Best Credit Cards in UAE (October 2019)

In a previous post, I had written about some of the best credit cards in UAE as on August 2019. This is the second part of the series.

In my opinion, these are some of the best credit cards to consider in October 2019.

FAB Elite Infinite / Infinite / Signature / Platinum Credit Cards

FAB has a fantastic cashback offer on its credit cards right now. You get impressive cashback on reaching certain spending goals. The rewards are even better if you can open a salary account with FAB.

The guaranteed cashback earnings are as follows:

• Minimum spend of AED 6,000: AED 300 (5%) for salary transfer customers, AED 200 (3.3%) otherwise
• Minimum spend of AED 30,000: AED 1,200 (4%) for salary transfer customers, AED 800 (2.7%) otherwise
• Minimum spend of AED 60,000: AED 3,000 (5%) for salary transfer customers, AED 2,000 (3.3%) otherwise

These spends should be achieved within 90 days of credit card issuance. All retail spends are eligible. For other terms and conditions, click on this link.

Needless to say, a 5% cashback is one of the best out there. This is in addition to usual points you earn. This promotion runs till December 2019. Cashback credit will start 120 days from credit card issuance. But wait there is more.

You also get a chance to win a BMW car. Three winners will be chosen, one from each category.

You can visit FAB website to apply for a card. 

Emirates NBD Marriott Bonvoy World Master Credit Card

Emirates NBD has finally changed the name of this co-branded card from SPG to Bonvoy. More importantly, it is offering an amazing 200,000 Marriott Bonvoy points as a sign-up bonus. This makes this card the most rewarding Marriott co-branded card (even when compared to US credit cards).

The bonus is divided into two parts. You receive 100,000 points on sign-up and another 100,000 points on achieving spends of $10,000 within 3 months. It makes sense to sign-up even if you would not achieve the spend threshold as the annual fee of the card is only AED 1,500. It also comes with complementary Marriott Gold Elite status.

The earning rates are impressive too

• 6 points per US$1 of spends at Marriott properties
• 3 points per US$1 on international spends
• 3 points per US$1 on other spends

However, the key issue with this card is poor earnings on groceries, utilities, telecom and such spends. This is taken from Emirates NBD website

“Retail spend made under the categories ‘Grocery and Supermarkets’, ‘Insurance’, ‘Car Dealership Related’ and ‘Quick Service Restaurants’ (i.e., fast-food restaurants) as defined by Mastercard will earn 0.75 points per US$1 spend. Retail spend made under the categories ‘Real estate’, ‘Education’, ‘Petroleum’, ‘Government Services’ and ‘Bill Payments’ (including Utility and Telecommunication) as defined by Mastercard will earn 0.30 points per US$1 spend.”

I have applied for this credit card and will do a full review in a few weeks. If you wish to apply, you can visit this link. The offer expires on November 30, 2019.

These are some great ways to use all these Marriott Bonvoy points.

Noor Bank World Credit Card

Did I save the best till the end? It depends on how you look at it.

I have been scouting for the best credit card for Skywards miles since I moved to Dubai. So far, I have no co-branded Skywards credit card. With the exception of Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite Card, none of them had good bonuses or earnings rate. I was not comfortable achieving the spend thresholds required by Emirates NBD for the bonus miles. And the earnings were poor on groceries, utilities, telecom and such spends.

Then I found Noor Bank World Credit Card.

This card is available free for life if your salary is beyond a threshold. This is a World Elite MasterCard and has many associated benefits including lounge access, travel insurance, hotel discounts etc. For the full list, visit my previous post – Nine Great MasterCard Benefits in UAE.

This card earns 1.5 Reward points / AED on domestic spends and 2.0 Reward points / AED on international spend. You can convert these points to Skywards miles in the ratio 5:1. It means that you get 1.1 Skywards miles / US$ on domestic spends and 1.5 Skywards miles / US$ on international spend.

You can apply for this card here. 

As a comparison, Emirates NBD Skywards Infinite Card earns

• 2 miles / US$ on Emirates and flydubai spends
• 1.5 miles / US$ on international spend
• 1 miles / US$ on domestic spend

Therefore, on domestic spends the earnings on Noor Bank World is higher by 10%. Also, the card is free for life. Finally (and this is the clincher), I have been advised earnings are same for all spends including groceries and utilities.