Glossary | DubaiPoints

Banking

AECB: The Al Etihad Credit Bureau — the UAE's federal credit bureau. AECB scores range 300–900; banks typically require 580+ for entry-level cards and 700+ for premium tiers. The credit report itself, distinct from the score, is the document banks actually underwrite against.
Salary transfer: Routing your monthly payroll through a specific UAE bank in exchange for a one-time cash bonus, voucher, or upgraded eligibility. The transfer is enforced for the salary letter's validity (typically 12–24 months); leaving early triggers clawback.
Salary band: The minimum monthly salary a card requires, verified against your employer's salary letter. UAE banks are legally required to confirm the band before issuing — a workaround does not exist. Bands cluster at AED 5,000 / 8,000 / 15,000 / 25,000 / 30,000 / 50,000+.
Schedule of charges: The PDF every UAE bank publishes listing every fee, rate and charge on every product. Where a product page disagrees with the schedule, the schedule is the legal document. We cite both on every card review.
FX markup: The percentage added to a foreign-currency transaction beyond the network exchange rate. UAE cards range 1.99%–3.99%; cards with under 2.5% are competitive, under 2% are rare. Always charged in addition to any "International transaction fee" the issuer also levies.

fils per Mile (DP value): Our editorial AED value of one Mile or point in the named programme. A Skywards Mile worth 3.5 fils means 100,000 Miles redeem for an Emirates ticket priced at AED 3,500 cash, give or take. See the AED valuations page and the methodology.
Sweet spot: A redemption where the value-per-Mile materially beats the programme's average. Examples: Skywards First-class to North America 30 days out; Avios short-haul GCC awards under 8,000 points. Most programmes have one or two; the rest of the chart pays cents.
Transferable currency: A bank-proprietary point that converts to multiple airline or hotel programmes (FAB Rewards → Skywards, Etihad Guest, others). Transferables are usually more flexible but earn slower than co-branded cards on the same airline.
Co-brand: A card that earns the airline or hotel currency directly (e.g. an Emirates Skywards Visa earns Skywards Miles, not bank points). Faster to elite status; less flexible if the programme devalues.
Award chart: The published rate at which Miles convert into a specific cabin on a specific route. Programmes either publish a fixed chart (Skywards) or use dynamic pricing (Etihad Guest as of 2024). Dynamic pricing makes sweet spots harder to find.

Last verified: The date our editorial team last checked the figures on a page against the bank's official source. UI flags entries older than 90 days. We aim for under 30 days on card reviews and under 7 days on the salary-transfer tracker.
DP verdict: A 0–5 score reflecting our editorial judgement on a card. 4.5+ is a recommendation we'd give a friend; 3.5–4.4 is conditional (right card for some readers, wrong for others); below 3.5 we'd tell you to look elsewhere.
"Our take": A short editorial verdict box on every card review — what the card is actually for, who the right reader is, and the one or two cases where we'd send you to a different card instead.