline (for carrying over 11% of India’s international traffic!) has announced a new Platinum Tier on Tuesday, as it gets ready to roll the red carpet on its new partnership with Qantas. Emirates’ Skywards program already had a Blue, Silver & Gold tier which one could qualify on achieving 25K Tier miles (Silver) & 50K tier miles (Gold). However, the new Platinum Tier is a significant uptick and will be only awarded to members who earn 150K Tier Miles per annum, and will be launched on April 1, 2013.
The benefits include the following:
- First Class check-in and baggage delivery
- Access for member and a guest to the Emirates First Class lounge in Dubai and Emirates Lounges across the network
- 75% bonus Skywards Miles when flying with Emirates
- Gold ‘Partner’ Card for a spouse or partner
- Guaranteed Business Class revenue seats
- ‘Last Seat’ Flex reward tickets even on high-demand flights
While most of these benefits look good, I presume the real benefit is really the 75% bonus miles and the Gold Partner card (which has a few of its own benefits). I also have to add that I’ve heard many a folks tell me how Emirates upgrades them at the gate, complimentary of course, if they are a loyal customer of some vintage. I would imagine then confirmed upgrade certificates were definitely out of question in this case.
The program kicks off on April 1, and flyers who achieved the 150K tier miles during March 2012-March 2013 will automatically be upgraded to the new tier. As per Emirates, about 5,000 people or so will qualify for the Platinum Tier to start with, so this should not really be a burden on the existing facilities from the word go.
Any of you readers of mine are going to be qualifying for EK Platinum anytime soon? Unless you are already a member of IO (the Invite Only tier!)
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Would have achieved this tier with all my travel a couple of years ago but no longer live in the UAE nor travel as much.
From spending three years heavily traveling with them, however, and two years at gold, it was clear that the gold section and business lounges in Dubai, were oversubscribed. It was also hugely annoying in 2011 when they ‘temporarily’ revoked travelling companion lounge benefits, purportedly because of rennovations to the Dubai Business Lounge, only to never return them.
Ultimately, as well, upgrades were quite readily available on flights to India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Singapore when I flew, however in about 20 different Economy flights to the UK I never once got upgraded. I reckon they could have filled a whole plane to the UK with business travellers!!