Buying Emirates Skywards Miles: what it costs, and how a UK business earns them instead
Emirates sells Skywards Miles at US$30 per 1,000, three US cents a mile, and lets a member buy up to 200,000 a year depending on tier. A UK business can earn airline miles instead: bills paid through RewardsPilot earn 4 RewardsPilot points per £1 of net spend, each transferable to one airline mile.
What Emirates charges for Skywards Miles
| Buying | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 miles | US$30 | 3 US cents a mile |
| 2,000 miles | US$60 | the minimum purchase |
| 100,000 miles | US$3,000 | |
| 200,000 miles | US$6,000 | the most any member can buy in a year |
- Miles are bought in multiples of 1,000, with a minimum of 2,000.
- The annual limit depends on the member's Skywards tier, up to 200,000 a year.
- Emirates runs occasional bonus offers on bought miles, and asks members to buy only through emirates.com or its contact centres, not from third-party sellers.
Sources: Emirates, "Do more with your Miles"; Emirates, Skywards FAQs. Checked 29 September 2026. Emirates can change its prices at any time.
What the same miles cost a business that earns them
A VAT-registered UK business earns 4 RewardsPilot points for every £1 of eligible spend it puts through the programme, calculated on the net amount excluding VAT. Each point transfers to 1 airline mile with the airline programmes RewardsPilot works with. The spend is the VAT bill, the PAYE bill, the supplier invoice or the payroll the business was paying anyway.
| Skywards Miles wanted | Bought from Emirates | Business spend that earns the same points | Or sold back for cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20,000 | US$600 | £5,000 | £150 |
| 50,000 | US$1,500 | £12,500 | £375 |
| 100,000 | US$3,000 | £25,000 | £750 |
| 200,000 | US$6,000 | £50,000 | £1,500 |
Emirates Skywards miles are supplied to RewardsPilot in fixed blocks, so a transfer into Emirates Skywards must be requested in whole blocks of 500,000. The block size is shown when the transfer is requested.
How it works
- The business joins as a member. Membership is open to VAT-registered UK businesses with genuine corporate expenditure. There is no minimum monthly spend.
- It submits a bill to pay: HMRC, a supplier, rent, or payroll through CrestPay. RewardsPilot invoices the business and pays the bill on its behalf.
- When the invoice payment clears, points are credited at 4 per £1 of the net amount. They show in the member portal in real time and never expire.
- The business redeems them for flights, hotels and car hire through the portal, transfers them to an airline or hotel account within 24 hours, or sells them back for cash at 3% of the spend behind them.
Questions
Can a business buy Skywards Miles from RewardsPilot?
No. RewardsPilot does not sell points or miles. A member earns 4 RewardsPilot points for every £1 of eligible business spend put through the programme, and each point transfers to 1 airline mile with the airline programmes RewardsPilot works with.
How many points does £50,000 of business spend earn?
200,000 RewardsPilot points, on the net amount excluding VAT. Emirates would charge US$6,000 for 200,000 Skywards Miles.
Which bills earn points?
Any genuine business payment put through the programme: HMRC bills such as VAT, PAYE and corporation tax, supplier invoices, rent, and payroll funded through CrestPay. Points are credited when the invoice payment clears. VAT itself, refunds and reversed amounts do not earn points.
Is there a limit on how many points a business can earn?
No. There is no minimum monthly spend and no spending limit, and points never expire. Emirates caps the Skywards Miles a member can buy each year; earned points have no cap.
Can the business take cash instead of miles?
Yes. Points can be sold back to RewardsPilot at any time for 3% of the eligible spend behind them, paid within 24 hours. 200,000 points, earned on £50,000 of spend, would be bought back for £1,500.
What about the VAT on RewardsPilot's invoice?
RewardsPilot invoices its own service, Corporate Membership and Business Services Ecosystem, with VAT applied to the full taxable supply value. Under the specialist tax advice obtained for the structure, for VAT-registered businesses using the services for taxable business activities that VAT is intended to be recoverable through the normal VAT return, subject to the business's own VAT position, so it is principally a cash-flow timing consideration. This is not tax advice; RewardsPilot will speak directly with your accountant.
Programme facts on this page come from the published RewardsPilot rate and the Rewards Programme Rules. Rewards are corporate rewards earned on genuine business expenditure. See also buying Avios from British Airways.