How to fly to Israel with Skywards miles

At the moment, there is only one option for using Skywards miles to travel to Israel. However, a second should be available soon with Emirates expected to start flights from 15 February 2021/

Using Skywards miles on flydubai

flydubai is currently flying 2-3 times per day between Dubai and Tel Aviv. 

While it is possible to use Skywards miles to book award flights on flydubai it is seldom good value. The cost of Skywards awards on flydubai is based on the underlying cash price of the ticket and making redemptions expensive. 

The cost of one-way Economy redemptions ranges from 39,024 Skywards miles for a Lite fare and up to 54,906 miles for a Flex booking. There is also an AED 180 fee to pay. 

Remember flydubai Lite fares do not include either luggage or seat assignment. You also have to buy meals on-board.

Return flights in economy start at 57,622 Skywards miles plus fees of AED 355. 

The cost of a standard one-way Business Class redemption is 163,808 Skywards miles plus AED 290. 

Return redemptions in Business are around 250,000 Skywards miles plus over AED 600 fees. 

flydubai redemption promotion

At the moment, flydubai is running an aggressive redemption promotion slashing the number of Skywards miles required for Business Class redemptions by more than half. 

On some dates return Business Class redemptions between Dubai and Tel Aviv are available for under 100,000 Skywards miles.

flydubai is being very quiet about this offer. I can not find any details about the terms of the offer or how long it is going to last.

Using Skywards miles on Emirates  

Emirates is expected to launch flights to Tel Aviv from 15 February 2021. However, the schedule has not yet been loaded.

Emirates uses a distance-based chart for Skyward redemptions. If Skywards redemption rates mirror those of Beirut, then the redemption rates would look like:  

• Economy: 23,750 One-way | 27,500-47,500 Return
• Business: 38,750 One-way | 55,000-77,500 Return

These rates are significantly better than the best deal available on flydubai.

What to do? 

My rule of thumb is to earn Skywards miles on flydubai but spend them on Emirates. I would advise waiting for Emirates to launch flights to Israel before considering using Skywards miles to book travel. 

I will update this post once Emirates launches flights to Tel Aviv.