[UAE] Other Co-branded Credit Cards

This is part of a series of articles I have written on best credit cards in UAE. So far, we have covered best credit cards for

• Etihad Guest Miles,
• Emirates Skywards Miles, and
• Cashback
• Hotel Loyalty Cards

Banks in UAE also offer other co-branded credit cards. Naturally, these are useful only in specific cases. However, not many people seem to know about them. I have discussed some of them below.

U by Emaar by Emirates NBD

Emaar is one of the largest real estate developers in Dubai. Their portfolio includes Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall. U by Emaar is their loyalty program. There are three variants of the card

	Family	Signature	Infinite
Annual Fee (AED)	None	250	1,500 Joining Fee – 1,000
Sign-up Bonus	None	2,500	25,000
U points earned per AED 100 at Emaar	50	62.5	75
U points earned outside Emaar	10	12.5	15
Dining discount at Emaar affiliated restaurants	20%	25%	30%
Buy 1 Get 1 at Reel Cinemas	Yes	Yes (with drinks & popcorn)	Yes (with drinks & popcorn)
U by Emaar Loyalty Status	Silver	Gold	Platinum

Spends at Emaar include spends at Dubai Mall, Dubai Marina Mall, Address Hotels among others. Supermarkets, utilities, education, fuel etc will earn 10-25% loyalty points only.

A word of advice here. Before applying for any credit card, read the terms and conditions carefully. The key ones for these cards are

• There are some great restaurants in this list and 20-30% discount is a good deal. Some of my favorites are Amal, Thiptara, At.mosphere.
• You can find the Emaar affiliated restaurants here

These cards can save you a fair amount if you spend a lot within Emaar ecosystem. This could be dining at Burj Khalifa, shopping at Dubai mall (selected outlets), or watching a movie at Reel Cinemas. Otherwise, these cards may not work for you.

U by Emaar points can be redeemed at Emaar affiliated places at the ratio of 10 points = AED 1. So effectively, you cashback for Emaar purchases are 5%-7.5% depending upon the version. Although, the enhanced loyalty status is a bit of a letdown. Gold & Platinum status gives you room upgrades, free breakfast at The Address hotels. However, for a person living in Dubai, these hotel stays make little sense.

The Platinum status gives you two notable perks though – airport transfers (DXB) and free delivery from Dubai Mall. Both of these could be useful.

This is why, of the three variants, Signature looks most appealing. It comes with complementary Platinum status. The high annual fee can easily be covered by the sign-on bonus.

Emirates NBD dnata World MasterCard

Another card from Emirates NBD. This is affiliated to dnata travel – which is an online and offline travel agent. Their prices tend to vary sometimes compared to a traditional OTA like Expedia or Booking.com. Although, I am not sure why.

This card has a simple but attractive premise. All bookings on dnata including flights, hotels, holiday packages earn rewards of 15%.  Other partners including Emirates Holiday get 10%. Regular spends earn up to 2%.

Like the U by Emaar cards, the reward points can only be redeemed at dnata or other partners.

This is positioned as a travel card and therefore also offers unlimited lounge access and airport transfers. A few years ago, this card used to offer 0% forex fee but that feature has been removed.

The annual fee is AED 1,000. You get AED 1,000 dnata voucher on payment of joining fee and another AED 1,500 voucher on spending $25,000 in 3 months.

FAB GEMS Titanium Credit Card

This card is useful only if your kid(s) study at GEMS affiliated schools. The biggest feature of this card is upto 4.25% discount on school fee and easy installments on the same.

School fee can easily run into tens of thousands of dirhams so the discount could be very attractive. Further, the card comes with an insurance coverage to protect your child’s education.

This credit card also earns FAB Stars like several other FAB cards. The earnings ratio is quite low.

Lounge access is restricted to Middle East and two complementary airport transfers are provided.

This card has no annual or renewal fee.

American Express Dubai Duty Free Card

Every few months, newspapers in UAE cover individuals who have won big on Dubai Duty Free raffle. If you have felt like swapping places with the lucky ones, this card is your ticket.

Every AED 1,000 you spend gives you one entry into a draw to win a raffle ticket for Millennium Millionaire. Further, every AED 500 spend gives you one entry into a draw to win Finest Surprise tickets, where you can win a luxury car.

Back to reality now. Amex offers 10% discounts on Dubai Duty Free with this credit card. This could be very useful for shopping at DDF. There are a few exclusions (gold, electronics etc).

The annual fee is AED 175.

Air Arabia Platinum Card by RAKBANK

This card is affiliated to the third largest airline in UAE. You earn Air Rewards – the loyalty program of Air Arabia

• 1.75 Air Rewards Points for every 5 AED spent at www.airarabia.com
• 1.25 Air Rewards Points for every 5 AED spent within UAE (lower for utilities, fuel etc.)
• 1.75 Air Rewards Points for every 5 AED spent outside UAE

Air Reward points are valued at 100 points = one dollar.

Further, you get up to 6 transfers to Sharjah airport and extra baggage allowance on Air Arabia.

The annual fee is AED 400. You can get 15,000 Air Rewards points upon spending AED 5,000 in first 3 months.

Supermarket / Hypermarket Credit Cards

There are a few supermarket affiliated cards as well

• ADCB LuLu Credit Cards
• Union Coop Tamayaz Card by Emirates Islamic 
• Najm Carrefour Cashback Cards

These offer disproportionate rewards points for spends at the affiliated supermarkets. Otherwise, the rewards are minimal.