Emirates is now selling Skywards Gold membership for US$800
By David Flynn, June 11 2017
Want Gold frequent flyer status – along with perks such as lounge access and a higher checked luggage allowance – but haven't been able to clock up the necessary status credits?
If you're a Silver member of Emirates' Skywards rewards program, check your inbox – the airline is now offering selected Silver card-holders the opportunity to buy Gold status.
The cost is US$800 (A$1,060), which locks in Skywards Gold status for a full 12 months.
Those Silver-grade flyers are being given seven days in which to decide if Gold is worth that much to them.
An Emirates spokesman tells Australian Business Traveller that the promotion was targeted at "a very small group of Emirates Skywards Silver members ... who have met certain qualifying criteria, including being in the top percentile of our Silver membership base in terms of revenue contribution."
"Less than 1% of the Silver membership base received this offer, and a handful have taken it up."
The spokesman elaborated that this "was a limited one-time offer" and that the airline has "no intention of making this a mass product."
The move follows recent decisions by the Gulf airline to allow economy passengers to buy their way into its business class and first class lounges.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
Sounds like they're desperate for additional revenue.
One would expect this will lead to more people in their lounges.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
04 Mar 2014
Total posts 204
Seems a cheap way to have status if you have lots of flying coming up, if it's anything like QF gold , to attain gold would cost a lot more than $800 of flying
03 May 2013
Total posts 672
Cheapens the whole idea of 'status'. It's now recognition of how much money you have to blow and not your loyalty, which is ironic and distasteful. Emirates is going down the path of the designer Pierre Cardin many years ago and slowly cheapening the brand to the point one would go out of their way to disassociate themselves from it. Myopic to say the least.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
22 Nov 2016
Total posts 3
this is prostituting. How much would it cost for platinum then? What's the point of flying and giving your loyalty when everyone can enjoy benefits by paying for the status? Where is the exclusivity when everyone can go in to the lounge at any time? How crowded would the lounge be?
QFF
12 Apr 2013
Total posts 1518
Anyone right now can buy Business or First ticket and have all those perks. Is it also "prostituting"? Or may be "prostituting" is to give access to lounge for gold-status holders who not flying Business/First? They decided that it is good for them to sell "status" and I would buy one if I have plenty of incoming flights. Fail to see anything wrong with that.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 May 2015
Total posts 75
This makes sense. If you fly often enough you will reach gold without paying the $800 fee. If you don't fly enough to reach gold then you won't have that many opportunities to use the benefits and therefore you will have minimal impact on 'lounge crowding', etc.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Oct 2013
Total posts 702
Apperently EK has been sending the email out to only members who are very close to Gold, members who have enough future bookings to reach gold or members who have been Gold for several years but recently dropped to a lower tier.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 Sep 2012
Total posts 236
Exactly. This is a great way for EK to get easy revenue by luring those Silver members with upcoming travel to pay for Gold which they'll likely attain in the next few trips anyway. The benefits may be worth it for those passengers.
03 May 2012
Total posts 120
Instinctively it upsets fliers but it is not markedly different to Qantas selling Qantas Club memberships, except it is more expensive. If you earn QF Gold, your major benefit is lounge membership, but someone who rarely flies can join you in the lounge by paying an annual fee, as well as receiving some other benefits such as extra luggage etc
15 Feb 2013
Total posts 163
It's not even really much more than Qantas club at the full public rates (yes there are significantly cheaper corporate memberships available). And qantas club only get lounge - they don't get priority security or boarding (not that QF knows how to do that properly anyway), they don't get any extra FF bonus points, they don't get the extra reward seat availability, extra baggage of gold, international lounge access outside of AA/QF lounges etc.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jan 2016
Total posts 11
What's better value...this (~$1000/year) or Qantas Life Time Gold, which they were effectively 'selling' for ~$35K during the last double status credits promotion in March (less whatever status credits you might have already earned, of course).
05 May 2016
Total posts 619
This offer may not be given every year to the same passenger. You can't rely on getting an offer like this. Also EK doesn't partner with QF for travel to/from the US so if you fly to the US on QF then EK status isn't going to help. When the EK partnership ends at some point in the future then EK status will be of no help for flying QF.
Whilst you could go from 0 Lifetime status credits to 14000 on one DSC promo I think very few/none would do that. The DSC promo can certainly help with retaining your tier or levelling up to the next level.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
27 Jul 2016
Total posts 57
Yet another company falling into the trap of watering down its privileges, without considering the longer term implications. Status is a reward for travel spend/loyalty and shouldn't be able to be bought. I'd certainly be pee'd-off if I was a loyal Emirates FF and they did this. Very pleased QF won't do the same.
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
05 Jun 2017
Total posts 28
I totally agree. It's a betrayal of loyalty and EK needs to ensure they don't reap the whirlwind of their actions. I'm platinum with Emirates and my loyalty to EK up to now has been based on the benefits accruing from that tier. Those benefits have been generous. I particularly like the quiet of the DXB first class lounge. On my current and recent trips I have noticed a general increase in numbers. Emirates, if you spruik such benefits as exclusive, don't disillusion loyal members by watering down the exclusivity that many like and appreciate! We have flown hard to reach the top tiers. Value our commitment
Emirates Airlines - Skywards
05 Jun 2017
Total posts 28
And value the real reasons we fly with you
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Emirates is now selling Skywards Gold membership for US$800