Leaving Emirates the airline.

Two years ago last week I left Dubai and Emirates (the airline) after 12 years, to come home and help with the launch of V Australia. This series of posts documents the leaving process - partly as my first attempt at a blog (which hopefully someone will find worth reading), partly as an assistance to others in my position. While this blog should provide some amusement, it should also be of assistance if you are leaving soon as well. There will be differences however - a lot of this depends on your years of service, and I'm sure some things have changed - hopefully for the better!

02.Apr.2008 : Mashreq Points.

Today I’m hassling with SmashWreckBank over Mashreq Points. I have a few thousand dirhams of points to spend, and need to do it before I cancel my cards. Most of the outlets you can use them at require you to take a letter there with the pre-approved amount you can spend, which means at least two trips. However Jumbo, Jackie’s, Plug-Ins and a few other places you can spend your points at will take them straight off your card.

Or at least – that’s how it’s supposed to be.

In fact when I went to Plug Ins, and then Jumbo, and then Jackie’s – having pre-researched and decided what I wanted and shopped and bargained and presented at the register – the dhs wouldn’t come off the card. The sales person could tell me how many points and dhs were available on the card – the machine wouldn’t let her take them off. I rang SmashWreckBank and after 30 minutes of listening to inane advertising, had one of those pointless, time wasting, frustrating conversations where I was told, that “Yes, it should work” along with “There’s nothing we can do – your card is fine” and “If you log onto MashreqBank online, you can order your certificate and it will be delivered to your bank branch in 3-5 days.” Great – can I have the last 4 hours and 30 km’s of my life back again?

Another item to add to the list of things I won’t miss. Dealing with SmashWreckBank. Claim your points early – it could take a while. Don’t count on being able to use the card to redeem points at certain outlets as advertsied.

Next Week : A friend goes and ships some stuff using the Ek ID90 100kg Freight Allowance. He documents it for me – which will make my life easier – so I’m passing it straight on.