Perkly Card Index · August 2026 · Travel
Best travel credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Airline cards, travel cashback and flexible points: the 8 travel cards Perkly users were most interested in during August.
By the Perkly research team · Published · Updated · Covers August 2026 · Card details checked 19 September 2026
Based on Perkly data for August 2026: more than 500 card searches, and the card pages, Apply clicks and applications that followed, on perkly.ae between 1 and 31 August 2026. Card fees, rates and offers on this page update live from Perkly’s card database.
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Travel was the second most popular goal on Perkly in August, after cashback. These are the 8 travel cards visitors applied for, clicked and read about most, ordered by that interest.
The list mixes three kinds of card: airline co-brands that earn Emirates Skywards or Etihad Guest Miles, a travel cashback card that pays on any airline, and points cards whose rewards can be moved between programmes. Which is right depends mostly on whether you are loyal to one airline.
Apply for the top picks
- #1Emirates Islamic Skywards Black StandardAED 2,100 a year · salary from AED 35,000
- #2ADIB Emirates Skywards InfiniteAED 4,725 a year · salary from AED 25,000
- #3ADCB Traveller Credit CardAED 1,575 a year · salary from AED 20,000
How this list is made. The order comes from Perkly’s own data and nothing else. No bank pays to appear here, and no placement on this page can be bought. If you apply through Perkly and a bank issues your card, Perkly may earn a referral fee, which never changes the order or the figures you see.
Annual fee
AED 2,100
Min. salary
AED 35,000
Rewards in
Skywards Miles
Top rate
10.77% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to Emirates and flydubai spend in AED booked directly with the airline. Travel agent bookings and other travel spend earn a lower standard rate. Miles can only be used with Emirates Skywards.
3.5 Skywards Miles per AED 3.67 on Emirates and flydubai bookings made directly with the airline, 2 per USD on foreign spend and 1.5 on local spend, with complimentary Skywards Silver, 4 airport transfers a year and golf at 5 UAE courses when you meet the spend threshold. AED 2,100 a year, minimum salary AED 35,000.
Best for: Frequent Emirates flyers on higher salaries.
- Earn 3.5 Skywards Miles per AED 3.67 on Emirates or flydubai, 2 per USD on foreign spend
- Complimentary Skywards Silver: priority check-in and boarding, 30% bonus Miles, 12kg extra baggage, Dubai Business lounge
- 1 free airport lounge visit a year (1,200+ lounges via Visa Airport Companion) plus 4 airport transfers a year
- Applications:
- #1 travel card
ADIB Emirates Skywards Infinite
Travel · Islamic
Annual fee
AED 4,725
Min. salary
AED 25,000
Rewards in
Skywards Miles
Top rate
9.21% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to spend with Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays. Other travel spend earns a lower standard rate.
3 Skywards Miles per AED 3.68 on Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays, 2 on foreign spend and 1.5 on local spend, with complimentary Silver, lounge access for you and a guest and 4 airport transfers a year. At AED 4,725 a year with the fast track to Skywards Gold (AED 2,625 without it) it is one of the UAE's most expensive cards.
Best for: Emirates flyers who will use the premium lifestyle benefits.
- Earn 3 Skywards Miles per AED 3.68 on Emirates, flydubai and Emirates Holidays, 2 on foreign spend, 1.5 on local
- Complimentary Skywards Silver, fast-track to Gold on USD 5,000 Emirates spend, valid 12 months
- Unlimited lounge access for cardholder and 1 guest (1,000+ lounges) plus 4 airport transfers a year
Current welcome offer: Earn 50,000 bonus Emirates Skywards Miles
- Page visits:
- #2 travel card
Annual fee
AED 1,575
Min. salary
AED 20,000
Rewards in
Cashback
Top rate
10% travel
A cashback card built for travel: 10% back on airline tickets from any airline and on hotel bookings worldwide, 1.5% on other spend in dirhams and nothing on other spending abroad, capped at AED 1,500 a month overall, in months you spend at least AED 5,000. It includes up to 14 lounge visits a year and 4 Careem airport rides. AED 1,575 a year.
Best for: Travellers who fly different airlines and would rather have cash than miles.
- 10% cashback on flights (any airline) and hotels worldwide, 1.5% on local AED spend (excl. overseas non-AED); AED 1,500 monthly cap, AED 5,000 monthly minimum spend applies
- 14 complimentary lounge visits a year at 1,200+ lounges (primary, supplementary and 1 guest each) via Mastercard Travel Pass
- 4 complimentary Careem airport rides a year (up to AED 85 each), GHA Discovery Titanium status at 500+ hotels, and travel insurance
Current welcome offer: AED 2,000 Expedia.ae hotel welcome voucher
- Application starts:
- Joint #1 travel card
Annual fee
AED 3,150
Min. salary
AED 5,000
Rewards in
Etihad Guest Miles
Top rate
10.28% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to Etihad Airways spend. Other travel spend earns a lower standard rate. Miles can only be used with Etihad Guest.
The most visited card page on Perkly in August. It earns 3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 4 on Etihad and foreign spend and 2.5 on local spend, with complimentary Silver tier and a fast track to Gold, lounge access for you and a guest, and a free companion ticket once you spend AED 150,000 a year. AED 3,150 a year.
Best for: Etihad flyers who spend heavily abroad.
- Earn up to 3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 4 on Etihad and foreign spend, 2.5 on local spend
- Complimentary Etihad Guest Silver Tier, fast-track to Gold on AED 4,500 Etihad spend in 12 months
- Unlimited lounge access for you and a guest (1,000+ lounges) plus 2 free Abu Dhabi airport transfers a year
Current welcome offer: Earn up to 225,000 Etihad Guest Miles on new applications
Expected offer expiry: December 2026
- Page visits:
- #1 of all cards
Emirates Islamic Etihad Guest Premium
Travel · Islamic
Annual fee
AED 2,625
Min. salary
AED 20,000
Rewards in
Etihad Guest Miles
Top rate
11.2% travel (partner only)
The top travel earn rate applies only to Etihad Airways spend, including etihad.com, branches and the call centre. General travel earns a lower standard rate. Miles can only be used with Etihad Guest.
3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per USD on Etihad, 3 on international and 2 on domestic spend, with a fast track to Gold after AED 4,500 of Etihad spend in 12 months, 1 complimentary lounge visit a year and 4 Abu Dhabi airport transfers. AED 2,625 a year, or AED 1,575 on Emirates Islamic's lower-fee option.
Best for: Etihad loyalists who want a strong everyday earn rate.
- Earn 3.5 Etihad Guest Miles per USD on Etihad, 3 on international, 2 on domestic spend
- Fast-track to Etihad Guest Gold tier by spending AED 4,500 on Etihad within 12 months
- 1 complimentary airport lounge visit a year (1,200+ lounges) plus 4 Abu Dhabi airport transfers
Current welcome offer: Earn up to 200,000 bonus Etihad Guest Miles
Expected offer expiry: October 2026
Annual fee
AED 1,575
Min. salary
AED 30,000
Rewards in
Etihad Guest Miles
Top rate
11.75% travel
10 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 10 on Etihad, hotels and dining and 6 on most other spend (1.5 on groceries and fast food, 0.6 on fuel and bills, 3 in Europe and the UK), with a fast track to Gold after one return Etihad flight. Check the cost carefully: AED 1,575 a year plus an AED 2,625 joining fee.
Best for: Etihad flyers who also spend a lot on hotels and restaurants.
- Earn 10 Etihad Guest Miles per AED 10 on Etihad, hotels and dining; 6 on international and domestic spend
- Fast-track to Etihad Guest Gold Tier after 1 Etihad return flight within 6 months of card issuance
- Complimentary airport lounge access at 1,000+ lounges via Visa Airport Companion; 4 airport transfers a year
Current welcome offer: Earn up to 200,000 Etihad Guest Miles
Annual fee
AED 3,255
Min. salary
AED 30,605
Rewards in
Membership Rewards Points
Top rate
1.41% travel
Amex's charge-card Platinum earns 1 Membership Rewards point per AED 4 with no cap and no expiry, transferable to airline and hotel partners. It includes lounge access through Priority Pass, Centurion and American Express lounges, hotel status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy, an AED 1,100 travel credit once you book AED 11,000 of flights through its Platinum Travel Service, and a dining credit that needs enrolment. AED 3,255 a year.
Best for: Frequent travellers who will use the hotel status and credits.
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per AED 4 spent, no cap, points never expire
- Unlimited lounge access at 1,700+ lounges via Priority Pass (1 guest included) plus Centurion and Amex Lounges
- Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, GHA Discovery Platinum and more, without qualifying stays
Current welcome offer: Earn 50,000 Membership Rewards points as a welcome offer
Ajman Bank BRight Titanium Credit Card
Travel · Islamic
Ajman Bank
BRight Titanium Credit Card
Annual fee
Free
Min. salary
AED 10,000
Rewards in
BRight Rewards
Top rate
1% travel
The one card here with no annual fee. It earns 1 BRight Reward per AED 10 of retail spend, which you can redeem for flights on 300+ airlines, hotels or vouchers, and includes 2 valet parking visits a month.
Best for: Occasional travellers who want free, flexible travel rewards.
- Earn 1 BRight Reward per AED 10 on retail spend (1 Reward = AED 0.10)
- Redeem BRight Rewards for flights (300+ airlines), hotels (300,000+), vouchers or electronics
- 2 complimentary valet visits a month at 35+ locations (requires AED 3,000 monthly retail spend)
Side by side
Live figures from Perkly’s card database. Earn rates are the value you get back per AED spent, after converting miles or points to dirhams.
| Card | Annual fee | Min. salary | Top rate | Welcome offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1Emirates Islamic Skywards Black Standard | AED 2,100 | AED 35,000 | 10.77%* | None right now |
| #2ADIB Emirates Skywards Infinite | AED 4,725 | AED 25,000 | 9.21%* | Yes |
| #3ADCB Traveller Credit Card | AED 1,575 | AED 20,000 | 10% | Yes |
| #4ADIB Etihad Guest Visa Infinite Covered Card | AED 3,150 | AED 5,000 | 10.28%* | Yes |
| #5Emirates Islamic Etihad Guest Premium | AED 2,625 | AED 20,000 | 11.2%* | Yes |
| #6Emirates NBD Etihad Guest Visa Elevate | AED 1,575 | AED 30,000 | 11.75% | Yes |
| #7American Express Platinum Card | AED 3,255 | AED 30,605 | 1.41% | Yes |
| #8Ajman Bank BRight Titanium Credit Card | Free | AED 10,000 | 1% | None right now |
* Applies only at the card’s partner merchants or airline; other spend earns less.
Miles or cashback for travel?
An airline card pays its best rate only on that airline, and Miles are worth most when you redeem them for flights. If you fly Emirates or Etihad several times a year, a co-brand card and its tier benefits usually win. If you fly whoever is cheapest, a travel cashback card like ADCB's Traveller, which pays on any airline and hotel, is simpler and often better.
For the airline cards in detail, see our Emirates Skywards and Etihad Guest lists.
How we built this list
This list is built from what people did on Perkly between 1 and 31 August 2026, not from what banks advertise and not from payments: no bank can pay to appear here or to move up. We count four things per card, and each visit counts once, at the furthest point it reached: an application submitted through Perkly, an application started, a click on Apply now, and a visit to the card's page. Each is weighted by how far it went: an application counts 10, a started application 5, a click on Apply now 3 and a page visit 1, and the list is ordered by the total. So a card many people explored closely can sit above one with a single application, and the signal shown beside each card is its strongest one, not the whole picture.
The data covers more than 500 card searches in August. Our own testing is excluded, and visitors who opted out of analytics are not counted. At this scale a single application can move a card several places, so read the order as "what people gravitated to", not as a precise league table. We publish ranks rather than raw counts for the same reason.
Card details in the text were checked on 19 September 2026 against Perkly's card data, which was reviewed against each bank's own documents between 15 and 19 September 2026. The fees, earn rates and welcome offers shown in each card panel are live from Perkly's card database, so they stay current after this article was written. Always confirm the final terms with the bank before you apply.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best travel credit card in the UAE?
For Emirates flyers, the most popular travel card on Perkly in August 2026 was Emirates Islamic's Skywards Black Standard. For people who fly several airlines, ADCB's Traveller pays 10% cashback on any airline and hotel in months you spend AED 5,000, though it pays nothing on other spending abroad. The Perkly wizard can rank them for your own spending and airline.
Are airline credit cards worth the annual fee?
Only if you fly that airline often enough to use the Miles and the tier benefits. A card costing AED 2,000 or more a year needs regular flights and high card spend to come out ahead of a free cashback card.
How often is this list updated?
Every month. Each edition of the Perkly Card Index covers one calendar month of activity on Perkly and is published early the following month. Card details on every page update automatically from Perkly's card database.
Is one of these your best card?
Popular is not the same as right for you. Tell Perkly your salary and how you spend and it ranks every card in the UAE for you, or talk your options through with Perkly Chat.
The August 2026 series
16 articles, each on August 2026 data.
- 1Best cashback credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 2Best travel credit cards in the UAE: August 2026You are reading thisYou are reading this
- 3Best Emirates Skywards credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 4Best Etihad Guest credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 5The 10 most popular credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 6Best rewards credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 7Best no annual fee credit cards in the UAE: August 202619 September 202619 September 2026
- 8Best Islamic credit cards in the UAE: August 202620 September 202620 September 2026
- 9How the UAE chose credit cards in August 202621 September 202621 September 2026
- 10The best credit cards for an AED 5,000 salary in the UAE, August 202622 September 202622 September 2026
- 11The best credit cards for an AED 10,000 salary in the UAE, August 202623 September 202623 September 2026
- 12The best credit cards for an AED 15,000 salary in the UAE, August 202624 September 202624 September 2026
- 13The best credit cards for an AED 20,000 salary in the UAE, August 202625 September 202625 September 2026
- 14The best credit cards for an AED 25,000 salary in the UAE, August 202626 September 202626 September 2026
- 15The best credit cards for an AED 30,000 salary in the UAE, August 202627 September 202627 September 2026
- 16The best credit cards for an AED 50,000+ salary in the UAE, August 202628 September 202628 September 2026
More from August 2026
Best cashback credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
The 8 cashback cards Perkly users applied for, clicked and read about most in August, and the conditions that decide what each one really pays.
Read the list →
Best Emirates Skywards credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Seven Skywards co-brand cards from three banks, ordered by the interest Perkly users showed in August, with what each one earns and costs.
Read the list →
Best Etihad Guest credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Five Etihad Guest cards from three banks, ordered by the interest Perkly users showed in August, with what each earns and costs.
Read the list →
The 10 most popular credit cards in the UAE: August 2026
Ranked by what people did, not what banks advertise: applications, Apply clicks and card page visits on Perkly in August.
Read the list →
- August 2026
- Travel
- Miles
- Lounge access
- Airlines