Earn Emirates miles at Starwood hotels, and SPG points with Emirates…

Emirates and Starwood hotels today launched a “mutual back-scratching” arrangement, whereby members of each of their loyalty schemes can now earn loyalty points with the other.

The programme is called “Your World Rewards, and it’s a pretty straightforward arrangement. In short, you’ll earn Skywards Miles when you stay with Starwood hotels, Starpoints when you fly with Emirates, and elite benefits all round. To join and for full details, just click here.

The benefits can be broken down as follows:

Earn SPG Starpoints when you fly with Emirates

• SPG Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Starpoint per US dollar spent on all eligible Emirates flights (on top of Skywards Miles).

• SPG Platinum members enjoy elite in-airport benefits, including priority check-in, priority boarding and complimentary e-gate access (learn more at emirates.com).

Earn Emirates Skyward miles when you stay with Starwood hotels

• Emirates Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members earn 1 Mile per US dollar (on top of Starpoints) for all eligible stays at Starwood hotels and resorts worldwide.

• Emirates Skywards Gold and Platinum members enjoy additional benefits at Starwood hotels and resorts, including 4pm late checkout,2 access to the SPG elite check-in line and complimentary in-room Internet access.

To take advantage of these additional benefits, you need to register here.

The fact that you can earn points with two loyalty programmes when merely using one of them can only be a positive. I love the idea of being able to earn hotel loyalty points on my flights, as well as the usual miles. In fact, I am very much hoping for more of the same.

If you fall into any of the SPG or Emirates status categories above, then you really should sign up to this one.

Don’t forget to claim your free 500 SPG points via SPG’s current More For You promotion, too. You can also currently get up to 10% off Emirates flights departing from the US.