Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite review: A premium card for UAE travellers

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I’ve carried the Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite in my wallet for years — and it still plays a central role in my UAE travel strategy. It’s one of the strongest travel rewards cards in the Emirates thanks to high-value Skywards Miles, complimentary unlimited lounge access and no foreign transaction fees. If you fly Emirates even a few times a year, it can easily deliver outsize value. Card rating*:

*Card rating is based on the opinion of Yajool’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite: Earn 30,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending AED 5,000 on purchases in the first 90 days from account opening. This offer ends soon.

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Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite: The basics

The Skywards Infinite is Emirates NBD’s premium travel card. It earns Skywards Miles directly with Emirates and partner airlines — my go-to currency for premium-cabin redemptions and upgrades out of Dubai.

The annual fee is AED 900, but it’s waived for the first year, and the value can far outweigh the cost if you use even a couple of the card’s travel perks. Between unlimited lounge access and the welcome bonus, most frequent flyers recoup the fee comfortably. Everything else the card offers feels like added value.

I rely on the Skywards Infinite for the perks I use constantly: airport lounge access when I’m travelling, accelerated miles on Emirates flights, and travel insurance that has come through more than once. It’s a flexible premium rewards card designed for people who want to be hands-on with their travel strategy — not a passive “set-it-and-forget-it” product.

Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite pros and cons

Yajool editorial review

Our editors score every card against the same four pillars — rewards value, travel benefits, fees and eligibility. Here’s how the Skywards Infinite stacks up under our ratings methodology.

Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite benefits

The Skywards Infinite’s value largely hinges on its set of travel and lifestyle benefits, which can offset the annual fee if you use them regularly.

Accelerated Skywards Miles

The card’s earning structure is one of the easiest to maximise of any UAE travel card. Emirates NBD awards 8x Skywards Miles on Emirates flights and 4x on international spend — from hotels and car rentals to flights and tolls.

This earn rate alone can cover the card’s effective annual fee within a few months of regular travel — I hit it organically within the first quarter most years.

Lifestyle and travel credits

The card comes with several recurring perks that are useful if they match your spending patterns:

• Unlimited lounge access for the cardholder at 1,000+ airports worldwide, including Marhaba lounges across the UAE.

• Valet parking at major malls and airports in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

• Buy-one-get-one cinema and dining offers through the Emirates NBD lifestyle programme.

• Up to 50% off on golf, spa and leisure experiences across the GCC.

• Complimentary travel insurance covering trip delays, lost baggage and medical emergencies.

On paper these credits add up to significant value, but in practice they function more like a benefits menu — you’ll need to actively use them across different partners to extract the full value.

Lounge access

Skywards Infinite cardholders get complimentary access to a wide network of lounges, making long layovers and early departures noticeably more comfortable. It’s the single perk I lean on most.

How to earn and use your Skywards Miles

Understanding how you earn and redeem miles with the Skywards Infinite is key to getting more out of it than the annual fee takes back.

Earning miles

The card’s bonus categories line up neatly with how most UAE travellers already spend. You’ll earn:

• 8x Skywards Miles on Emirates flights booked through Emirates NBD

• 4x Skywards Miles on international and travel spend

• 3x Skywards Miles on dining and supermarkets in the UAE

• 1x Skywards Miles on everything else

I put flights, dining and every dirham I spend abroad on this card. Since there are no foreign transaction fees, the 4x international rate is effectively pure upside — it’s the card I reach for the moment I leave the UAE.

Redeeming miles

Skywards Miles land directly in your Emirates Skywards account, so there are no transfer partners to juggle. The two redemptions that consistently return the most value are cash+miles upgrades from economy to business on medium-haul routes, and Business Saver rewards when seats open up outside peak season.

Yajool values Skywards Miles at roughly AED 0.06 each, which puts the 30,000-mile welcome bonus at about AED 1,800 — double the year-two annual fee. Avoid spending miles on merchandise or vouchers, where the value drops sharply.

Related: Getting started with points and miles in the UAE

Downsides to consider

No premium card is perfect, and the Skywards Infinite is no exception.

• The AED 900 fee from year two stings if your Emirates flying drops off.

• The AED 15,000 minimum salary shuts out many otherwise-strong applicants.

• Skywards Miles are a single-airline currency — less flexible than transferable bank points.

• Redemption value swings with Emirates award availability; peak-season seats are scarce.

• At 3.5% per month, carrying a balance erases any rewards value almost immediately.

Skywards Infinite vs. ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Signature

The closest competitor is the ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Signature — the same premium airline-card formula, pointed at Abu Dhabi instead of Dubai.

Choose the Skywards Infinite if:

• Emirates is your default airline and DXB your home airport

• You want the stronger lounge network and travel insurance

• Your spend is heavy on dining and international purchases

Choose the Etihad Guest card if:

• You fly Etihad from Abu Dhabi more than Emirates from Dubai

• You prefer a Sharia-compliant card structure

• Etihad’s partner airlines fit your routes better

Related: Compare both cards side by side

When to apply

New cardholders currently earn 30,000 bonus Skywards Miles after spending AED 5,000 in the first 90 days — up from the standard 20,000-mile offer. This elevated bonus ends June 15, so if the card was already on your list, apply before the deadline rather than after it.

Before applying, make sure your documented salary clears AED 15,000 a month and your AECB score is in good shape; Emirates NBD will confirm eligibility during the application.

Other cards to consider

If the Skywards Infinite isn’t the right fit, consider these alternatives:

• If you’d rather earn cash: the Mashreq Cashback Credit Card returns flat cashback with zero travel homework. See our best cashback cards.

• If you want AED 0 forever: the RAKBANK World Credit Card keeps solid rewards with no annual fee in any year. See our best no-annual-fee cards.

• If you fly Etihad: the ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Signature is the Abu Dhabi counterpart to this card. See our best Etihad Guest cards.

For more options, browse the full ranked list of UAE credit cards.

Bottom line

The Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite remains one of the most powerful travel rewards cards available in the UAE, especially for people who enjoy actively earning and redeeming Skywards Miles and maximising their card perks.

For me, the combination of strong earning, unlimited lounge access, premium travel protections and useful lifestyle credits makes it a mainstay in my wallet.

For full rates and fees of the Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite, see the card details page.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank or card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.