Perkly Card Index · September 2026 · Trends

How the UAE chose credit cards in September 2026

Cashback, Emirates Skywards and Shariah-compliant cards: what more than 300 card searches on Perkly tell us about what UAE residents want from a credit card.

By the Perkly research team · Published 18 October 2026 · Covers September 2026 · Card details checked 4 October 2026

Based on Perkly data for September 2026: more than 300 card searches, and the card pages, Apply clicks and applications that followed, on perkly.ae between 1 and 30 September 2026. Card fees, rates and offers on this page update live from Perkly’s card database.

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Searches for cashback: 59%
Searches for travel: 29%
Open to a fee: 68%
Travel searches for Skywards: 51%

Every time someone uses the Perkly wizard, they tell us what they want from a credit card: the goal, the airline, whether they will pay a fee and where they spend. In September 2026 that was more than 300 searches. This article pulls those answers together, anonymously and in aggregate, into a picture of what UAE residents look for in a credit card.

Every figure below comes from Perkly's own data for 1 to 30 September 2026. Our own testing is excluded, and about one day of activity, 25 September, was lost in a technical incident and is not included.

Apply for September 2026's most popular cards

#1Invest Bank Mastercard Platinum Credit CardAED 525 a year · salary from AED 5,000
#4ADIB Emirates Skywards InfiniteAED 4,725 a year · salary from AED 25,000
#5Emirates Islamic Skywards Black with Skywards GoldAED 5,775 a year · salary from AED 35,000

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.

Cashback still leads, and travel grew

59% of searches were for a cashback card, 29% for a travel card, 7% for a flexible rewards card and 3% for a shopping card. The other 2% chose "Not sure? Show me the best", an option added to the wizard on 25 September for people who want cash or points they can use anywhere.

In August cashback was 62% of searches and travel 22%, so travel gained ground this month, though at this scale a few points either way can be noise. Cashback still decided the top of the table: the three most chosen cards of September were all cashback cards. See the most popular credit cards of September 2026 and the best cashback credit cards.

Groceries still top the cashback wish list

Two in three cashback searchers told us which categories matter most to them. Of those:

79% picked supermarkets and groceries
68% picked dining
59% picked utility bills
58% picked fuel
54% picked online shopping
34% picked general shopping, 27% transport and 25% school fees

The order is close to August's, with fuel and transport picked more often and school fees less. Cards that pay their best rates on groceries and dining stay the ones to compare first.

Two in three searches were open to a fee

68% of searches allowed cards with an annual fee; 32% asked for free cards only. In August the split was 72% and 28%. Most people did not rule out a card with a fee. For the free options, see the best no annual fee credit cards of September 2026.

Emirates Skywards still dominates travel

Among travel searches, 51% chose Emirates Skywards, against 53% in August. 18% wanted the best value regardless of programme, 12% chose Etihad Guest (8% in August) and 8% wanted travel cashback, with Marriott Bonvoy (4%), flexible travel points (4%) and Air Arabia (3%) making up the rest.

Applications followed the same line: every travel card applied for through Perkly in September was an Emirates Skywards card. See the best Emirates Skywards credit cards and the best Etihad Guest credit cards of September 2026.

Shariah-compliant cards drew most applications

The wizard does not ask whether you want an Islamic card, but applications show it: most applications made through Perkly in September were for Shariah-compliant cards, from free cashback cards to Emirates Skywards cards from ADIB and Emirates Islamic. More than half of all applications were for cashback cards. See the best Islamic credit cards of September 2026.

Who is searching, and how much they spend

In September, 17% of searches came from people earning under AED 10,000 a month, 11% between AED 10,000 and 15,000, 26% between AED 15,000 and 25,000, 28% between AED 25,000 and 50,000, and 19% AED 50,000 or more. The AED 15,000 to 25,000 group grew the most since August, when it was 17%.

The median search planned to put about AED 6,700 a month on a card, down from AED 8,900 in August (at a few hundred searches a month, part of that gap may be noise), and half planned between AED 3,000 and AED 14,000. That matters, because many of the best-paying cards only reward you fully above a monthly spend of AED 3,000 to AED 5,000: at the lower end of that range, a card with no minimum spend can be worth more than one with a higher headline rate.

Picks by income

The salary guides in the September 2026 series work out the best card for a typical monthly income, from the card database and what Perkly users at that salary spend: AED 5,000, AED 10,000, AED 15,000, AED 20,000, AED 25,000, AED 30,000 and AED 50,000 and above.

To see how cards rank on your own spending, after fees and caps, use the Perkly wizard.

How we worked this out

These figures summarise every search made with the Perkly wizard between 1 and 30 September 2026, more than 300 in all, excluding Perkly's own testing. About one day of activity, 25 September, was lost in a technical incident and is not included. They are anonymous and aggregated: no figure identifies a person, and searches from visitors who opted out of analytics are not counted. Salaries and spending are what visitors entered, not verified figures. Applications are described only in broad shares, never as numbers. The wizard's goal choices changed on 25 September, when "Not sure? Show me the best" was added, so the cashback, travel, fee and airline shares compare directly with August's and the smaller goals less so. Percentages are rounded, so some groups do not add to exactly 100.

Frequently asked questions

What type of credit card is most popular in the UAE?

On Perkly in September 2026, cashback cards: 59% of searches were for a cashback card, against 29% for travel and 7% for flexible rewards.

How much do UAE residents spend on their credit card each month?

On Perkly in September 2026, the median search planned about AED 6,700 a month of card spending, and half planned between AED 3,000 and AED 14,000. These are amounts visitors entered, not verified figures.

Which airline programme do UAE credit card users prefer?

Emirates Skywards, by a wide margin: it was chosen in 51% of travel searches on Perkly in September 2026, against 12% for Etihad Guest.

Are Islamic credit cards popular in the UAE?

Yes. Most applications made through Perkly in September 2026 were for Shariah-compliant cards, and about half of the card issuers Perkly compares offer them, from free cashback cards to airline cards.

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.