Best Credit Cards in UAE (August 2019)

From this month, I am starting a new series of posts – Best Credit Cards in UAE. In this post, I will cover the best sign-up bonuses, any good offers etc. I will try to update this list every month of two months as needed.

FAB Etihad Guest Infinite Credit Card

FAB is offering a whopping 235,000 miles if you sign-up for Etihad Guest Infinite Credit Card before August 31, 2019. I had written full details about the product here.

The bonus miles are split into two parts – you get 115,000 miles without any conditions. For the remaining 120,000 miles, you need to spend at least AED 100,000 within 6 months.

The credit card has an annual fee of AED 2,500. It is free for the first year. However, it is mandatory to pay the annual fee if you discontinue the card before the second year.

I value Etihad miles at least AED 0.05. Therefore, it is one of the best sign-on bonuses available.

The credit card earnings are solid but not spectacular. Per AED 10, you get 4.5 miles on domestics spend, 6 miles on international spend and 9 miles on Etihad.

You can apply for the credit card through this link.

Dubai Islamic Bank Consumer Platinum Credit Card

My application for this credit card was rejected. I hope you are lucky.

This is a simple credit card with no annual fee. You get 4% cashback on spends in the following categories

• Supermarket & Hypermarket
• Telecom payments
• Fuel
• Utility bill payments
• Auto servicing
• School fees
• Other government charges (Salik, nol)

Each category has a maximum cap on cashback which was big enough for an individual user. That is it. No minimum spends and no other onerous terms and conditions. To make this card more attractive, it offered 50% cashback on all movie ticket spends (maximum of AED 250). This cashback was available across all cinema brands.

The best way to use it will be in conjunction with a premium credit card that does not give full reward points on spends like utility, groceries etc.

You can apply for the credit card through this link.

ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Platinum Card

Usually, this card comes with a sign-up bonus of 50,000 Etihad Guest miles. However, if you signed up for the card between September 4, 2019 to September 30, 2019, you get an additional 100,000 miles.

This is how it works

• You get 50,000 miles on sign-up
• On spending AED 50,000 within 90 days, you get an Etihad Holiday voucher worth AED 2,000. You also get the annual fee waived off.
• On spending a further AED 30,000 you get the bonus 100,000 miles

The spending criteria is quite high. However, so are the benefits. If you value Etihad Guest miles at AED 0.05 each, you get benefits worth AED 7,000. That is impressive.

The card comes with several other interesting features

• Complementary use of Etihad luxury coach to Abu Dhabi airport if travelling from Dubai
• 3 miles for AED 4 spent on international transactions
• 2.2 miles for AED 4 spent on domestic transactions
• A free companion ticket (any destination and any class) if you exceed spends of AED 150,000 in a calendar year

You can apply for the credit card through this link.

HSBC CashBack Credit Card

Like the aforementioned credit card, this is also a straightforward credit card. The key benefits are

• 10% cashback on fuel spends
• 3% cashback on supermarkets
• 1% on all other spends
• Complimentary HSBC Entertainer App
• BOGO on Vox Cinemas

The card is free for first year and can be renewed for no fee if annual spend exceeds AED 12,000.

The reason I am highlighting this card is because of a promotional offer. If you apply online, you receive AED 300 cashback on the card. The promotion ends Aug 12, 2019.

You can apply for the credit card through this link.

 

Are you aware of any other promotional offers on credit cards? Please let us know.