One-third of all credit card transactions in Australia involve a card that earns Qantas points. However, the Qantas Frequent Flyer program is not the only choice available to consumers.
Multiple Velocity Frequent Flyer co-branded credit cards in Australia allow you to accrue Velocity points. Additionally, you can earn Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles with certain Australian credit cards.
Since Citibank's withdrawal of its Emirates Citi World Mastercard from the market in January 2023, there are no longer any co-branded Emirates credit cards available in Australia.
Despite these changes, numerous Australian credit cards still allow you to earn points, which can be transferred to Emirates Skywards, the airline's frequent flyer program.
How to transfer Australian credit card loyalty points to Emirates Skywards
Instead of earning Emirates miles directly through a co-branded credit card, you can transfer — or convert — points from an Australian credit card loyalty program to Emirates Skywards.
American Express (Amex Membership Rewards) and CommBank Awards both have Emirates Skywards as a points transfer partner.
Is transferring points to the Emirates Skywards program worth it?
Transferring credit card loyalty points to the Emirates Skywards program could be beneficial in certain situations. However, we would advise against it in most cases, mainly due to unused Emirates Skywards miles expiring after 3 years, regardless of your account activity.
Emirates Skywards redemptions are relatively costly in terms of the required miles and the high Emirates carrier charges.
If you want to redeem points for Emirates flights, you don't necessarily have to book with Skywards miles. You can also use Qantas Frequent Flyer points or Air Canada Aeroplan points.
However, using Emirates Skywards miles does provide access to the more expensive "Flex Plus" reward seats, which are more available. If you plan to fly during a peak period, this could be one of the few ways to find award availability.
For Emirates-operated flights departing from most destinations, one-way awards can only be booked in the "Flex Plus" category, which requires more miles.
Additionally, you can use Skywards miles to upgrade on Emirates flights, which is not possible with Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
