Every card review on dubaipoints.ae carries a tier badge, five dimension scores, and a one-line Apply / Skip pair. The rubric below is the same on every card. It is editorial judgement, not a black-box index — but the dimensions are fixed and the tier names mean what they say.
The five dimensions
Welcome value. The AED-equivalent of the welcome bonus, net of joining fee, on the assumption the reader triggers it inside the qualifying window. A 100,000 Skywards Miles bonus values at AED 2,000 against our 2 fils-per-mile baseline; subtract the AED 3,148.95 joining fee and the headline is net AED -1,148.95 before any single Y-to-J upgrade. High scores reward bonuses that clear the joining fee at realistic spend; low scores flag bonuses that need a stretch trigger.
Earn rate. The ongoing miles, points, or cashback per AED 1 of typical spend — partner categories, international, and domestic blended at a UAE-resident weighting. We quote in AED, never in USD, even when the bank prices in USD. High scores cluster above 1 mile per AED on partner spend; low scores fall under 0.3.
Perks. Lounge access, hotel status, golf, cinema, concierge, valet — anything bundled at no extra fee. We weight lounge access and hotel status most, novelty perks least. High scores carry unlimited lounge access with a guest; low scores carry only token discounts.
Fee value. Joining fee plus year-two renewal, weighed against the realistic value extracted at the audience the card targets. A high score means the card pays back at modest spend; a low score means the fee only clears at AED 100,000+ a year and bites everyone below.
Access. Eligibility friendliness — minimum salary, salary-transfer requirement, documentation burden. A high score means a mid-market expat (AED 10,000–15,000 salary, no salary transfer required) can hold the card. A low score reserves the card for the AED 30,000+ band.
The five tiers
Editor's Pick. The card we would open ourselves at the audience the kicker names — high scores on the dimensions that matter for that audience.
Strong. A clear recommendation inside its segment; one or two dimensions hold it back from Editor's Pick.
Solid. Does its job for the right reader; no single dimension is weak, none is exceptional.
Niche. Pays back only for a narrow use case — a specific airline, a specific spend pattern, a specific lounge network.
Skip. The fee, the earn rate, or the access bar cannot be defended against a cheaper alternative on the same shortlist.
VAT convention
Every AED figure on the site is inclusive of the UAE's 5% VAT. The reader's mental model is the credit-card statement, which carries VAT; we match it. Banks that publish fees excluding VAT — FAB's consolidated KFS, for instance — are grossed up at the data layer before we display them. Card pages tag inclusive fees "(incl. VAT)" so the convention is visible, not assumed.