New Emirates Citibank World MasterCard with 40,000 free Skywards miles

Up to 40,000 Skywards miles are up for grabs in the launch of Citibank’s new Emirates World MasterCard, which also comes with perks like free airport lounge access, Chauffeur Drive service for economy bookings and Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status.

After your first spend, a cool 15,000 miles are yours, which can be swapped for flights with Emirates, Qantas, Korean Air, Japan Airlines and with Emirates’ other partners.

Once three months have passed, you’ll net a further 25,000 miles if you’ve charged at least $6,000 to the card – although that excludes cash advances and balance transfers.

Other benefits include two Emirates single-use lounge passes, valid in any Australian Emirates lounge when travelling with the airline on an EK flight number.

However, access is specifically excluded for anyone booked on an Emirates flight but with a Qantas (QF) flight number.

As such, the lounge passes are particularly handy if redeeming your Qantas points for an Emirates economy flight – although if you’re accruing Skywards miles on EK flights, you’ll have much more flexibility.

Complimentary access to Chauffeur Drive is included for one trip each year when flying in economy to any country other than New Zealand, but this is only valid to and from Australian airports – not at the destination.

Mirroring the earning rates of the now-superseded Emirates Citibank Platinum card, you’ll earn one Skywards mile for every dollar spent at home and 1.5 miles per A$1 for foreign spend.

When booking Emirates flights on the airline’s website, you’ll earn two Skywards miles per dollar, making the card great for frequent Emirates travellers.

In the first year, the annual fee is lowered to $149, but in subsequent years, it doubles to $299, so you'll want to make sure you're getting value from the card.

To make it worthwhile, thrown into the mix is international travel insurance and interstate flight inconvenience insurance, while free Starwood Preferred Guest Gold membership is also yours after your first stay.

Golf fans can also make use of the World Golf program, providing access to Tournament Players Club (TPC) courses and on-site perks at PGA Tour events.

The generous sign-up bonus is valid for all new applications made through December 31 2014.

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.