Emirates ramps up its UK regional services

Emirates has confirmed a further ramping up of its UK regional flights.

This is what is happening:

• Glasgow will see an A380 returning from 26th March

• Birmingham will see an A380 returning from 1st July

• Stansted will see the second daily flight, on a Boeing 777-300ER, returning from 1st May

The Stansted service is the key one for anyone obsessed with First Class products, as this is the only UK route to have the new ‘game changer’ (as they call it) First Class suite.

This is up there with the latest Singapore Airlines A380 First Class suite as the best first class product in the air – you can see my Emirates 777-300ER First Class review here.

I mean …. any suite which projects a camera feed from the outside onto the wall of your cabin if you happen to not be sitting in a window suite really must be tried out!

I’m not sure how Emirates is currently releasing reward availability for this flight. When I did it, back in 2019, First Class suites were only loaded a couple days before departure. I flew to Dubai without a seat home and crossed my fingers that the return would pop up – which it did.

If you’re interested in redeeming miles for these flights, here is our guide to earning Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards.

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How to earn Emirates Skywards miles from UK credit cards (April 2025)

Emirates Skywards does not have a UK credit card.  However, you can earn Emirates Skywards miles by converting Membership Rewards points earned from selected UK American Express cards.

Cards earning Membership Rewards points include:

• American Express Preferred Rewards Gold (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 20,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 15,000 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for your first year and also comes with four free airport lounge passes.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• The Platinum Card from American Express (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 50,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 37,500 Emirates Skywards miles

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

• American Express Rewards credit card (review here, apply here) – sign-up bonus of 10,000 Membership Rewards points converts into 7,500 Emirates Skywards miles. This card is FREE for life.

Membership Rewards points convert at 4:3 into Emirates Skywards miles which is an attractive rate.  The cards above all earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on your card, which converts to 0.75 Emirates Skywards miles

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card earns double points (2 per £1) on all flights you charge to it, not just with Emirates but with any airline.