Best rewards credit cards in the UAE: September 2026

2 Wala'a Rewards per AED 1 on general retail spend, including dining, travel and online, and 2.2 on foreign-currency spend, with a reduced 0.2 at supermarkets and on fuel, utilities, telecom, education, government payments, transport and real estate. Rewards are spent on flights, hotel stays, shopping and bill payments, and expire after 24 months; spend originating in the European Union and purchases of AED 10 or less earn none. A Shariah-compliant covered card with no annual fee, a minimum salary of AED 5,000 and travel and medical cover when you book flights on the card.

1 Membership Rewards point per AED 2 (much less on real estate, education, telecom and government payments, which include water and electricity bills), transferable to 14 airline partners, including Emirates Skywards at 2 points to 1 Mile, and 3 hotel partners. 12 Priority Pass lounge visits a year for the main cardholder, with guests using visits from the same 12. In calendar months with AED 4,000 of card spend, after enrolling once for each, 10% back on dining up to AED 50, plus an AED 75 grocery credit when AED 1,000 of that spend was on groceries. AED 735 a year including VAT, minimum income AED 21,250. Apply now takes you to American Express, so applications are made there rather than through Perkly.

15% back in ADNOC Rewards at ADNOC service stations only (partner rate, capped at AED 150 a month), 3% on Salik, Darb and Mawaqif (capped at AED 100) and 1% at supermarkets (capped at AED 100), all three only after a month with at least AED 3,000 of card spend. Other UAE spend earns 1% and international spend 2%, with 0.15% on flights and travel agencies and in selected categories such as utilities and education; 1,000 points are worth AED 1. AED 315 a year (AED 300 plus VAT), waived from year 2 on AED 48,000 of retail spend in the year. Minimum salary AED 5,000.

6 Mashreq Vantage points per AED 1 on international spend, 4 on airlines, hotels and travel and 2 on other UAE spending, including dining, supermarkets and online, with 0.5 on fuel, utilities, government, education, rent and telecom. Points convert to Emirates Skywards Miles at 32 points to 1 Mile, Etihad Guest Miles at 22 to 1, or cash at 380 points to AED 1. 12 lounge visits a year for you and a guest (10 of them unlocked by one international transaction over USD 1 in the year), and 50% off cinema tickets with no minimum spend; golf, valet, airport transfers and Fitness First need AED 10,000 of spend in the previous billing cycle. AED 1,575 a year, minimum salary AED 25,000.

AIF Rewards at 5 per AED 1 on dining and online shopping (capped at 10,000 Rewards a month each, so the first AED 2,000 of each), 3 on non-AED spend and 1 on other retail, with 0.15 in categories such as petrol, supermarkets and utilities. Aafaq's cash conversion is 13,334 Rewards to AED 100, so 5 per AED 1 is worth about 3.75%. Cinema, valet, golf and padel are complimentary in calendar months with AED 8,000 of retail spend. Shariah-compliant. AED 1,050 a year including VAT, free in year 1 and waived from year 2 on AED 100,000 of retail spend in the year; minimum salary AED 20,000.

1 HSBC Rewards Point per AED 1 on all eligible spend, redeemable for flights, Amazon, vouchers and partner transfers, with no annual fee. 8 lounge visits a year through Mastercard Travel Pass, which stay open while you make a cross-border transaction of at least USD 1 every 3 months, plus a year of Zomato Gold and, for cardholders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Careem Plus. You need an HSBC Premier Account to apply.

1 Membership Rewards point per AED 4 (much less on real estate, education, telecom and government payments, which include water and electricity bills), uncapped and never expiring, transferable to 14 airlines including Emirates Skywards at 2 points to 1 Mile, Etihad Guest and British Airways Avios, with up to 5 Priority Pass lounge visits a year shared with a supplementary cardmember. AED 414.75 a year including VAT, plus AED 99.75 for the Membership Rewards programme, so AED 514.50 in all; minimum income AED 15,000. Like the Platinum, it is applied for on American Express's own site.