• by Tanya Gazdik , November 10, 2014

Starwood Hotels and Resorts is partnering with Emirates Airline to join their respective customer loyalty programs.

The program, “Your World Rewards,” will include extra rewards and elite earnings. It begins Nov. 19 and allows SPG and Skywards elite members who register for the program, to elevate their earnings and benefits when they fly with Emirates or stay with SPG Participating Hotels.

The two travel companies are marketing the program through a combined effort of email blasts and outreach to top customers for both Starwood and Emirates. A video will live on the respective websites and on SPG’s youtube channel.

Elite SPG and Emirates Skywards members will receive exclusive rewards of each loyalty program. Skywards Gold and Platinum members will have the opportunity to upgrade their hotel experience, receiving exclusive benefits including access to SPG elite check-in, 4:00 p.m. late check-out and complimentary in-room Internet access.

SPG Platinum members will enjoy some of the advantages of Emirates Skywards elite like priority check-in and priority boarding when flying Emirates. Members will also receive complimentary e-gate access for flights in and out of Dubai.

Members will also earn bonus Starpoints when they fly with Emirates and bonus Miles when they stay with SPG on top of their usual earnings. Elite SPG members will earn one Starpoint per dollar, in addition to Skywards Miles, for all eligible Emirates operated flights.

Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members will earn the equivalent of one Mile per dollar, on top of Starpoints, for all eligible stays at Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide. Conversion rates will be adjusted for local currencies.

The U.S. market has been a growing market for Emirates, adding Boston and Chicago as its latest U.S. destinations in August 2014 and upgrading its routes to Dallas/Fort Worth to an A380 with San Francisco and Houston to follow shortly. Emirates serves more than 140 destinations in more than 80 countries across six continents.

As Emirates increasingly connects East with West, and the emerging markets to the developed world, their reach dovetails perfectly with Starwood’s preeminent high-end, global footprint and our pipeline of new hotels, 75% of which will open in emerging markets, says Mark Vondrasek, senior vice president, distribution, loyalty and partnership marketing at Starwood.

SPG membership has grown 400% in key emerging markets over the last five years, Vondrasek says. The Middle East is SPG’s third fastest-growing market behind China and India and one of the top 10 travel destinations for SPG members.