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Emirates Launches a New Rail Booking Website
Emirates has just launched Skywards Rail, a new rail booking platform that lets you earn and redeem Skywards miles for journeys with more than 40 rail operators across 12 European countries.
Unlike many competitors, you can book European train tickets, and there is a range of UK operators, including Eurostar, the Heathrow Express, Gatwick Express, Thameslink, GWR and ScotRail. You can opt to pay in full with miles or use a combination of Cash + Miles, and you’ll receive an e-ticket via email. You can do this via the Skywards Rail website, but there’s no app.
Unfortunately, the platform has a pretty long list of issues, the main one being that the train times are being displayed an hour out, and this certainly needs fixing!
You have trains organised by price rather than time, which is confusing, and there’s also no option to add a railcard, no option to book First tickets in the UK, and nothing that tells you how many miles you’ll earn. There’s also no split ticketing; some stations aren’t searchable, and to top it all off, prices are marked up by at least 10%, with much more on shorter journeys.
Though non-flight redemptions are rarely as valuable as booking First/Business class seats and upgrades, you’re getting reasonable value per mile. For example, the Heathrow Express is bookable from 4,700 miles. With the walk-in price of £26, you’re getting 0.55p per mile, but you can buy in advance for around £10, so you’re looking at more like 0.21p per mile. There’s also the Eurostar London to Paris from 9,400 miles, so you’re getting a minimum of 0.41p per mile with the cheap fares of £39 but more like 0.72p or more with the usual pricing. View the best uses of Skywards miles here.
At the moment, however, I’d struggle to recommend the platform until Emirates addresses the pricing and usability issues. While it’s always good to see another way to earn and spend miles, I hope it improves to a usable point. It does have plenty of potential.
If you want to earn miles for your rail journeys, the better options at the moment are Virgin Trains (also the option to spend miles), Uber trains and clicking via Avios.com to Trainline (1 Avios per £1) or TrainPal (currently 4 Avios per £1).
Ends Sunday: 20% Off Marriott Bonvoy Escapes Sale
Marriott has launched another short-lived Escapes sale, giving Bonvoy members 20% off participating hotels for stays between 7th and 23rd August, but it’s only live until this Sunday.
The promotion applies to weekend stays, although many resort properties are available throughout the week. Keep in mind that ‘weekend’ dates vary by country, and the rules vary. It includes participating properties across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
If you’re considering a trip before 23rd August, or have a flexible stay coming up, it’s well worth a look. There are some excellent deals available, though many popular properties (especially resorts in Europe) already have limited availability. The Destinations section of the offer page gives you a dropdown of all the available options.
Some brands are not taking part, including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, Bulgari and Design Hotels. That said, plenty of luxury brands still participate, and a 20% discount can add up quickly on higher nightly rates. For example, a three-bedroom villa at Santa Marina, a Luxury Collection Resort, Mykonos is currently priced at £5,099 per night on some dates, down from £5,958 – a saving of more than £6,000 over a week’s stay.
The promotional rates are pre-paid and non-refundable, so it’s worth comparing them with the Flexible Member Rate before booking. The saving isn’t always large enough to justify giving up the flexibility to cancel.
Save up to 35% on Meliá City Stays
Meliá has some great city break discounts at the moment, ideal if you’re tempted by a summer getaway.
Book a stay at a Meliá city hotel and check-out by 31st August to receive up to 20% off, plus an extra 10% discount when you use the promo code CITYLOVERS10. If you book through the hotel’s app, you’ll get an extra 5% off, so you can save up to 35%! On top of this, the first child stays free.
Most Meliá hotels are in Europe, with a huge number in Spain and Germany. You could also choose cities like Athens, Vienna, and Amsterdam, plus hotels further afield in destinations such as Vietnam, the US, Thailand and China.
If you’re thinking of a staycation, the ME London and Meliá White House London are particularly good options, plus there’s an INNSiDE by Meliá in Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle. In Spain, I particularly recommend the Meliá Alicante, and there are also plenty of options in Barcelona, Sitges, Madrid and other Spanish cities.
Make sure you also join the Meliá Rewards loyalty programme for points on your bookings and more. Read our guide here. The AMEX Platinum card comes with Meliá Gold, which gives late check-out, priority access on arrival and more points.
