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You Can Now Use Emirates Miles to Buy Merchandise at Dubai Airports

Oct. 12, 2016
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2 min read
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You Can Now Use Emirates Miles to Buy Merchandise at Dubai Airports
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Dubai is known as a shopper's paradise, and its airports are no exception. Now, Emirates and Dubai Duty Free have teamed up to allow passengers to redeem Emirates Skywards miles for products sold at the stores, including electronics, clothing and cosmetics. When you're ready to check out, you simply present your Skywards membership card (or recite your membership number if you have it memorized) along with your passport and boarding pass, and the store will redeem miles for your purchase.

If you're wondering what kind of value you'll get for shopping with Emirates miles, well, it's pretty terrible. You have to redeem a minimum of 4,500 miles, and that will be equivalent to 100 AED or roughly $27 — a value of 0.6 cents per mile. Considering that TPG values Emirates miles at 1.2 cents apiece in his latest valuations, this is far from ideal. After the minimum 4,500 miles that you need to redeem, you can redeem 45 miles for each additional AED you spend ($0.27), with no limit to the amount of miles you redeem.

You can redeem Emirates miles at Dubai Duty Free stores, but it's a terrible value. Photo credit Michael Lurenberg/Getty Images.

In general, we say that redeeming miles for merchandise is a bad idea since you won't be getting great value — but many airlines and hotel chains allow you to shop with your rewards. United even has a Miles Shop at Newark airport (EWR) where you can buy anything from headphones to model airplanes with your miles — at a terrible rate, of course. American Express lets cardholders redeem Membership Rewards points for merchandise sold on the issuer's online shopping portal, but you'll receive a paltry value of 0.5 cents per point when doing this.

There are a few ways in which you can get a decent value when redeeming points for merchandise. Both American Express and Chase allow you redeem points to purchase gift cards for a (limited) variety of retailers usually at a value of 1 cent per point — still not great, but better than most of the other options.

Photo credit Michael Luhrenberg/Getty Images

Have you ever redeemed travel rewards for merchandise?

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Why We Chose It

There’s a lot to love about the Amex Gold. It’s a fan favorite thanks to its fantastic bonus-earning rates at restaurants worldwide and at U.S. supermarkets. If you’re hitting the skies soon, you’ll also earn bonus Membership Rewards points on travel. Paired with up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (for U.S. Uber rides or Uber Eats orders, card must be added to Uber app and you can redeem with any Amex card), up to $120 in annual dining statement credits to be used with eligible partners, an up to $84 Dunkin’ credit each year at U.S. Dunkin Donuts and an up to $100 Resy credit annually, there’s no reason that foodies shouldn’t add the Amex Gold to their wallet. These benefits alone are worth more than $400, which offsets the $325 annual fee on the Amex Gold card. Enrollment is required for select benefits. (Partner offer)

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  • 3 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline or with amextravel.com
  • Packed with credits foodies will enjoy
  • Solid welcome bonus

Cons

  • Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
  • Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
  • You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
  • Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com.
  • Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
  • $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. That’s up to $120 Uber Cash annually. Plus, after using your Uber Cash, use your Card to earn 4X Membership Rewards® points for Uber Eats purchases made with restaurants or U.S. supermarkets. Point caps and terms apply.
  • $84 Dunkin' Credit: With the $84 Dunkin' Credit, you can earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you enroll and pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment is required to receive this benefit.
  • $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card to dine at U.S. Resy restaurants or make other eligible Resy purchases. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings, sweet or savory, with the $120 Dining Credit. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
  • Explore over 1,000 upscale hotels worldwide with The Hotel Collection and receive a $100 credit towards eligible charges* with every booking of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com. *Eligible charges vary by property.
  • No Foreign Transaction Fees.
  • Annual Fee is $325.
  • Terms Apply.